Refineries - the future and directions of development of the industry in the face of the challenges of the New Green Deal

One of the industries facing such a transformation is the refining industry. Undoubtedly, this sector has an impact on the environment - however, it also takes many actions today to reduce the carbon footprint and analyze the life cycle of products. This is due not only to legal regulations but also to consumer expectations and tasks in corporate social responsibility.

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This industry has carried out some measures for energy efficiency improvement, significantly impacting the improvement of balance sheets, better energy use, increasing conversion, and reducing environmental impact. In the European Union individual refineries have gradually implemented the electrification process and consume more electricity, e.g. from renewable sources, which was also related to the changing market demand and the expansion of the refinery with units adjusting, for example, to environmental protection requirements. Technological changes were needed due to the specification expectations resulting from the strict law in this area. This resulted in greater efficiency in refining operations.

In refineries waste heat is recovered, thus reducing gas emissions (including CO2) and effectively managing resources. Also, the refineries carry out activities aimed at closing water circuits and building exhaust gas cleaning installations.

One of the elements of the transformation of the refining industry is also the implementation of closed loop economy mechanisms. This concept is based on a loop pattern in which the products once turned into waste are transformed back into raw materials. The implementation of this idea is primarily about expanding and increasing the recycling potential and extending the circular circulation throughout the supply chain.

In the area of the refining industry, the closed loop economy involves the implementation of innovative processes ensuring maximum use of the raw material in all production phases. Simultaneously, solutions enabling, or, at least partially, replacement of crude oil with recycled materials, provided by recycling, should be implemented. This is important not only for climate protection but also for improving the economic situation of enterprises and reducing dependence on the import of raw materials from abroad.

At all refineries of the ORLEN Group, efforts are also made to deepen the processing of crude oil and improve the energy efficiency of existing assets. These activities are based, among other things, on the thermal integration of processes, which involves using low-temperature heat lost to the atmosphere for energy purposes, which also fits the trend of the circular economy.

The refining industry owned by ORLEN may also benefit from the development of the hydrogen sector. These are hydrogenation processes consisting of introducing vegetable oils or used fats to refinery installations and oil fractions, which allows for obtaining diesel oil with the HVO biocomponent, i.e. hydrogenated vegetable oil, supplementing the esters used in this type of fuel.

Refineries can also be a place to implement processes implemented from other areas and sectors of the economy, increasing, e.g. energy or cost-efficiency. This industry looks with hope at, e.g. Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, cloud technologies (Cloud), or Augmented Reality.

The key challenge of Polish refineries is to meet the requirements of global, European and national climate policy. It is worth noting, however, that in the coming years, hydrocarbon fuels and refinery products will still play an essential role in the international economy, so the existence of this production sector will still be in demand as the oil has a future also in a closed loop economy, the introduction of which may significantly affect the development of new technologies for the management - that has been difficult for years in a more advanced way and certainly less burdensome, e.g. for the environment.

Text prepared by PKN Orlen

The title was prepared by the TOGETAIR editorial office.