UOP LLC
Encyclopedia
UOP LLC, formerly known as Universal Oil Products, is a multi-national company developing and delivering technology to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical
production, and major manufacturing industries.
The company’s roots date back to 1914, when the revolutionary Dubbs thermal cracking process created the technological foundation for today’s modern refining industry. In the ensuing decades, UOP engineers generated thousands of patents, leading to important advances in process technology, profitability consultation, and equipment design.
provided initial seed money and kept the firm going the first years it lost money. Most of the losses were incurred during lengthy legal battles with petroleum firms that were using technology patented by Dubbs.
In 1919 the firm's name became Universal Oil Products.
By 1931 Petroleum firms saw a possible competitive advantage to owning UOP. A consortium of firms banded together to purchase the firm. These firms were Shell Oil Company, Standard Oil Company of California, Standard Oil Company of Indiana, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, The Texas Company, and N. V. de Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij. This worried oil firms that were not part of the group and it helped prompt the Justice Department to begin an investigation of this arrangement as a possible violation of antitrust laws.
The oil firms placed the assets of UOP into a trust to support the American Chemical Society
. In 1959 UOP went public and the income from that sale still provides monies to the American Chemical Society
to administer grants to universities worldwide.
In August 1988 Union Carbide Corporation and Allied Signal Inc. formed a joint venture combining UOP Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Signal and the Catalyst, Adsorbents and Process Systems (CAPS) business of Union Carbide.
In 2005, Honeywell
took over 100% ownership when it bought the two halves owned by Union Carbide and Allied Signal. The reported payment to Union Carbide was $835 million which means the total acquisition cost was approximately $1.6 billion.
, the chief executive officer of Universal Oil Products (now simply UOP), as a focal point where the best and brightest scientists could create new products and provide scientific support for the oil refining industry. Between 1921 and 1955, Riverside research resulted in 8,790 U.S. and foreign patents and provided the foundation on which UOP built its success.
The company benefited immensely by the addition to its research staff of Professor Vladimir Ipatieff, famous Russian scientist known internationally for his work in high-pressure catalysis. His contribution in catalytic chemistry gave UOP a position of leadership in the development of catalysis
as applied to petroleum processing, the first being catalytic polymerization
. Vladimir Haensel, a student of Ipatieff’s, joined UOP and developed Platforming in the 1950s. This process used very small amounts of platinum
as a catalyst for the high yield of high-octane gasoline from petroleum based feeds.
that breaks long chain hydrocarbons form crude oil into shorter compounds. UOP also makes the catalyst that is used in the process.
is the most common way to separate chemicals with different boiling point
s. The greater the difference in boiling points, the easier it is to do. However, when boiling points are too similar, this isn't feasible. Adsorption separation might be possible. In adsorption separation, a mixture of chemicals flows past a porous solid called the adsorbent and some chemicals tend to "hang out" longer. A valid analogy is to imagine a busy street with people walking in the same direction past great places to eat. The hungriest people will tend to stop right away. The people that were pretty full will make it far down the street. Now imagine flooding the whole town with water and everyone runs out where you can collect them according to how hungry they were. In technical terms the liquid flush is called the desorbent.
This type of separation was first commonly used in the laboratory to separate small test samples. UOP pioneered a method of separating large volumes of chemicals. They call it the Sorbex family of processes. These are the major ones designed by UOP:
Parex: separation of para-xylene from mixed C8 aromatic isomers
MX Sorbex: meta-xylene from mixed C8 aromatic isomers
Molex: linear paraffins from branched and cyclic hydrocarbons
Olex: olefins from paraffins
Cresex: para-cresol or meta-cresol from other cresol isomers
Cymex: para-cymene or meta-cymene from other cymene isomers
Sarex: fructose from mixed sugars
catalytic converter
. To help publicize their work they sponsored CanAm
and Formula One
teams. The race cars used were developed by Shadow Racing Cars
. Many race fans were drawn to the team's innovative designs and underdog status.
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
production, and major manufacturing industries.
The company’s roots date back to 1914, when the revolutionary Dubbs thermal cracking process created the technological foundation for today’s modern refining industry. In the ensuing decades, UOP engineers generated thousands of patents, leading to important advances in process technology, profitability consultation, and equipment design.
History
UOP was founded in 1914 to exploit the market potential of patents held by inventors Jesse A. Dubbs and his son, Carbon Petroleum (C. P.) Dubbs. Perhaps because he was born in Pennsylvania oil country, Jesse Dubbs was enamored with the oil business. He even named his son Carbon after one of the elemental constituents of oil. Later, Carbon added the P. to make his name "euphonious," he said. People started calling him "Petroleum" for fun, and the name stuck. C. P.'s son and grandson were also named Carbon, but each had a different middle initial.UOP's Ownership History
When founded in 1914 it was a privately held firm known as the National Hydrocarbon Company. J. Ogden ArmourJ. Ogden Armour
Jonathan Ogden Armour was an American meatpacking magnate in Chicago, and owner and president of Armour and Company. During his tenure as president, Armour & Co...
provided initial seed money and kept the firm going the first years it lost money. Most of the losses were incurred during lengthy legal battles with petroleum firms that were using technology patented by Dubbs.
In 1919 the firm's name became Universal Oil Products.
By 1931 Petroleum firms saw a possible competitive advantage to owning UOP. A consortium of firms banded together to purchase the firm. These firms were Shell Oil Company, Standard Oil Company of California, Standard Oil Company of Indiana, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, The Texas Company, and N. V. de Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij. This worried oil firms that were not part of the group and it helped prompt the Justice Department to begin an investigation of this arrangement as a possible violation of antitrust laws.
The oil firms placed the assets of UOP into a trust to support the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
. In 1959 UOP went public and the income from that sale still provides monies to the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
to administer grants to universities worldwide.
In August 1988 Union Carbide Corporation and Allied Signal Inc. formed a joint venture combining UOP Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Signal and the Catalyst, Adsorbents and Process Systems (CAPS) business of Union Carbide.
In 2005, Honeywell
Honeywell
Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
took over 100% ownership when it bought the two halves owned by Union Carbide and Allied Signal. The reported payment to Union Carbide was $835 million which means the total acquisition cost was approximately $1.6 billion.
UOP Riverside facility
The UOP Riverside research and development laboratory was conceived in 1921 by Hiram J. HalleHiram Halle
Hiram J. Halle was an American businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was also part owner of Gulf Oil company. Halle was dedicated to Jewish causes during World War II....
, the chief executive officer of Universal Oil Products (now simply UOP), as a focal point where the best and brightest scientists could create new products and provide scientific support for the oil refining industry. Between 1921 and 1955, Riverside research resulted in 8,790 U.S. and foreign patents and provided the foundation on which UOP built its success.
The company benefited immensely by the addition to its research staff of Professor Vladimir Ipatieff, famous Russian scientist known internationally for his work in high-pressure catalysis. His contribution in catalytic chemistry gave UOP a position of leadership in the development of catalysis
Catalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
as applied to petroleum processing, the first being catalytic polymerization
Polymerization
In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks or polymer chains...
. Vladimir Haensel, a student of Ipatieff’s, joined UOP and developed Platforming in the 1950s. This process used very small amounts of platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
as a catalyst for the high yield of high-octane gasoline from petroleum based feeds.
UOP's products
UOP products fall into two groupings, physical products that can be seen, and technology products that provide knowledge and design. Physical products tend to be items used within a refinery or petrochemical plant to help convert chemicals into a desired product. Technology products tend to be based upon the ability to convert one chemical into another, refine crude oil, and separate chemicals from each other. For example: One area of UOP's expertise is fluid catalytic crackingFluid catalytic cracking
Fluid catalytic cracking is the most important conversion process used in petroleum refineries. It is widely used to convert the high-boiling, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils to more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products...
that breaks long chain hydrocarbons form crude oil into shorter compounds. UOP also makes the catalyst that is used in the process.
Adsorption separation technology
DistillationFractionating column
A fractionating column or fractionation column is an essential item used in the distillation of liquid mixtures so as to separate the mixture into its component parts, or fractions, based on the differences in their volatilities...
is the most common way to separate chemicals with different boiling point
Boiling point
The boiling point of an element or a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the environmental pressure surrounding the liquid....
s. The greater the difference in boiling points, the easier it is to do. However, when boiling points are too similar, this isn't feasible. Adsorption separation might be possible. In adsorption separation, a mixture of chemicals flows past a porous solid called the adsorbent and some chemicals tend to "hang out" longer. A valid analogy is to imagine a busy street with people walking in the same direction past great places to eat. The hungriest people will tend to stop right away. The people that were pretty full will make it far down the street. Now imagine flooding the whole town with water and everyone runs out where you can collect them according to how hungry they were. In technical terms the liquid flush is called the desorbent.
This type of separation was first commonly used in the laboratory to separate small test samples. UOP pioneered a method of separating large volumes of chemicals. They call it the Sorbex family of processes. These are the major ones designed by UOP:
Parex: separation of para-xylene from mixed C8 aromatic isomers
MX Sorbex: meta-xylene from mixed C8 aromatic isomers
Molex: linear paraffins from branched and cyclic hydrocarbons
Olex: olefins from paraffins
Cresex: para-cresol or meta-cresol from other cresol isomers
Cymex: para-cymene or meta-cymene from other cymene isomers
Sarex: fructose from mixed sugars
Renewable Fuels Technology
In 2008, UOP revealed its Ecofining process which takes vegetable oils, or lipids, and converts them into replacements for diesel and jet fuels. The resultant fuels from this refining process are indistinguishable from existing fossil-based petro-diesels and jet fuels.Catalytic Converter
Most of UOP's work is not known to the general public since most applications are within refineries and petrochemical plants. However, one technology UOP helped developed is familiar to automobile owners. During the 1970s, UOP worked on pioneering a combination mufflerMuffler
A muffler is a device for reducing the amount of noise emitted by the exhaust of an internal combustion engine. A US Patent for an Exhaust muffler for engines was granted to Milton and Marshall Reeves in 1897....
catalytic converter
Catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...
. To help publicize their work they sponsored CanAm
CanAm
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1986.-History:Can-Am started out as a race series for Group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada and four races in the United States of America . The series was initially sponsored by Johnson...
and Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
teams. The race cars used were developed by Shadow Racing Cars
Shadow Racing Cars
Shadow Racing Cars was a Formula One and sports car racing team, founded and initially based in the United States although later Formula One operations were run from Britain.-1971-1972: Early years in CanAm series:...
. Many race fans were drawn to the team's innovative designs and underdog status.