On November 7, 2019, Varit Namwong (COE) and Pirun Krimwongrat (HOE) attended the PTT Group SPIRIT+D for CHANGE 2019 event and expressed their support to all the award-winning researchers. This year, the Science and Innovation Department (ISI), in partnership with subsidiary companies, submitted the entries for the PTT Group Innovation Awards and won two awards: the Gold Award in the “Successful Innovation from the Furnace Management Program by Upstream Innovation (CO-UI)” category and the Silver Award in the “Social & Environmental Innovation from Value-added Chemicals from Waste Carbon Dioxide (CO2) by Corporate Innovation (I-CI)” category.

The Furnace Management Program is a partnership that includes Upstream Innovation (CO-UI), Olefin Plant 2, TEM, LAB Center, dEX and IT who are developing a Furnace Optimization Model following Advanced Analytics (AA) principles. This pioneering initiative aims to further enhance the production efficiency of olefin crackers. The system is designed to increase both the margin and reliability (furnace run length) of the manufacturing plant by ensuring appropriate adjustments of the furnace, so it better manages the product portfolio and maximizes margins according to current market scenarios, while working to maximize furnace availability (run-length).

The Value-added Chemicals from Waste Carbon Dioxide (CO2) program is a partnership between Corporate Innovation (I-CI) and VISTEC which aims to develop high-performance catalysts for the coupling reaction of olefins, or epoxide and carbon dioxide, into more valuable products. For example, propylene carbonate is a common organic solvent used as an electrolyte additive in lithium-ion batteries, while acrylic acid is a versatile monomer to abstract water absorbent polymers. Furthermore, the application of patent protections for developed catalysts is underway. Also, recycling and reusing carbon dioxide waste helps reduce emissions and provides GC with opportunities to develop new products.