Will Grangemouth oil refinery become a major green chemical plant?

At PINOnline, we talk a lot about making sure process managers are ready for the transition in the chemicals industry – and for those in the UK, you might not have long to wait.  

By Jed Thomas

The impending closure of Grangemouth’s oil refinery marks a historic shift – not just for Scotland’s petrochemical sector, but for what comes next. 

Project Willow, a £1.5 million feasibility study jointly funded by the UK and Scottish governments, sets out nine potential low-carbon industrial pathways for the Grangemouth site.  

If realised, these developments could reshape the demand for monitoring technologies and control systems across the entire process landscape.

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From hydrocarbons to biomass and hydrogen 

Grangemouth’s next chapter is no longer hypothetical.  

Petroineos, the joint UK-Chinese owner of the refinery, plans to cease refining operations in 2025, converting the site into a fuel import terminal.  

Meanwhile, the Willow report outlines a new vision: green chemicals, bio-based fuels, advanced recycling, and hydrogen-based manufacturing. 

This shift from hydrocarbon to biogenic and electrochemical processes will profoundly alter instrumentation needs.  

Processes such as anaerobic digestion, acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation, and second-generation bioethanol production demand tighter integration of online analytical tools for volatile organic compounds, pH control, and microbial activity monitoring.  

These applications are highly sensitive to feedstock variability and require robust inline quality control. 

Hydrogen production via electrolysis and its downstream use in e-methanol or e-ammonia synthesis introduce further complexity.  

Gas purity analysis, electrolyser efficiency monitoring, and leak detection (especially for hydrogen and ammonia) will all require next-generation sensors and safety systems designed for high throughput, low emission environments. 

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Instrumentation at the core of retrofit and repurpose 

While Grangemouth’s legacy infrastructure offers a valuable head start—established pipework, grid connections, storage, and utilities—the process control layer will demand a near-complete overhaul.  

Many proposed projects will operate under bioprocess or electrochemical paradigms, in contrast to the refinery’s thermal and catalytic heritage. 

Companies currently working on-site, such as Celtic Renewables, already highlight the need for scalable, automated systems capable of handling non-linear biological reactions.  

The company ferments whisky waste into solvents like acetone and butanol—a process requiring precise control of temperature, pressure, and gas composition across anaerobic environments.  

Expanding from lab scale to industrial scale will depend on sophisticated process analytics and fault-tolerant design. 

For sensor vendors, this presents a window of opportunity.  

Whether in flow metering for heterogeneous feedstocks, real-time analytics for emissions compliance, or predictive maintenance systems for electrolysers and fermenters, Grangemouth’s future will rely on a new class of instrumentation solutions. 

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Risks, returns, and readiness 

The upside is significant: up to 1,200 green jobs by 2040, and over £7.5 billion in potential investment.  

But risks abound. The report stresses that low-carbon chemicals and fuels remain more expensive than their fossil counterparts.  

Unlocking Grangemouth’s potential hinges on policy clarity, investor confidence, and—crucially—technological reliability. 

For process professionals, the next few years will be a test of adaptability.  

Transitioning a site with a century of fossil-based experience into a green chemistry hub isn’t just about new feedstocks—it’s about rewriting operational routines, safety protocols, and measurement strategies. 

From combustion analysis to cell density monitoring, from leak detection to lifecycle carbon accounting, every metric will change.  

Those who monitor and maintain these systems will play a central role in determining whether Grangemouth’s transformation succeeds. 

The starting gun has been fired. For the process monitoring sector, now’s the time to get ready. 

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