Groundbreaking Innovation to Reduce Carbon Emissions in Petrochemical Industry

• Eliminating 35 MMt of annual CO₂ emissions in the EU by 2030

• 20% higher ethylene yields

• 30% reduction in energy consumption

Technology co-development where space science and turbomachinery meet chemical engineering

Olefins are the main component in the petrochemical industry, in production of plastics, in chemical products, in packaging and more. The RDR technology is a cleaner, more sustainable and profitable way to produce Olefins than the current steam cracking methods.

Since 2016, Neste Engineering Solutions has been involved in the collaboration and development of this new technology with a team specializing in cracker technology, reaction kinetics and modelling. 

Now, after years of research and development, the RDR technology is ready to be tested on a large scale. Hence, Coolbrook will build an RDR pilot plant in the Netherlands.

Challenges Coolbrook wanted to solve:

1) Smaller carbon footprint

Elimination of CO₂ from the cracking process.

2) Lower energy consumption and improved product yields

Accurate, efficient, controllable process.

3) Utilization of circular and bio-based feedstock

Increased sustainability.

Solution

To gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of the RDR technology, we conducted a Fluid Dynamics Study which consisted of temperature and flow profiles for different feeds. Neste Engineering Solutions’ highly skilled process engineers and modelling team delivered valuable results, which created a solid basis for the next project phases.

In addition, Neste Engineering Solutions has delivered a Feasibility Study and a Basic Engineering package to Coolbrook and we have continued to provide Specialist Support Services in the Project Execution phase. In the Feasibility Study phase, different RDR Cracker concepts were technically evaluated and investment costs of different technical solutions compared. Moreover, the Neste Engineering Solutions team coordinated the work done by selected partners during the study.

Results:

Our comprehensive collaboration with Coolbrook has created value for the Pilot Plant project especially in its early stages but also later along its lifecycle.