Investing in our future
Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery is one of America’s most energy efficient fuel producers and is committed to maintaining and enhancing its state-of-the-art facility. In the last 10 years, work at the refinery has been the equivalent of building at least two Vikings stadiums.
Flint Hills has invested more than $5.4 billion in capital projects since 2002 to improve energy efficiency, safety, reliability and utilization.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blending infrastructure
Pine Bend’s new SAF blending facility will be Minnesota’s first and the largest of its kind in the U.S. outside of California.
Solar power project
Pine Bend’s 45-megawatt solar development includes more than 120,000 solar panels to directly power the refinery, lower energy costs and strengthen the facility’s long-term competitiveness.
Ammonium thiosulfate (ATS) technology and distribution terminal
Pine Bend’s ATS technology and distribution terminal is the largest application of the technology worldwide. It allows the refinery to convert a traditional source of air pollution from motor fuels (sulfur) into a valuable fertilizer product that benefits farmers and the environment.
Combined heat and power (CHP) system
The refinery’s combined CHP system generates about 50 megawatts of electricity, providing roughly 40% of the power needed to support Pine Bend’s operations.
New burners in heaters
The replacement of two 1950s-era heaters with two new, state-of-the-art heaters helps the refinery more efficiently convert lower-value, asphalt-like material into gasoline and diesel fuel to better meet demand.
Modernized cooling towers
Two modernized cooling towers help the refinery more efficiently heat and cool products while saving about 15 million gallons of water annually and reducing energy consumption by approximately 10%.
Gasoil fractionator
Pine Bend’s 670,000-pound, nine-stories-tall gasoil fractionator helps the refinery more efficiently convert less useful gas oil material into diesel fuel to meet consumer demand.
Sulfur unit degas reroute
Coker drum and switching automation
BenzOUT benzene reduction