Oil Refining and Upgrading
Petroleum refining is an important source of petrochemical feedstock supply. Refining adds value by converting crude oil (which, in itself, has little end-use value) into a range of refined products including transportation fuels, lubricating oils and waxes, home heating oil and petrochemical feedstocks. The upward shift in the value of petrochemical feedstock has led many refiners to configure existing and new refining capacity to optimize petrochemical feedstock production including the upgrading and recovery of high purity olefins.
Some examples where the use of Permylene membrane technology could be beneficial in this industry include purification of propylene produced from fluid catalytic cracking, recovery of olefins from oil sands upgrader off-gases and the extraction of olefins from iso-butane used for the purpose of alkylation (to make high octane gasoline components).
Benefits: