Copyright © 2011 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Hydrocracking
Application: The IsoTherming process provides refiners an economical means to upgrade gasoil, heavy gasoil, coker gasoils, deasphalted oil and FCC cycle oils.
Products: Low-sulfur, low-nitrogen FCC feed, low-sulfur gasoline-kero-sine type products, and low-nitrogen fuels and/or downstream feedstocks.
Description: This process uses a novel approach to introduce hydrogen in excess of reaction requirements into the liquid-full reactor. It enables much higher space velocities than conventional hydrocracking reactors.
The IsoTherming process eliminates problems associated with flow mal-distribution, gas-liquid mass transfer and catalyst wetting. The process eliminates the need for some high-pressure equipment in conventional hydrocracking thereby lowering cost.
Fresh feed, after heat exchange, is combined with recycle prod-uct and hydrogen in a mixer internal to the reactor. The liquid feed with soluble hydrogen is fed to IsoTherming reactor/bed one where partial desulfurization, removal of metals or mild hydrocracking occurs.
The stream is resaturated with additional hydrogen in a second mix-er and fed to the second IsoThmix-erming reactor/bed whmix-ere furthmix-er mild hydrocracking takes place. The treated oil from the second IsoTherming bed may then be fed to additional IsoTherming beds to achieve the de-sired level of conversion. At this time the technology is recommended for maximum feed conversion of approximately 40%.
Treated oil from the last bed is recycled back to the inlet of bed one. This recycle stream delivers recycled hydrogen to the reactors and also acts as a heat sink; thus, a nearly isothermal reactor operation is achieved.
Economics: Revamp investment is estimated to be half that of conven-tional mild hydrocracking due to the primary advantages offered by Iso-Therming, which include:
• Elimination of a recycle gas compressor, high-pressure flash drum and separator, condenser and amine scrubber.
• Smaller volume(s) of catalyst required for a given feed basis.
Installation: Three units are currently in operation for mild hydrocracking of heavy oils and upgrading of light cycle oil.
Licensor: DuPont contact
GO/DAO feed
Makeup hydrogen
To FG treating
To FG treating
Light naphtha
FCC feed ULSD diesel Kerosine Heavy naphtha
Processes Index comPany Index Home
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
®2011 refining Processes Handbook
Copyright © 2011 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Hydrocracking
Application: Topsøe’s hydrocracking process can be used to convert straight run vacuum gas oils and heavy cracked gasoils to high qual-ity “sulfur-free” naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and FCC feed, meeting current and future regulatory requirements. In addition, high VI lube stocks and petrochemical feedstock can be produced to increase the refinery’s profitability.
Product: By proper selection of operating conditions, process config-uration, and catalysts, the Topsøe hydrocracking process can be de-signed for high conversion to produce high smoke point kerosine and high cetane diesel. The process can also be designed for lower conver-sion/upgrade mode to produce low sulfur FCC feed with the optimum hydrogen uptake or high VI (>145) lube stock. The FCC gasoline pro-duced from a Topsøe hydrocracking unit does not require post-treat-ment for sulfur removal.
Description: Topsøe’s hydrocracking process uses well proven co-current downflow fixed bed reactors with state - of - the - art reactor in-ternals and catalysts. The process uses recycle hydrogen and can be configured in partial conversion once-through feed mode or with re-cycle of uncoverted oil to obtain 100% conversion to diesel and lighter products. A novel HPNA removal system can be used to eliminate un-converted oil purge. Topsøe’s zeolitic and amorphous hydrocracking catalysts have been proven in several commercial hydrocrackers.
Operating conditions: Typical operating pressure and temperatures range from 55 to 170 bar (800 to 2500 psig) and 340 to 420°C (645 to 780°F).
Installations: One operating licensed hydrocracking unit. Topsøe hydro- cracking catalysts have been supplied to eight hydrocrackers.
Licensor: Haldor Topsøe A/S contact
Hydrogen makeup
Copyright © 2011 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Hydrocracking
Application: To convert heavy vacuum gasoil (VGO) and other low-cost cracked and extracted feedstocks into high-value, high-quality products, such as low-sulfur diesel, jet fuel, high-octane light gasoline and reform-er feed via the Shell Hydrocracking Process. Unconvreform-erted or recycle oil are prime feeds for secondary processing in fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCUs), lube base oil plants and ethylene crackers.
Description: Heavy feed hydrocarbons are preheated with reactor efflu-ent (1). Fresh hydrogen is combined with recycle gas from the cold high-pressure separator, preheated with reactor effluent, and then heated in a single-phase furnace. Reactants pass via trickle flow through multi-bed reactor(s) containing proprietary pre-treat, cracking and post-treat cata-lysts (2). Interbed ultra-flat quench internals and high-dispersion nozzle trays combine excellent quench, mixing and liquid flow distribution at the top of each catalyst bed, which helps maximize reactor volume utili-zation. After cooling by feed streams, reactor effluent enters a separator system. Hot effluent is routed to fractionation (3).
Two-stage, series flow and single-stage unit design configurations are available, capable of converting a wide range of heavy feedstocks, especially heavy coker gasoils and deasphalted oils directly into clean fu-els. The catalyst systems are carefully tailored for maximum yield of the desired product slate at an optimum catalyst cycle length.
Installation: Over 30 new and revamp designs installed or under sign. Revamps have been implemented in own or other licensors’ de-signs usually to debottleneck and increase feed heaviness.
Supplier: Shell Global Solutions International B.V. contact
CLPsep.
370+ 370–
HHPsep.
HLPsep.
CHPsep.
Recycle compr.
Quench gas
Fresh gas
Recycle gas
Bleed Feed
Fractionation
1 2
3
Processes Index comPany Index Home
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
®2011 refining Processes Handbook
Copyright © 2011 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Hydrocracking
Application: The UOP Unicracking process converts a wide variety of feedstocks into lower-molecular-weight products.
Feed: Feedstocks include atmospheric gasoil, vacuum gasoil, FCC/RCC cycle oil, coker gasoil, deasphalted oil and naphtha for production of LPG.
Products: Processing objectives include production of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, lube stocks, ethylene-plant feedstock, high-quality FCC feed-stock and LPG.
Description: Feed and hydrogen are contacted with catalysts, which in-duce desulfurization, denitrogenation and hydrocracking. Catalysts are based upon both amorphous and molecular-sieve containing supports.
Process objectives and feedstock properties determine catalyst selection and process flow scheme for a specific unit. Product from the reactor section is condensed, separated from hydrogen-rich gas and fraction-ated into desired products. Unconverted oil is recycled or used as lube stock, FCC feedstock or ethylene-plant feedstock.
Yields: Example: 30,000 bpsd typical vacuum gasoil feed FCC cycle Vacuum Fluid coker
Feed type oil blend gasoil gasoil
Gravity, °API 27.8 22.3 8.4
Boiling, 10%, °F 481 690 640
End pt., °F 674 1,015 1,100
Sulfur, wt% 0.54 2.4 4.57
Nitrogen, wt% 0.024 0.15 0.269
Yields, vol% of feed with principal product of diesel
Butanes 3.0
Light gasoline 6.6
Heavy naphtha 11.2
Distillate 92.3
H2 consump., scf/bbl 1,550
Installation: Selected for more than 200 commercial units, including sev-eral converted from competing technologies. Total capacity exceeds 4.4 million bpsd.
Licensor: UOP, A Honeywell Company contact
START
Copyright © 2011 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.