Fortum’s
new clean fuels technology receives award
Posted: 22 May 2003
The developers of Fortum’s NExOCTANE production process
received this year’s Finnish Engineering Award. The award
winning technology is used to produce iso-octane, a first class
gasoline component.
The technology, awarded by The Finnish Association of Graduate
Engineers TEK and the Tekniska Föreningen i Finland TFIF, is
used to convert MTBE-plants for iso-octane production. The big production
plant in Edmonton, Canada has already been converted to produce
the clean fuels component for the California, USA market.
The award is granted annually to a person or a task force who has
considerably advanced the technical know-how in Finland. The Fortum
task force comprised: Prof. Juhani Aittamaa and Prof. Outi Krause
of the Helsinki University of Technology; Lic. in Tech. Antti Pyhälahti,
Mr Juhani Rintala, MSc(Eng) and Mr Juha Jakkula, MSc(Eng) of Fortum/Neste
Engineering.
The recipients of the award have developed a technique that enables
the economical conversion of MTBE production plants to produce iso-octane.
The project has had several partners, such as TEKES - the National
Technology Agency of Finland, in charge of external financing, and
the Helsinki University of Technology.
The development work on the NExOCTANE technology was started at
Fortum’s Technology Centre in Porvoo, Finland in 1997.
Alberta Envirofuels Inc, a Canadian company owned fifty-fifty by
Fortum and ChevronTexaco, launched the iso-octane production based
on the above technology in Edmonton, Canada in October 2002. The
iso-octane plant is the first of its kind in the world.
"The iso-octane markets look promising in the US and in especially
in California, where the use of MTBE in gasoline will be banned
starting next year. The parties responsible for the technology marketing
and the basic design of the licensed units are Neste Engineering
Oy, a Fortum company, and the US company Kellogg Brown & Root,"
says Mr Risto Näsi, Vice President, in charge of Fortum’s
component business.
The novel technology is a continuance to the NExETHERS- and NExTAME
–etherification technologies previously developed by Fortum.
Iso-octane, produced applying the NExOCTANE-technology, is a valuable
component applicable to gasolines meeting even the strictest quality
requirements. It is sulphur-free, non-aromatic with a low vapour
pressure.
For more information see www.fortum.com.
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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