Honeywell recently unveiled a new refining technology at Honeywell’s India Technology Center which is aimed at helping Indian refiners get cleaner transportation fuels from every barrel of oil. The company has invested about $40 million at the facility which is one of the main technology hubs for Honeywell UOP outside the US.
A pilot plant specifically designed to develop advanced hydrocracking catalysts that can produce higher yield of clean burning diesel fuel from crude oil more efficiently was inaugurated. The technology will go a long way in helping Indian refiners to get more from each barrel of oil, thereby, reducing imports of crude oil while producing environmentally preferable diesel fuels. Honeywell UOP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. and is part of the Performance and Technologies strategic business group. Honeywell UOP provides refining, petrochemical and gas processing technologies as well as software services that are the foundation for the world’s oil and gas industry.
At present, more than half of the country’s oil and more than 70 per cent of gasoline are made with Honeywell UOP processes. More recently, the company entered into a collaboration agreement with Indian Oil Corporation to develop a range of biofuel technologies. In addition, it has been a significant partner in the Make in India programme with seven manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Dehradun, Gurgaon, Pune and Vadodara, and five technology and engineering centers in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Madurai.