Pertamina to Use Honeywell UOP Technologies to Produce Advanced Biofuels in Indonesia

(Honeywell UOP) National Oil Company of Indonesia to open green fuels refinery in Plaju and revamp Cilacap refinery for renewable diesel production -- Honeywell today announced PT Pertamina (Persero) will use Honeywell UOP technologies to produce advanced biofuels at its Plaju and Cilacap refineries in Indonesia. The company will use UOP Renewable Jet Fuel Process™ technology at its Plaju refinery in Palembang, South Sumatra, and UOP Ecofining™ technology at its Cilacap refinery in Central Java.

UOP will provide technology licenses, basic engineering, specialty equipment, catalysts and training for the two projects in Indonesia. The biorefinery in Plaju will process 20,000 barrels per day of vegetable oils and fats to produce advanced biofuels such as renewable jet fuel, renewable diesel fuel and green liquefied petroleum gas at the Plaju refinery. UOP also will revamp the existing refinery at Cilacap to process 6,000 barrels per day of vegetable oils and fats to produce advanced biofuels.

“As one of the world’s top producers of biofuels, Indonesia is ramping up its investment in advanced biorefineries capable of producing fully fungible renewable fuel,” said Jim Andersen, business development director of UOP’s Renewable Fuels business. “Pertamina is acting on an opportunity to meet the growing demand for energy security of Indonesia by using renewable fuels and, as a longstanding customer, chose to work with UOP to build a greenfield biorefinery at Plaju and revamp its Cilacap refinery. These refineries will enable Pertamina to meet the Indonesian government’s goals for renewable fuel production using domestic bio-based feedstocks.”

As the world’s fourth most populous nation, with 250 million people, Indonesia imports about 1.5 million barrels per day of refined products – roughly 30 percent more than its domestic production capacity. According to the National Energy Policy in Indonesia, more than 5% of all energy must come from biofuel by 2025. The additional biofuel production capacity provided by the Plaju and Cilacap refineries will help to reduce the nation’s reliance on imported petroleum products, particularly low-sulfur fuels and at the same time, expected to support the local bio-economy and rural employment opportunities in agriculture.

“Pertamina, as the biggest energy company in Indonesia, is always aggressively looking forward for new and renewable energy solutions,” said Budi Santoso Syarif, Deputy CEO of PT Kilang Pertamina International, the refinery and petrochemical business group of Pertamina. “The development of our biorefinery in Plaju and Cilacap is part of our plan to diversify our products while at the same time to show our commitment to sustainable energy.”

UOP has worked with Pertamina for nearly 50 years, licensing technologies to the company’s Plaju, Dumai, Cilacap, Balikpapan, Balongan, and Kasim refineries.

The UOP Ecofining process, jointly developed with Italian company Eni S.p.A, converts non-edible natural oils, animal fats and other waste feedstocks to Honeywell Green Diesel™, chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel. Honeywell Green Diesel offers improved performance over FAME biodiesel and petroleum-based diesel, and can be used as a fully fungible drop-in replacement in diesel vehicles with no modifications. It also features significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared with diesel from petroleum, and offers a higher-cetane diesel value that provides better engine performance with fewer emissions.

Honeywell pioneered the sustainable aviation fuel market with its UOP Renewable Jet Fuel Process. Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™ produced by this process is blended seamlessly with petroleum-based jet fuel at commercial scale. When used in up to a 50-percent blend with petroleum-based jet fuel, Honeywell Green Jet Fuel requires no changes to aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight. Learn more about UOP renewable energy technologies at www.uop.com/biofuels.

Pertamina is a state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company is active in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry, with total refining capacity 1 million barrels per day.

Honeywell UOP (www.uop.com) is a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. Honeywell UOP is part of Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies strategic business group, which also includes Honeywell Process Solutions (www.honeywellprocess.com), a pioneer in automation control, instrumentation and services for the oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, chemical and other industries.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom. READ MORE

Excerpt from The Edge Markets: Indonesia's state energy company PT Pertamina said on Saturday (March 6, 2021) it plans to start production at its Cilacap green refinery by the end of this year to make oil products such as diesel and jet fuel, entirely out of palm oil.

Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, has a mandatory biodiesel programme with 30% palm oil content known as B30, but the government is keen to expand the use of the vegetable oil for energy as it cuts down on fuel imports.

Ifki Sukarya, a senior Pertamina official, said "Green Diesel" uses Refined, Bleached and Deodorised Palm Oil (RBDPO), which is palm oil that has been refined to remove free fatty acids and purification to remove colour and odour.

The other product is the "Green Jet Fuel," which uses Refined, Bleached, and Deodorised Palm Kernel Oil (RBDPKO).

Pertamina will process 3,000 barrels of RBDPO per day to produce "D100" biodiesel, set to come onstream in December in the first stage. It will follow that with processing 6,000 barrels of crude palm oil per day to make biodiesel or jet fuel from December 2022.

Ifki said the production capacity for the green diesel and the jet fuel at its Cilacap refinery on Java island could be increased starting in 2023.

Trials for the biodiesel and jet fuel started in January 2021 and December 2020, respectively.

While biodiesel promises significantly lower carbon emissions, the land clearance taking place to grow palm oil has raised concerns among environmentalists about deforestation. READ MORE