November 11, 2025 15:35

Bright LyondellBasell Petrochemical (BLYB), a joint venture in China between Liaoning Jincheng Petrochemical and LyondellBasell, has started using refinery ethane—typically employed as a fuel—as feedstock in its ethylene cracker unit.

The goal is to diversify the feedstock structure and integrate refining and petrochemical operations in order to lower ethylene production costs.

The ethane is processed through a newly installed refinery ethane unit within Jincheng's refinery, where coke oven dry gas, light hydrocarbon gas and low-cut gas are recovered and refined. These streams, previously used as fuel, now enable the production of approximately 330,000 tons per year of high-quality refinery ethane, which is then transported via pipeline to the adjacent BLYB ethylene plant.

“The successful usage of the refinery ethane supply system fully demonstrates the highly efficient synergy between refining and downstream chemical production,” said Jiang Changquan, chairman of Liaoning Jincheng Petrochemical. “We will continue to optimize resource allocation, strengthen the stable supply of high-value feedstock such as refinery ethane, and contribute to building a more efficient, low-carbon and economically competitive integration between Jincheng Refinery and BLYB.”

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