US petroleum refining company CVR Energy is planning to convert its Oklahoma refinery to renewable diesel production using Haldor Topsoe’s HydroFlex technology.
Topsoe said it would deliver basic engineering, license, proprietary equipment and catalyst for its HydroFlex technology at the 378M litres (100M gallon)/year renewable diesel plant.
Construction work had begun on the US$110M project and was scheduled to be completed in July 2021, Topsoe said in a statement on 27 January.
The project would convert an existing hydrocracker for the production of low-carbon renewable diesel from soyabean oil, Topsoe said, with the resulting fuel expected to meet the ASTM D975 diesel specification.
"By leveraging assets already in place, particularly the existing hydrocracker unit and under-utilised hydrogen plant at our Wynnewood refinery, we believe we can deliver one of the lowest-cost renewable diesel projects in the industry,” CVR Energy CEO and president Dave Lamp said.
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, CVR Energy is a diversified holding company involved in the petroleum refining and marketing business through its interest in CVR Refining, It is also active in the nitrogen fertiliser manufacturing sector through its interest in CVR Partners.
The announcement followed a report by Reuters in November 2020 saying that CVR Energy was planning a renewable diesel project at its Kansas site.
Designed for the production of renewable jet fuel and diesel, Topsoe said its HydroFlex technology could be used in both grassroots units and revamps for co-processing or stand-alone applications.
