Hydrocarbon Engineering

March

2017

HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING

he refining and petrochemical industries are facing a

variety of challenges in the area of propylene production

with heavier crude slates. Historically, fluidised catalytic

cracking (FCC) and residual fluidised catalytic cracking

(RFCC) have been the main processes to upgrade low value

feedstocks to higher value products. In today’s advanced refining

industry, modern FCC/RFCC technologies are designed to drive

higher propylene yields to increase profits and improve a refinery’s

bottom line. While increasing higher value yields throughout a

refinery is beneficial to the refiner, managing fines control in a

concentrated residual slurry has become a greater challenge.

The petroleum industry requires a new method for removing fine

solids from refinery streams. Excessive catalyst fines in the catalytic

cracking process’ main column bottoms can make the solids material

unsuitable for carbon-black feedstock or fuel oil. Just as important,

solids in many streams cause plugging of fixed-bed reactors and

fouling of heat transfer and other equipment, directly adding to

maintenance, blending and other operating costs. Conventional

membrane-type filters have been used to reduce these problems,

but as stream-solids content increases, filter operating, maintenance,

and replacement costs become more problematic and costly.

This article will outline the benefits of proper fines control in

the catalytic processes of FCC, RFCC, and deep catalytic cracking

(DCC) to increase profits from the ‘bottom of the barrel.’ Clarified

slurry oil has great earning potential when applied to make speciality

product feedstocks, higher value fuels and blend stocks. At the same

time, reducing erosion and disposal concerns also has an immediate

impact on the bottom line.

This article will illustrate how the

application of an electrostatic separator at a Middle Eastern refinery

helped to significantly reduce catalyst fines. When compared to

The cure to

Victor Scalco, General Atomics,

USA,

explains how fines control

in the catalytic process can help

to increase profits from the

'bottom of the barrel'.

SEPARATION

ANXIETYETY