“There has been a high demand for this product on global markets. Europe is currently seeing a deficit in DCPD production capacities. We expect the demand to grow by another 20 per cent by 2030. On the American markets, the demand may rise by 40 per cent, and in Asia, even by 60 per cent. That is why we have decided to invest in the construction of our own DCPD manufacturing technology. It is another example how our own R&D supports the business,” explains Tomasz Wiatrak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group. He adds: “This product launch will contribute to our margin increase and will help expand the product portfolio in the petrochemical segment.”

The technological process of DCPD isolation from the light pyrolysis petrol has been developed within a long-term strategic project using steam cracker’s secondary products. “The project aimed to find a method of isolating hydrocarbons that are secondary products in the petrochemistry units, have a higher added value and can find an application in the market. DCPD is one of the examples. Together with the team of Professor Josef Pašek of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, we designed a suitable production method and prepared a technology for DCPD’s isolation with a broad range of commercial quality. The installed capacity will be about 25 per cent of the total production in Europe,” says Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group responsible for production, research and development.

“ORLEN Unipetrol’s collaboration with the University of Chemistry and Technology has had a long and successful tradition dating back to the 1990s. Our co-operation in research and implementation has always focused on the development of oil-processing and petrochemistry technologies. The technology of DCPD’s isolation developed in co-operation with our experts is a perfect example of interconnection between the academia’s and the industrial sector,” says Pavel Matějka, Rector of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.

Following the unit’s commissioning, ORLEN Unipetrol will manufacture DCPD in the 80-94% quality. The product will be usable in the follow-up production of polymer materials, resins or chemical specialities to produce glues, dyestuffs, automotive and marine components, optic fibres, special lenses, medical components, packaging materials, and sanitary products for kitchens and bathrooms.

                      

The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and on the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. In all these areas, it belongs among the critical players on the Czech and Central European market. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo with its Mogul brand in Pardubice and Kolín, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina ORLEN filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 416 filling stations, Benzina ORLEN is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. Since its entry in 2019 to Slovakia, Benzina ORLEN has been one of the fastest-growing chains and currently has 20 stations in its network. ORLEN Unipetrol employs more than 4,800 people. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became a member of the ORLEN Group, the largest crude-oil processor in Central Europe. In addition to its business development, ORLEN Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays an equal amount of attention to initiatives, focusing on the cultivation and support of sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment.

Contact: Pavel Kaidl, spokesman, telephone: +420 736 502 520, e-mail: pavel.kaidl@unipetrol.cz