UOP, an Illinois based Honeywell company specialising in process technology and consulting services for the downstream industry, announced that it will collaborate with the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for the development of catalytic processes for petrochemicals production.
Honeywell’s UOP and the KFUPM have signed a five-year agreement that will allow university professors and researchers to collaborate with company scientists on catalyst development and processes for aromatics production. Aromatics are a critical raw material used in the production of petrochemicals such as plastics and detergents.
“We look forward to this collaboration, which will enhance the university’s research and development capabilities, and will also support Saudi Arabia’s growing aromatics industry,” said Ben Christolini, vice president and chief technology officer of research and development for Honeywell’s UOP. “This agreement represents UOP’s ongoing commitment to our partnerships within the Kingdom’s refining and petrochemical industry.”
“The agreement symbolises continued cooperation between KFUPM and UOP to strengthen the university’s capabilities in catalyst and catalytic process development,” said Dr. Sahel Abduljauwad, vice rector of applied research for the KFUPM.
Honeywell’s UOP is a licensor of process technology for the production of aromatics and has licensed more than 725 individual process units for the production of aromatics to date. It serves the petroleum refining, petrochemical and gas processing industries.
In 2009, Honeywell opened a technical centre on the KFUPM campus as part of a broader initiative to build an integrated facility for three of its businesses at the university’s Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) business cluster. In 2011, Honeywell Building Solutions, Honeywell Process Solutions and UOP will open a joint office to enhance existing relationships and partnerships with organisations such as the KFUPM, Saudi Aramco and SABIC, while keeping close geographical proximity to its customers in the energy industry.
The DTV business cluster was established by the KFUPM to attract the research and development centres of local and international companies and to promote new businesses. It is envisaged as a leading research and technology development nucleus with comprehensive business support.
