Axens’ Prime-G+ process recently joined the ranks of some of the great process innovations in chemical engineering when it was named a winner of a prestigious Kirkpatrick Honor Award for Chemical Engineering Achievement. The Kirkpatrick awards have been issued by the publication, Chemical Engineering, once every two years since 1933 for “innovations that represent broad-reaching improvements in both process technology and new product development and judged on both the merits of the development itself and on the difficulty of the chemical engineering problems that were encountered and overcome along the way.” It is noteworthy that, this year, all finalists are environmentally-oriented.

The Prime-G+ process received honors for its development and rapid commercialization in meeting new ultra-low-sulfur gasoline specifications. The timely availability of this technology provided the commercial solution to attaining ultra-low-sulfur with minimal octane reduction: an extremely difficult achievement. Until two years ago, commercially operations demonstrating a satisfactory resolution to this problem did not exist.

Prime-G+, although it was not attributed first place, was the only refinery technology among the five finalists. In the space of two years, eighty contracts for Prime-G+ technology have been awarded, establishing this process as the undisputed leader in its field. For a technology, catalyst and services supplier, this is the highest reward.