On Wednesday, Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery announced the completion of more than $400 million in new technology and efficiency improvement projects that will help the refinery continue to lower emissions while producing more of the fuel and other products people need and use every day. The completed projects include one of the world’s largest applications of a technology that converts a traditional source of air pollution into fertilizer, a state-of-the-art combined heat and power system that satisfies much of the refinery’s power needs, and more efficient heating elements that improve production while lowering emissions. The projects are also expected to further improve Pine Bend’s operating efficiency, which is already in the top first quartile of all U.S. refineries. The Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery supplies most of the transportation fuels used in Minnesota and a significant portion of the fuels used throughout the Upper Midwest. It also produces other essential products such as asphalt, home heating fuels, and the raw materials used in a wide range of manufacturing processes, including fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and plastics.
