Phillips 66 Limited Award Babcock & Wilcox Contract to Support New Carbon Capture Plant

11 Jan 2023

Phillips 66 Limited Humber Refinery has awarded Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) a contract to design a pre-treatment process for flue gas as part of plans for a new carbon capture facility.

The carbon capture facility plans are part of the Humber Zero project, a world-scale carbon reduction project to support the decarbonisation of critical UK industry. The project aims to capture up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030.

The flue gas, which is produced from the refinery’s fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) and contains CO2, needs to be pre-treated before entering the carbon capture process.

Adam Young, Project Lead at the Phillips 66 Limited Humber Refinery, said: “Utilising carbon capture technology in conjunction with an FCC would be a first of a kind, and the pre-treatment is vital to the process. This work will create a blueprint for over 300 FCCs across the world and could support the industry to reduce carbon emissions.

“We are pleased to be working with Babcock & Wilcox, leveraging their expertise and knowledge. The pre-treatment is vital to the process to enable the carbon capture technology to work optimally.”

Babcock & Wilcox will be working closely with the Phillips 66 Limited Humber Refinery team, alongside the chosen technology provider Shell Catalysts & Technologies and the engineering contractor Worley.

“B&W is a global leader in pre-treatment of flue gas prior to CO₂ capture systems, and we are very excited to be a part of this industry-leading CO₂ capture project,” said Joe Buckler, Babcock & Wilcox Senior Vice President, Clean Energy.

“The Humber Refinery project is an excellent opportunity to further demonstrate how we can use our reliable and efficient technologies and expertise to drive innovation and support a clean energy future.”

Phillips 66 Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips 66, which is already using similar pre-treatment technology in its US refineries. Subject to obtaining all necessary external and internal consents and approvals, it plans to complete construction of the carbon capture facility by the end of 2027.

The Humber region produces 40% of the nation’s industrial CO₂ emissions, so Humber Zero is expected to play a crucial role in the government hitting its 2050 net-zero carbon emission target.

UKRI, through the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge, is investing £12.5m of government funding in the current phase of the project, matched by Phillips 66 Limited and VPI Immingham LLP