08-12-2021

CVR Energy selects Honeywell UOP Ecofining™ technology

Honeywell today announced that a CVR Energy, Inc. subsidiary has selected Honeywell UOP Ecofining™ technology to study conversion of seed oils, tallow and white/yellow greases into renewable diesel fuel at its facility in Coffeyville, Kansas. CVR Energy is currently evaluating the conversion of an existing hydroprocessing unit at the plant to a single-stage Ecofining unit for the production of approximately 11,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel and jet fuels.

Honeywell’s single-stage Ecofining process is a fast-to-market, capital efficient solution ideal for repurposing hydroprocessing units to produce high yields of renewable diesel. The process produces renewable diesel fuel, which has chemically substantially similar molecules to petroleum-based diesel and jet and can be used as a drop-in replacement with no engine modifications.

Depending on feedstock choice, renewable diesel also features a 50-to-80-percent lifecycle reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional diesel.

“As we previously announced, CVR Energy is laser focused on the development of its renewable initiatives,” said Dave Lamp, president and CEO of CVR Energy. “Adding Ecofining technology to our Coffeyville refinery could complement the renewable diesel project in process at our Wynnewood refinery. These projects, combined with others under development, could help us decarbonize our operations.

The new single-stage Ecofining process uses a combination of catalysts in a single operating environment to remove oxygenates and other contaminants from the feedstock, and then isomerize the feed to improve its cold-flow properties. Due to its simplified design, single-stage Ecofining technology can be put into service quickly, with lower capital expense than other designs.

“As customers like CVR seek alternative uses for existing units to grow their renewable fuels production to meet sustainability goals, our single-stage Ecofining process provides an ideal, economical solution,” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “We simplified the design of our Ecofining process to help refiners to meet stricter regulations for renewable fuels production while cutting costs and minimizing space and equipment.”

UOP and Eni SpA jointly developed the Ecofining process, which converts non-edible natural oils and animal fats to renewable diesel fuel. The Ecofining process produces diesel with a cetane value of 80, substantially higher than the 40-to-60 cetane diesel commonly used in diesel engines today. As a result, this higher-cetane diesel fuel can be blended with less expensive, low-cetane diesel to meet transportation fuel standards while providing better engine performance with fewer emissions.

The Ecofining technology is used in most 100%-biofeed units producing renewable diesel and the only 100% production of SAF in the world today. UOP currently has licensed 24 Ecofining units in eleven countries around the world, processing 12 different types of renewable feedstocks.