KAUST, Aramco make progress on one-step Crude-to-Chemicals technology

KAUST, Aramco make progress on one-step Crude-to-Chemicals technology

JEDDAH — Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in partnership with Aramco, have demonstrated a technology that performs multiple upgrading steps at once, resulting in the stable conversion of crude oil to light olefins in a single-reactor system.Light olefins such as ethylene and propylene are some of the important building blocks for the plastic, construction and textile industries.Initial findings from the collaborative research on the 1-Step C2C technology have just been published in Nature Catalysis. The researchers demonstrated that the direct transformation of crude to chemicals in a one-step process is possible.KAUST and Aramco will continue to advance the development of this technology as a potentially competitive alternative to conventional refining practices."Crude-To-Chemicals technologies may offer the potential to facilitate a paradigm shift in the way oil is utilized," said KAUST Vice President for Research Donal Bradley."Such technologies may offer an incentive to maximize production of materials used in daily life, over the production of fuels, with very important economic and sustainability benefits.”Oil has been a major source of