Communicator

Well Resources and PetroChina Dagang refinery personnel tour the Ionikylation Unit at PetroChina's Dagang Refinery, which reached 1,000 Days of Continuous Operation.

Well Resources, Calgary, Canada | May 12, 2025 –  PetroChina Dagang Petrochemical Company has reached the milestone of 1,000 continuous days of operation for its 150,000 tpy Ionikylation unit.

The successful commissioning of the ¥330 million RMB alkylation unit based on composite ionic liquid (CIL) alkylation technology was reported on August 14, 2022. Throughout its operation, the unit has produced 98 RON alkylate. The Dagang Ionikylation unit occupies a plot space of 159m x 71m.

The Dagang refinery has an annual crude processing capacity of 5,000,000 tpy, producing 1,500,000 tpy of gasoline. Ionikylation was selected for its demonstrated ability to improve the quality and efficiency of alkylate production, enabling the company to meet National VI gasoline upgrade requirements while improving its environmental and operational safety profile.

Representatives from Well Resources recently visited the Dagang refinery to celebrate the 1,000-day operational milestone and discuss ongoing process optimization initiatives. In late 2023, the Dagang refinery began field-testing next-generation CIL catalyst formulation, which has resulted in a 35% reduction of the catalyst consumption rate compared to the original design basis.

Ionikylation is a ionic liquids-based alkylation technology for the production of high-octane alkylate that is free from sulfur, benzene, olefins, and aromatics. The inherently safe and sustainable process allows a refiner to transition away from using hazardous and corrosive acid catalysts and additives. All Ionikylation process equipment is manufactured using carbon steel, and the process eliminates the need for costly containment systems for handling hazardous chemicals.

In 2020, Ionikylation achieved an industry milestone as the first ionic liquids-based technology to be used to revamp an existing hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at Sinopec’s Wuhan refinery. Well Resources is the global licensor of Ionikylation developed by China University of Petroleum (CUP).

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Our technology article describing the alkylation of isoparaffins to form alkylates blend stock for gasoline has been updated.

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