Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) has awarded Technip Energies an engineering and procurement contract for the supply of a proprietary low emission cracking furnace in an existing olefins unit at its facility in Sweeny, Texas.

“In our focus on net zero solutions, we are making great strides in reducing emissions in ethylene production. The first and immediate step to reduce carbon emissions is to leverage efficiencies in the process or design,” Bhaskar Patel, senior vice president of sustainable fuels, chemicals & circularity at Technip Energies, said in a July 29 press release.

Technip Energies’ patented design of the Low Emission Cracking Furnace focuses on improving fuel efficiency using a novel heat recovery scheme, which includes combustion air preheat and a gas-to-gas primary feed effluent exchanger, the company said. The low-emission design is cost-effective, will reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by approximately 30%.

The project also electrifies a major compressor driver, enabling immediate and future reductions to the existing unit’s carbon intensity, as the low emission furnace will be capable of using hydrogen as fuel.