Caustic-free jet fuel Merox unit reduces waste disposal

For Petro-Canada Inc.`s refinery in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, the handling and disposal of spent caustic streams was not only an environmentally sensitive issue, but also a continuous and escalating expense. To overcome these problems, the company converted its caustic-based UOP jet fuel Merox unit to a Caustic-free Merox design. UOP undertook a 3-year catalyst research program to develop the Caustic-free Merox process, which uses ammonia instead of sodium hydroxide as its alkaline source. Once the viability of the process was established in pilot plants, Petro-Canada was asked to carry out a full-scale trial run in its UOP jet fuel Merox unit. The paper describes the background problems at the refinery, the new process, modification to the Oakville unit, operations, economics, and benefits of the caustic-free Merox process.