RDR is a cleaner, faster and more profitable way to produce olefins

The traditional technology used in Olefins production has reached its limits in efficiency and sustainability. The time for change is now.

Instead of focusing on improving the existing technology, RDR is a completely new patented technology that replaces the most inefficient and polluting part of the Olefins production process with a cleaner and more efficient method.

Conventional cracking furnaces vs the RDR cracking furnace

The core reacting mixture is heated in tubular coils from the outside of the reaction zone through tube walls using non-renewable fossile fuels and massive amounts of energy.

Conventional cracking

Olefins are traditionally produced by steam cracking Ethylene or Naphtha at extremely high temperatures in massive cracker furnaces. The core reacting mixture is heated in tubular coils from the outside of the reaction zone through tube walls using non-renewable fossil fuels and massive amounts of energy. It is this part of the process that is the main source of CO2 emissions in Olefins production.

RDR’s high-velocity rotor blades create thermal energy to heat reacting mixture inside the reaction zone quickly and more efficiently.

RDR cracking

Instead of heating the feedstock mixture from outside the reaction zone, RDR’s high-velocity rotor blades create thermal energy to heat the mixture inside the reaction zone – quickly and much more efficiently. And RDR’s motors have the ability to use renewable electric power, making it the only feasible technology that can use electricity instead of fossil fuels to reach the high cracking temperatures needed in the Olefins production process.

Key advantages of RDR compared to furnace technology

With revolutionary benefits like zero CO2 emissions and 60% higher profit, RDR is an extremely attractive technology for Olefins producers.

Increases sustainability

  • Lower comparable energy consumption
  • CO2-free with renewable energy
  • Reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions
  • Bio-based feedstock in the future
  • Higher overall safety

Higher revenue

  • Higher Ethylene yield
  • Higher total Olefins yield
  • Optimization for any preferred product
  • Possible to switch between fuel gas and electric power based on availability and price
  • Higher operability

Lower operating expenses

  • Easier maintenance
  • Advanced controllability
  • Less coke formation and decoking breaks
  • Use of several RDR’s in one site ensures continuous production
  • Lower boiler water and cooling water consumption

Lower capital expenditures

  • Modular design, compact size and short construction time on site
  • Possibility to build RDRs in one factory
  • No need to change radiation section coils in turnarounds
  • Less byproduct loading down stream - smaller investment in expansion
  • Existing cracker furnaces can be revamped by adding only RDR
  • Can be tailored to available utility supply

Bringing RDR to market by 2024

The first commercial applications of our RDR technology will be up and running between 2021 – 2024, with a broader commercial launch set for 2024.

2011 - 2019

  • Technology development
  • Laboratory testing
  • Proof of concept
  • Building of patent portfolio

2019 - 2021

  • Validate product yield, CO2 emissions and energy consumption
  • Improve CAPEX and OPEX estimates
  • Design basis for commercial pilot

2021 - 2024

  • First commercial application
  • RDR connected to Ethylene plant
  • Preparations for commercial launch
  • Partnering with EU and governments, Ethylene producers and technology providers

2024 -

  • Commercial launch – first through trusted partners followed by broader industry implementation
  • Development of RDR to include other feedstocks, including bio-based options
  • Development of other potential applications
    • Hydrogen production
    • Chemical recycling of plastics

Technical structure of the RDR eReactor

Space science and turbomachinery mechanical engineering meet chemical engineering.

A poweful motor with a powerful rotor

  • RDR eReactor is a product of cross-industry collaboration – with a completely new rotor technology based on existing and proven turbomachinery technology
  • The reactor is powered by rotating electric motor in the gearbox that determines the rotor's speed

“"RDR has the potential to really become the new industry standard in Olefins production."”

Budimir Rosic
Professor, University of Oxford

RDR delivers savings in capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX)

RDR reactors can be manufactured in one location and delivered to Ethylene plants worldwide. They are one tenth of the size of traditional reactors.

RDR reactors (on right) are one tenth of the size of traditional reactors (on left).

Reduced coking with higher temperatures and a shorter residence time

Production of RDR plants can run smoothly unlike if equipped with old furnace cracking technology, which require monthly production breaks due to decoking, since RDR’s low coke production rate and possibility to place several RDRs in line ensure continuous olefins production.

Cutting emissions with electricity

The use of electricity produced from renewable sources can decrease CO2 emissions compared to the existing furnace technology. This means 1.6 million metric tonnes fewer CO2 emissions a year per 1Mt Ethylene plant. When RDR becomes the industry standard, together we will be able to achieve 300 million metric tonnes less CO2 emissions globally.

When it comes to hydrocarbon cracking, the main factors affecting product distribution are the composition of the feed, the temperature of the reacting gas, pressure, and residence time.

A fundamental revolution in Ethylene yield and operability

Optimal temperature and residence time. RDR has short residence at high temperature resulting high yield with less energy and CO2 emissions.

Because RDR creates higher temperatures with a shorter residence time, it is able to achieve 20% higher Ethylene yields. For petrochemical producers, that translates into increased annual profits of over $160M per 1M metric ton Ethylene plant. Shorter residence times and higher temperatures also mean that RDR is less prone to coking than conventional furnaces, resulting in lower operational costs and increased up time.

And that 20% higher Ethylene yield also means fewer CO2 emissions per Ethylene ton. Taking RDR into use also decreases capital expenditure when building a new Ethylene plant.

RDR has the power to drive industrial transformation 2050

Olefins are used to produce almost all of the plastics and packaging on the planet, and global demand is growing. Plastic is a versatile and convenient material, but short-term use and the current production process make it a major producer of CO2 emissions.

Industrial Transformation 2050

According to Industrial Transformation 2050: Pathways to Net-Zero Emissions from EU Heavy Industry, the steam cracking of Naphtha into Ethylene and other high value chemicals and the use of fossil fuels in steam cracking are the most dominant sources of carbon emissions in the production of plastics.

The petrochemical industry and governments have an important role to play in helping to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and moving towards net-zero heavy industry in Europe by 2050.

RDR’s electric motors replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, cutting carbon emissions down to zero and helping petrochemical producers and governments to fulfill their commitments to the Paris Agreement.

CEFIC: Molecule Managers Brochure – A journey into the Future of Europe with the European Chemical Industry

"In the chemical industry, furnaces are mainly used in Ethylene plants to crack Naphtha. Replacing these furnaces with electric furnaces has the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption in the process and eliminate related emissions."

“With EU support, the chemical industry could develop a series of large-scale projects across the EU that showcase the new technologies the industry needs to transform.”