Refining and petrochemical group ORLEN Unipetrol readies for the market launch of a new product. The dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) production unit is expected to be completed in the first half of the year. The general building contractor has now installed two rectification columns using a special crane. The columns are used in the production process to distil the final product, DCPD, to the required purity. The technology was developed by ORLEN Unipetrol researchers in collaboration with the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. The product can be used in a wide range of applications in the automotive industry, construction industry, electrical engineering, medicine, and the pharmaceutical industry. The investment in the new production unit totals CZK 831 million.
“On Saturday, we successfully installed the rectification columns that were transported from the producer to our plant during the past two months. The largest column is 33.9 metres tall and weighs 33 tonnes, which is why we needed to use a tower crane. We had planned and prepared for the installation for several months. I am happy it was performed without complications,” says Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group, responsible for production, research and development. He adds: “The DCPD unit construction follows the schedule. We plan to put it into the pilot operation in June to be able to produce the new product in the third quarter of this year and deliver it to the European market.”
Liquid hydrocarbon dicyclopentadiene will be produced using a technology developed by ORLEN Unipetrol researchers in cooperation with the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. The product can be broadly used in the automotive industry, construction industry, electrical engineering, medicine and pharmaceutical industry. It will be used to produce polymer materials, resins, and chemical specialities that can be used to produce adhesives, dyes, automotive and ship components, optical fibres, special lenses, medical components, packaging materials or sanitary products for kitchens and bathrooms, etc.
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,” explains Tomáš Herink.
There has been a high demand for DCPD 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 constructing our DCPD manufacturing technology,” Tomáš Herink concludes.
ORLEN Unipetrol has opened 20 new jobs to secure the new unit’s operations in Chempark Litvínov. Employees currently undergo intensive training in the pilot distillation unit and the production training simulator. It enables to simulate stable operations for various DCPD qualities and the unit’s commissioning or shutdowns. When the operator training is over in June 2022, the simulator will be deployed as another site within the Training Centre. It will be used for practical training and placements of secondary school and university students.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refinery and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and 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 in the Czech and Central European markets. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana Neratovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes a network of Benzina ORLEN filling stations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. With 424 filling stations, Benzina ORLEN is the largest chain in the Czech Republic. 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.