08-01-2025

Alleima to supply heat exchanger tubes to Preem for the conversion of Lysekil refinery to renewable fuels

Alleima will supply Preem with heat exchanger tubes to be used in the conversion of the Lysekil refinery from fossil to renewable fuels. The investment is an important part of Sweden's green energy transition and will make Preem the largest producer of renewable jet fuel in northern Europe.

The redevelopment of Preem's IsoCracker plant (ICR) in Lysekil started late 2024. Once completed, it will produce 1.2 million cubic meters of renewable fuels annually and reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions at user level by 2-3 million tons annually. At the same time, Preem will reduce fossil fuel production by a corresponding amount.

"Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the great challenges of our time. I am therefore proud that Preem is now making the biggest change in the company's history. We are doing this by converting the diesel plant at the refinery in Lysekil. When the conversion is complete, we will be Scandinavia's largest producer of renewable jet fuel," says Tommy Johansson, project manager for the ICR project at Preem.

The changeover means that Preem will no longer use fossil raw materials such as crude oil, but renewable raw materials instead. To make this possible, advanced technology is required, not least in the pre-treatment unit (PTU) that is to be built. The raw materials will be pre-treated and purified at high temperatures before being used in the production of renewable fuels such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), the diesel made from vegetable oils or plant products and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

The processes in refineries often place high demands on the materials used and renewable fuels are particularly challenging. The raw materials used usually contain chlorides, which can cause corrosion. Therefore, special materials are required that can withstand high temperatures and aggressive chemical environments without corroding.

Group Coek a heat exchanger manufacturer and one of Alleima's long-standing customers, booked the order with Preem.

"Sanicro® 35 is used for the heat exchanger tubes, channels, and baffles of the heat exchangers. The material was chosen primarily because of its good corrosion resistance. We at Group Coek are very pleased with this collaboration with Alleima, a company with which we have a long and constructive working relationship," says Patrick van Roy, CSO of Group Coek.

"We are very happy that Alleima has been trusted to supply heat exchanger tubes and pipes to Preem. Alleima has a long history as a supplier of special steel to Preem's refineries. The special alloy Sanicro® 35, is an austenitic stainless-steel alloy intended for extremely corrosive environments and an alternative to the use of nickel bases in the heat exchangers for preheating and cooling the renewable raw materials in the PTU. Before a decision could be made, we conducted extensive lab tests together with Preem, which showed that Sanicro® 35 can withstand the extreme conditions and process environments of the pretreatment plant. This resulted in a strong alternative to the more expensive nickel- based alloys that are otherwise used,” says Barinder Ghai, Director Technical Marketing, New Business Development for the Tube division at Alleima.