The Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic has awarded the team of scientists from the ORLEN Unipetrol Group and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague for developing the dicyclopentadiene (DCPC) production technology. ORLEN Unipetrol implemented the technology in its chemical plant in Litvínov based on the team’s research and development activities. The DCPD unit was commissioned in the autumn of 2022. The investment in the unit’s construction totalled CZK 831 million. Thus, ORLEN Unipetrol became one of Europe’s four largest producers of this highly demanded product.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group and the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague developed technology for producing liquid hydrocarbon dicyclopentadiene from light pyrolysis petrol. Based on this technology patented in 2012, ORLEN Unipetrol built a brand-new production unit in Chempark Litvínov between 2021 and 2022. The unit produces liquid hydrocarbon, a product in great demand and widely used in many applications, including the automotive industry, construction industry, electrical engineering, medicine, and pharmaceutical industry. The production unit’s annual installed capacity is up to 26,000 tonnes of DCPD, about 25% of the total dicyclopentadiene production in Europe.
The Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic has now awarded the team of technology authors for their outstanding implemented technical project: the team’s members, Prof. Tomáš Herink from ORLEN Unipetrol, Prof. Josef Pašek and Doc. Jiří Kupka from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, received the award during the gala evening held at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague on Monday, 25 November. The award for the fourth member of the author team, the late Ing. Petr Fulín from ORLEN Unipetrol, was accepted by his daughter, Zuzana Fulínová.
“The recognition from the Engineering Academy is a great acknowledgement of the work of the entire team devoted to developing the DCPD production technology. We implemented our technology based on many years of research and cooperation with experts from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. For us, the Engineering Academy Award means much more than a recognition of our research results and the technology’s technical solution but also an acknowledgement of our collaboration and connection between the industry and academia,” said Tomáš Herink, Research and Development Director at the ORLEN Unipetrol Group.
This research project aimed at developing effective technology for isolating residual hydrocarbon dicyclopentadiene, a byproduct of production processes in the petrochemical segment at the Litvínov plant of ORLEN Unipetrol. This hydrocarbon has a higher added value and can be well applied in many areas worldwide.
“The DCPD production unit is a successful business implementation and is also broadly recognised by experts. After its commissioning in 2022, we became one of Europe’s four largest DCPD producers. This year, we even expanded the portfolio of produced DCPD qualities due to the high demand,” said Milan Brejchal, a member of the Board of Directors of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group. He added: “It is an excellent technological solution and a prime example of cooperation of our experts and academics from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague.”
The Engineering Academy of the Czech Republic is a non-profit organisation established in 1995. It associates significant scientists and researchers, excellent university lecturers, managers and senior executives of industrial enterprises and representatives of the business sector. The broad spectrum of Engineering Academy’s activities includes promoting the outstanding results of research and implemented technical projects. Therefore, it has been presenting the Engineering Academy Award to remarkable personalities and teams from the Czech Republic and abroad since 1997 for outstanding results of creative work, excellent implemented technical projects and significant benefits to developing engineering research.
The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and the production, distribution and sale of vehicle fuels and petrochemical products – particularly plastics and fertilisers. It belongs among the key players on the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group encompasses refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice, and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN network of petrol stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs over 6,000 people. ORLEN Unipetrol is also a socially responsible company, particularly in the areas of supporting sustainable development, education, local communities and the environment. Its quality employee care is attested to by the prestigious Top Employer certificate which the Group received in 2023 and 2024 and by a host of national accolades. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the ORLEN Group, the largest energy company in Central Europe.