Adnoc Refining commissions new coker unit

03 September 2018
Unit will help Adnoc extract valuable grades of carbon black and calcined coke from crude refining operation

The refining arm Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Refining) has announced commissioning a specialised coker unit in its operations, as part of its strategic drive to maximise value from every barrel of crude it produces.

Adnoc said the coker unit, known in the oil and gas industry as a ‘delayed coker’, is part of its Carbon Black and Coker Project to recover specialised and valuable grades of carbon black and calcined coke.

"Both products are essential to industrial processes within Adnoc subsidiaries and other UAE industries, potentially removing the need to import costly raw materials," Adnoc said in a statement.

Through the Carbon Black and Coker Project, Adnoc Refining can produce 40,600 tonnes of two different grades of carbon black per year, and 430,000 tonnes of high value anode grade calcined coke.

The commissioning of the new coker unit coincided with the first production of Green petroleum coke in the UAE. An intermediate product, Green petroleum coke can be further processed to produce either fuel oils, or calcine petroleum coke, a raw material used by the aluminum and steel industries.

Borouge, Adnoc’s Ruwais-based petrochemical joint venture (JV) with Austria’s Borealis, makes use of special carbon black grades across a range of products, including high-pressure water and gas pipes, steel pipe coatings and linings, and standalone piping.

Calcined coke is a key ingredient in the anodes used in the electrolysis process that separates pure aluminum from bauxite ore.

The UAE is the world’s sixth-largest aluminum producer, accounting for over 50 per cent of the Gulf’s aluminum production, with annual production of 2.6 million metric tonnes in 2017.

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