In mid-August 2018, Sepahan Oil Co. (SOC; Tehran, Iran) and EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH (EDL; Leipzig, Germany; www.edl.poerner.de) signed a contract for the modernization of the lube oil and wax production. SOC and EDL signed the contract for granting a license and preparing a FEED (front-end engineering design) for a dewaxing/deoiling unit. The objective is to increase the throughput of the existing dewaxing unit and to improve the base oil quality. In addition to that a deoiling unit based on EDL’s technology will be integrated to produce fully refined wax. It is planned to complete the first project phase in mid-2019.
Advanced processing methods reduce the number of side products in refineries, such as aromatic hydrocarbons or paraffins/waxes. The lube and paraffin producers are thus forced to find new, more efficient technologies. By using the solvent-based deoiling technology, high-quality paraffins are produced from paraffin-enriched residues, so-called slack waxes. The paraffin products are used, for example, in medicine, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, packaging or building material industry. The advantage of the solvent-based technology is the wide range of application – not only light slack waxes, but also heavy slack waxes are processed.
A few years ago EDL started to enhance the dewaxing/deoiling technologies. A deciding factor for SOC’s decision was among others EDL’s pilot plants (photo) that were subject to expansion/improvement in mid-2018 to reliably determine the required design parameters.
Apart from dewaxing/deoiling EDL grants licenses for other processes to produce base oils, tender oils, waxes and other special high-quality products.
“With our know-how and our technologies we provide our customers in the process industry with economic and competitive solutions. With our technological solutions we make an important contribution to the economy and job security in Iran and thus contribute to stability and security in the region. And we fully act to the extent permitted by law,” says Michael Haid, CEO of EDL.
Established in 1992, SOC is a globally acting company in the field of base oils, slack waxes, paraffin waxes and different lube oils and greases. At present SOC is deemed one of the largest producers of base oils Group I in the Middle East. The company is an independent lube oil refinery and has its production site in Isfahan, approx. 450 km south of the Iranian capital.