An independent Chinese refiner and an academic institution have agreed to establish a research center to develop lubricant additives and specialty finished lubricants.
The goal of the project is to help reduce China’s reliance on foreign suppliers for such products. The center will be located in Shandong province.
The research center, named the Shandong Provincial High-end Specialty Oil Technology Innovation Center, is a collaboration between Shanghai Institute of Technology and Shandong Qingyishan Petrochemical Technology Co., a subsidiary of the major private refinery Shandong Qingyuan Group. In an Aug. 19 news release, the institute said the center will work to develop additives and specialty lubes that are low in sulfur and aromatics.
In the interest of sustainability, the center will also strive to ensure that the lubricants it develops are recyclable.
According to the news release, the types of technologies that the center will focus on are dominated by Western companies, and the center aims to “break the technical barrier to offer China solutions.”
On Shanghai Institute of Technology’s side, the collaboration will fall under its School of Chemical Engineering. The institute did not provide a timeline for the center’s opening.
Qingyishan is also located in Shandong, in the city of Linyi. It’s fuels refinery there makes low-sulfur diesel and has capacity to make 550,000 metric tons per year of API Group II and III base stocks, 250,000 t/y of specialty oils and 100,000 t/y of highly refined white oils. It is one of 44 private Chinese refiners granted license to import crude oils and has a quota of 3 million t/y.
Aside from Shanghai Institute of Technology, Qingyishan is also in research partnerships with Sinopec’s research institute in Dalian and China University of Petroleum.