Fuji Oil Co. Ltd. has implemented Honeywell UOP LLC’s proprietary R-364 Platforming catalyst to produce more aromatics for chemical production at its 143,000-b/d Sodegaura refinery on Tokyo Bay in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
The Sodegaura refinery is now using the R-364 catalyst to increase the site’s production of aromatics by boosting throughput of the plant’s existing CCR Platforming unit, Honeywell UOP said.
The high-activity catalyst—the design of which can increase production of a CCR Platforming unit by up to 10%—converts naphtha feedstock into aromatics or can be blended into gasoline to improve its octane rating.
“The R-364 catalyst is a drop-in replacement catalyst that effectively increases our capacity and flexibility,” said Daiki Imai, general manager of Fuji Oil’s operation management department.
Fuji Oil’s selection of the R-364 catalyst comes amid Japan’s waning gasoline demand, which reached a peak in 2004.
In lieu of gasoline, Japanese refiners such as Fuji Oil increasingly have turned to manufacturing higher-value aromatics such as chemical-grade benzene and mixed xylenes, which have become more valuable than motor fuels, Honeywell UOP said.
Details regarding the precise increase in the refinery’s aromatics production capacity were not disclosed.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
