Gazprom Neft has begun production of its new “Vanguard-series” catalytic-cracking catalysts at its Omsk Refinery.* The development of innovative technologies in catalyst production is being undertaken by Gazprom Neft in conjunction with major Russian research and development centres specialising in catalytic processes. The new Vanguard-series catalyst, in particular, has been developed by Russian academics at the Institute for Problems of Hydrocarbon Refining (a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Scientists) together with specialists at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery. Improvements to the Vanguard catalyst are making possible an increase in the production of components for high-octane Euro-5 gasolines. Approximately 10,000 tonnes of new-generation catalysts will be produced at the Omsk Refinery every year.
Production of the new Vanguard-series catalysts at the Omsk Refinery has been made possible by the installation of an additional zeolite filtration and stabilisation facility — key components in cat-cracking catalysts. Improvements to the structure of the zeolites produced makes possible the adjustment of a catalyst’s composition in line with feedstock (crude) and product quality consistent with client requirements. High-precision blending of the catalyst components with specified properties is made possible by the use of ultra-sonic and electromagnetic flow meters.
Vanguard-series catalysts are already being used at the Omsk Refinery catalytic cracking facility. Following the completion of pilot testing, new-generation catalysts are also expected to be used at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery. According to company specialists, the economic benefit of using these new-generation catalysts at catalytic cracking facilities at both refineries is expected to reach approximately RUB1.3 billion per year.
Oleg Belyavsky, General Director at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery, commented: “Gazprom Neft is pro-active in financing research and development: we are working closely with the domestic scientific community and use the results of scientific research in developing new kinds of products and technologies. One outcome of this extensive and ongoing work is the start-up of production of the innovative Vanguard catalyst at the Omsk Refinery, improving the effectiveness of one of the key processes in secondary refining — catalytic cracking.”
* Catalytic cracking is one of the key processes in secondary oil refining, used in the production of Euro-5 gasolines.
Catalysts used in oil refining processes are nano-structured agents which, when introduced into immediate chemical interactions, speed up chemical reactions in oil refining.
This national Gazprom Neft project for the development of catalyst production at the Gazprom Neft Omsk Refinery, in which the company will invest more than RUB15 billion by 2020, envisages the establishment of a cutting-edge high-technology complex producing domestic catalysts for use in catalytic cracking, as well as catalysts for hydrogenation processes. These catalysts are used for key processes in secondary oil refining, making possible the production of Euro-5 motor fuels.
By 2020 Gazprom Neft will establish a cutting-edge facility to produce catalysts for hydrogenation processes (with a capacity of 6,000 tonnes per year) and catalysts for catalytic cracking (with a capacity of 15,000 tonnes). On which basis, total catalyst production capacity at the Omsk Refinery will reach 21,000 tonnes, allowing the company not just to meet current domestic demand for catalytic cracking and hydrogenation catalysts throughout Russia’s refining industry, but also to supply products for export throughout the CIS and neighbouring countries.
Existing capacity at the Omsk Refinery currently allows production of approximately 3,000 tonnes of catalysts every year.
The development of innovative technologies in catalyst production is being undertaken by Gazprom Neft in conjunction with major Russian research and development centres specialising in catalytic processes. The company’s partner on this national project, specifically, is the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Novosibirsk (a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) which is developing technology for the production of catalysts for hydrogenation processes. The Institute for Problems of Hydrocarbon Refining, Omsk (also a Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), is also working with the company in developing new technologies and improving existing processes in the production of catalysts for catalytic cracking.
