13-06-2016

Honeywell UOP earns record number of patents in 2015

Honeywell UOP announced today that it earned 671 patents for new inventions globally during 2015, including 247 in the U.S. Both are records for Honeywell UOP, which has been the leading developer and licensor of technologies for the petroleum refining, petrochemicals and gas processing industries for more than a century.

Almost all of the new patents relate to inventions that more efficiently convert hydrocarbons into transportation fuels and petrochemical products, making better use of the petroleum and natural gas feedstocks while consuming less energy.

“This milestone illustrates our commitment to research, which provides the inventions that are the basis for dozens of new products we introduce every year,” said Jim Rekoske, vice president and chief technology officer for Honeywell UOP. “In fact, our company has earned a larger number of patents in each of the last four years, helping us to maintain its position as the leading center of research and development for the global oil and gas industry.”

manufacturing diesel and jet fuel, and hydrotreating, which is used to remove sulfur and other contaminants in the refining process. These advanced catalytic processes are used to produce more powerful, clean burning fuels that meet increasingly strict emission regulations, particularly in the U.S., Europe, China and India.

The company also earned numerous patents for more efficient production of aromatics – which are used to make plastic resins, films and fibers, and as gasoline blending agents to raise gasoline octane ratings – as well as olefins, which are the basic components of plastic polymers that are used in thousands of applications.

The company received patents on several improvements to existing technologies, including its Oleflex™ propane dehydrogenation process, which converts propane into polymer-grade propylene without a steam cracker or fluid catalytic cracking unit. Other improvements include Honeywell UOP’s methanol-to-olefins (MTO) process, which coverts methanol derived from coal or natural gas into olefins that can be made into plastics.

Other patents cover improved processes to make high-quality biodegradable detergents, or linear alkylbenzene (LAB), a technology pioneered by Honeywell UOP nearly 50 years ago. One of these inventions is a method to make LAB from renewable feedstocks, rather than petroleum. Today, nearly 90 percent of the world’s biodegradable detergents are made with Honeywell UOP technology.

separate chemical mixtures in refining and petrochemical manufacturing, and to remove corrosive elements from natural gas so it can be safely transported and used. These inventions provide higher selectivity and throughput to reduce the amount of energy that must be used to make those products.

Honeywell UOP also earned several patents in its Callidus thermal combustion business, for new burner technologies that more efficiently generate heat for refining processes, and flares that reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

“By the middle of this century, the world’s middle class will grow from 2 billion people to 5 billion, and world GDP will double to about $120 trillion, driving a 40-percent increase in world energy consumption,” Rekoske said. “But technological improvements -- including those from Honeywell UOP -- will make energy use 35 percent more efficient.”

“These new technologies in chemistry, process technology, mechanical design and other fields, convert more of the world’s precious hydrocarbon feedstocks into fuels, chemicals and energy, and do it far more efficiently and with far less waste,” he said. “This all translates into a cleaner world and more profitability for our customers in the oil and gas industry.”

For more information, please visit www.uop.com