Ashland produces low sulfur diesel for highway use

Ashland Petroleum Co. has introduced a low sulfur diesel fuel for use on U.S. highways. The new product is available to wholesale customers in a 23 state distribution system well ahead of an Oct. I deadline for diesel fuel specifications set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Ashland can produce 62,500 b/d of the new fuel at its three refineries in Catlettsburg, Ky., St. Paul Park, Minn., and Canton, Ohio.

Sept. 20, 1993

2 min read

Ashland Petroleum Co. has introduced a low sulfur diesel fuel for use on U.S. highways.

The new product is available to wholesale customers in a 23 state distribution system well ahead of an Oct. I deadline for diesel fuel specifications set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ashland can produce 62,500 b/d of the new fuel at its three refineries in Catlettsburg, Ky., St. Paul Park, Minn., and Canton, Ohio.

Ashland reckons it has spent nearly $250 million at those plants to produce on-highway diesel fuel that contains 90% less sulfur than current diesel fuel, Clean Air Act amendments of 1990 cut the on-highway diesel fuel sulfur limit at 0.05 wt % from the present 0.5 wt %.

At Catlettsburg, Ashland installed a $90 million, 40,000 b/d distillate desulfurizer (DDS), a $40 million, 200 ton duplicate sulfur recovery unit (SRU) and distillate tank storage costing $15 million.

Producing low sulfur diesel at St. Paul Park required construction of a $54 million, 20,000 b/d DDS, a $16 million hydrogen plant and a $12 million duplicate SRU. The company also spent $4 million retrofitting a distillate reactor and $5 million on a duplicate SRU to produce 2,500 b/d of the new diesel fuel at Canton.