ERTC 2017
13-15 November 2017
Official newspaper published by Crambeth Allen Publishing
Refiners respond to challenge
Chris Cunningham Editor of PTQ magazine
It seems that only
yesterday European
refiners were fac-
ing catastrophic
decline. With three
million barrels of
annual capacity
taken off-line in
the years following
2008, the road ahead had turned into a
slippery slope.
But what a difference stable lower
prices for crude, coupled with a recovery in
regional economic performance, can make.
Diesel emissions scandal? Electric vehi-
cles? As Europe’s premier meeting for the
refining industry made its preparations, fur-
ther correction in European refining capac-
ity to match dwindling internal demand,
along with competition from alternative
technologies and expanding Asian suppli-
ers, had receded into the distance.
The talk now is about whether refin-
ing capacity in Europe can keep up with
internal demand for fuels in the coming
years. It is as well to note, despite those
stressful recent years, that Europe is a
bigger consumer of oil products than the
much-vaunted Chinese market. Provided
that steady growth continues in Europe’s
national economies – especially in central
How can refiners remain sustainable and competitive
in a strong European downstream industry?
Alan Gelder Wood Mackenzie
Alan Gelder, VP
Refining, Chemicals
& Oil Markets at
Wood Mackenzie,
will provide an over-
view on how refin-
ers should approach
the challenging new
market environment
and improve their long-term viability.
The downstream and chemical indus-
tries are continuously evolving, and as we
move towards a more sustainable mar-
ket environment over the next few years,
refiners face a number of challenges. One
of them is new bunker fuel regulations,
put in place by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO). The new rules require
a reduction in the sulphur content of ship-
ping fuels. Specifically, sulphur needs to
be significantly reduced from 3.5 to 0.5%
by 2020. Although shippers have various
and southern Europe – the comparison is
unlikely to change for some time to come.
In his opening keynote presentation,
Grigoris Stergioulis, chief executive of
ERTC co-host Hellenic Petroleum, is
addressing the challenges for a European
refiner of maintaining a healthy margin
whilst keeping a wary eye on external com-
petition (in this case, Middle East refiners).
Mr Stergioulis will describe some of the
practical steps his company is taking to
maintain a competitive edge. In light of the
morning’s following discussions on marine
fuels, there will be interest in the upgrading
of a refinery into a modern hydrocracking
refinery with zero fuel oil production.
For refiners and their technology provid-
ers, tightening environmental legislation is
among life’s certainties. Next on the list of
clean fuels targets is the 2020 deadline set
by the International Maritime Organization
for a 0.5% cap on the sulphur content of
marine fuels. With just two years to that
deadline, techno-economic choices on how
to achieve that target need to be made.
In light of the build-up to the new IMO
regulations, the choice of Athens as the
venue for ERTC 2017 is especially appro-
priate. The city’s great port, Piraeus, not
only has a history of sea-going activity sec-
ond to none, today it is Europe’s largest sea
options, there will, no doubt, be implica-
tions for the refining sector.
At the moment, a key challenge facing
refiners is the uncertainty of how these
regulations will evolve and the impact
they will have on the sector. Moderating
the Keynote Leaders Panel, Mr Gelder
discusses how refiners are addressing
these issues.
Refiners must work within the tight
timeframe the IMO has set for the imple-
mentation of the new fuel standards. Mr
Gelder will also highlight how the market
could evolve and how it could affect the
refining sector.
Mr Gelder is also moderating a panel
assessing how European refiners can con-
tinue to be sustainable and competitive.
The downstream sector has undergone
significant changes in recent years. And,
as European demand for refined products
is expected to fall, refiners in the region
Shell Global Solutions
Co-Sponsors of the Gala Dinner
Key steps for refiners
ahead of IMO 2020
inside
3
Residue slurry HCU
SDA + ebullated bed HCU Gasification
Delayed coker/flexicoker High capex,
passenger terminal and a regional leader in Coker debottlenecking with SDA
medium to low ROI
SDA + HCU revamp
SDA + residue gasification revamp
container traffic. SRU revamp Add vacuum flasher downstream VBU Medium capex,
medium to high ROI
The continuing debate about how to
Deep-flash VDU
Capex
Crude flexibility Low capex, high ROI
reduce emissions from Europe’s marine Residue conversion, %
industry currently concerns whether to
consume fuels that are appropriately lower Maximising FCC performance
in sulphur, as per the 2020 regulations, and yields with catalyst
or to achieve a similar outcome by exemp- innovations 8
tion. In view of the very high cost of equip-
ment for scrubbing, the smart money is on Precious metals catalyst:
shippers absorbing the expense of lower- understanding the technology 9
sulphur fuels.
Process selection: a refinery
A major topic for debate at ERTC is how
study of FCC vs Gasolfin for
to meet the new target for marine fuels
naphtha cracking into
most effectively whilst avoiding currently propylene 12
healthy refinery margins taking too big a
hit. Should refiners boost their hydrotreat- Creation of energy efficiency
ing capacity, for instance, to desulphurise action plan for oil refinery with
residual fuel oil for blending with gasoils, or advanced energy analysis 13
add coking capacity to upgrade residue?
Or would it be more economically effec- Creation of Energy Creation of Action plan
tive to switch to a sweeter crude slate for energy baseline analysis improvement
opportunities
• Recording and • Identification of • Selection of the • Action plan
higher operating rather than capital costs? modelling the
current situation
improvement
potential
most feasible
options
> Verified by the
customer
The answers, in light of movements in
> Pinch > Includes
> Benchmarking responsibilites
> Energy optimisation > Ready for
oil prices, global markets and geopolitical workshop implementation
Input data Workshop for screening of Final
trends, are best left to the experts on the delivery improvement opportunities reporting
opening morning of ERTC’s presentation Site visit and review
of input data
Presentation of results;
workshop for action plan
sessions when an IMO keynote presenta- Operating in the jungle of
tion and panel discussion will examine the renewables 15
specifics and wider issues of further reduc-
ing sulphur in fuels. ■ Online Cleaning technology
applied to a major
European refinery 15
Accurate, real-time H2S
measurement achieved
with in-line analyser 16
High-efficiency filtration
extends SRU cycle length 17
need to ensure they can access profitable
export markets.
Changes in the US and Middle East add
to the pressure on European businesses
to revise and strengthen their strategies High-performance catalysts
in order to remain competitive. Refiners and technology in action 18
do have options to explore: adjust pro-
duction to meet demand from other con-
sumers; produce high-sulphur product for
lower returns; or turn away from gaso-
advertisers
line to other growth areas, such as Arkema 9
petrochemicals. Axens 2
ERTC attendees will benefit from this BASF Refining Catalysts 13
discussion on the new IMO regulations and Criterion Catalysts & Technologies 11
what the sector needs to do as they come Crystaphase Products 20
into force. The discussion aims to help DigitalRefining.com 16
Haldor Topsoe 12
refiners look at their options as they deter-
Inovacat 7
mine the next steps they need to take.
Neste Jacobs 17
Wood Mackenzie prides itself in offering
Sabin Metal 14
objective, independent, commercial analy- Shell Global Solutions 10
sis and advice on assets, companies and World Refining Association 19
markets. ■
 ERTC 2017

Axens is a leading global

provider of technologies, OIL REFINING
catalysts, adsorbents, services
and equipment. Axens solutions
are used at major industrial
plants around the world.
PETROCHEMICALS

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& ALTERNATIVES

WATER
TOGETHER
SUCCEED

axens.net/blog

2

Key steps for refiners ahead of IMO 2020
Jock Hughson, Biliana Oettler Shell Global Solutions
The reality is that many refiners remain
unprepared for IMO MARPOL 73/78
Annex VI (IMO 2020). These regulations,
which will substantially tighten the global
cap on the maximum sulphur content of
marine fuel oil, could have a major impact
on an ill-equipped refiner’s profitability.
Fortunately, it is not too late; they could
implement several low-cost solutions
in the next two years to safeguard their
competitive position.
Because of IMO 2020, which will cut the
allowable sulphur content of marine bun-
ker fuels from 3.5 to 0.5%, from 2020
refiners can expect demand for high-
sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) to fall, demand for
low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) to increase
and a corresponding price differential
between the two to open up.
This is because ships will only be able to
continue using HSFO if they are fitted with
on-board scrubbers, but these are costly
and it will only be possible to convert a
modest percentage of the world’s fleet
before the new global cap comes into
force. Liquefied natural gas conversions
are inappropriate for most ships, so
the majority will turn to LSFO from
2020.
Fortunately, the LSFO–HSFO price
differential is likely to close partially over
time as scrubber technology improves and
conversion facilities are built. So, there
will still be a market for HSFO and refiners
do not necessarily need to eliminate their
HSFO exposure entirely, but they would
be well advised to reduce it to sustain
their competitiveness.
How should you respond?
Figure 1 shows some of the technol-
ogy solutions to be considered, but
there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Your
optimum solution depends on various fac-
tors, including your existing configuration,
strategy, available capital and location.
For example, the highest residue con-
version technologies, which include
ebullated-bed residue hydrocracking
and slurry-phase residue hydrocracking,
will not provide the optimum solution for
many refiners, in part because they are
extremely capital intensive.
Similarly, the answer may be different
for those who have a need to improve
their crude flexibility in order to improve
margins, or those who have secure,
reliable HSFO outlets, or those who have
key constraints in key units such as the
vacuum distillation unit or hydrocracker.
Shell’s response to IMO 2020
At Shell Global Solutions, we have been
looking at our own facilities and those of
our customers to help identify the best
responses. The business case for some
of the integrated solutions, which often
involve revamping an existing process
unit, has tended to be far stronger than
for installing new high residue conversion
technology.
For example, a solvent deasphalting
(SDA) unit can be added for comparatively
moderate capital expenditure (capex).
ERTC 2017
Simultaneously revamping the
hydrocracker can help to reduce HSFO
production by almost 50%, increase
middle distillates yield and improve crude
flexibility.
The combination of SDA and
deasphalted oil hydrocracking, or SDA
and thermal conversion, which is another
moderate-capex response option, has
another important advantage: it retains
high levels of crude flexibility. This is
becoming an increasingly important
profitability driver for refiners. There are
large opportunities for refiners to increase
margins by including lower-priced,
opportunity or niche crudes in their diet,
so you should always evaluate the effect
that your investments will have here.
Another crucial consideration is the
refinery’s back end. When increasing
the level of residue conversion, by either
revamping process units or installing new
ones, the treating and utility systems and
logistics infrastructure can often be key
constraints. Additional capacity is likely
to be required for sour water strippers
and wastewater treatment plants,
and particularly the sulphur recovery
unit. Fortunately, the state of the art
has recently advanced here with the
development of Shell’s next-generation
tail gas treating process, SCOT ULTRA,
which offers a performance step change
for minimal investment.
Of course, the gestation period of all
such projects is likely to extend beyond
2020, so it may be too late to initiate such
a response now to reap the benefits of the
expected LSFO–HSFO price differential.
They may remain options for the long term
however, although refiners who have not
already committed to this type of long-
term high-capex investment are likely to
delay making an investment decision until
at least 2019 when the supply, demand
and economic implications of IMO 2020
should become clearer.
So what changes could you implement
Coker debottlenecking with SDA
SDA + HCU revamp
SRU revamp
Deep-flash VDU
Capex
Crude flexibility
Residue conversion, %
Figure 1 Some of the technology solutions that can help refiners to respond to IMO 2020
3
before 2020? Among the low-capex,
quick-win solutions that have scored
highly in our analyses is Shell’s deep-flash
technology, which can help to lift more
and better quality vacuum gas oil (VGO)
from the vacuum distillation unit and
reduce HSFO production. Another popular
solution is installing latest-generation
reactor internals and catalysts, which
can enable the hydrotreating and
hydrocracking of heavier and more difficult
feeds such as deasphalted oil, heavy
VGO and visbreaker VGO, and increase
conversion capability.
Another quick-win opportunity is to
change the crude diet to include a propor-
Did you know:
Shell’s fouling
abatement
technologies can
help increase
cycle length by up
to 300%?
tion of opportunity crude. For a typical
200,000 bbl/d refinery, the inclusion of
10% of an opportunity crude with a rela-
tive discount of $1/bbl could increase the
gross refinery margin by some $7 million
a year. Moreover, this will typically require
no capex.
The importance of first developing
a robust investment plan tailored to
your specific circumstances cannot be
overemphasised. You can only identify the
optimum solution by taking into account
your specific constraints and by using
tools such as scenario planning to help you
take a view of the future market in which
you will be operating.
Residue slurry HCU
SDA + ebullated bed HCU
Delayed coker/flexicoker
SDA + residue gasification revamp
Add vacuum flasher downstream VBU
Low capex, high ROI
Residue upgrading beyond IMO 2020
IMO 2020 is a short-term trigger, but
the business case for residue upgrading
projects is likely to remain strong beyond
2020. Margin improvement will probably
still be strategically important and so
reducing the yield of low-margin fuel oil
in favour of a higher-margin product slate
will be key for the longer term.
The takeaways
IMO 2020 will have a disruptive effect
on refiners in several ways. It will cause a
price gap to open up between LSFO and
HSFO that only the best prepared and
equipped refiners will benefit from, and
this gap will close partially over time. To
fully reap the benefits of this price gap,
a refiner would need to have already
invested in a medium- to high-capex solu-
tion that suits their particular circum-
stance. Those who have not chosen to
make a significant investment by now are
likely to continue evaluating the various
options and will not initiate a full response
in time for 2020.
Nevertheless, refiners would be well
advised to focus on what they can achieve
ahead of 2020. From installing deep-flash
technology and revamping with latest-
generation catalysts and reactor internals
through to including low-cost opportunity
crudes in the refinery diet, there are many
steps for strengthening competitiveness
ahead of the disruption that is inevitable
in 2020.
Furthermore, they should remember
that IMO 2020 is only the start. Post-
2020, residue upgrading investments
will continue to provide important
margin improvement opportunities as
they increase the volume of value-added
products. ■
SCOT is trademark owned by the Shell group
of companies.
Contact: Biliana.Oettler@shell.com
Gasification
High capex,
medium to low ROI
Medium capex,
medium to high ROI
 Monday 13th November 2017
17:30 Registration & Welcome Reception

Tuesday 14th November 2017

08.00 Registration
ERTC & GLOBAL PETROCHEMICALs SUMMIT PLENARY
08.30 Opening Remarks from the WRA and Conference Chair
Hannah Wharrier, Managing Director, World Refining Association
Alan Gelder, VP Refining - Chemicals & Oil Markets, WoodMackenzie
DEVELOPING A STRONG AND COMPETITIVE EUROPEAN DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRY
08.40 HOST KEYNOTE Greece’s Refining and Petrochemical Industry – Remaining
Competitive in a Highly Challenging Market,
Grigoris Stergioulis, CEO, Hellenic Petroleum
08.55 HOST KEYNOTE Recent Regulatory Developments at IMO to Address Emissions
from International Shipping: Entry into Effect in 2020 of 0.50% Sulphur Limit
Dr Edmund Hughes, Head, Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency, Sub-Division for Protective
Measures, Marine Environment Division, IMO
09.15 PANEL DISCUSSION Working Towards a Common Goal For the Development of a
Sustainable and “Cleaner” Industry
Moderated by: Alan Gelder, VP Refining, Chemicals & Oil Markets, WoodMackenzie
Panelists: Francisco Vázquez, Refining Executive Director, Repsol
John Cooper, Director General, Concawe
Dr Edmund Hughes, Head, Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency, Sub-Division for Protective
Measures, Marine Environment Division, IMO
Dea Forchhammer, Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager Public Affairs, Maersk
Dr Dawood Nassif, Board Director, Bapco
10.00 Networking Coffee Break
10.30 KEYNOTE LEADERS PANEL Steps to Success - Boosting Margins and Europe’s
Competitive Positioning
Moderator: Alan Gelder, VP Refining, Chemicals & Oil Markets, WoodMackenzie
Panelists: Lars Rosenløv, Senior Vice President, Downstream Operations, Statoil
Ioannis G. Kioufis, Deputy Manufacturing General Manager, Motor Oil
Dr Mateusz Aleksander Bonca, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Grupa LOTOS S.A.
11.20 IOC KEYNOTE How BP is Shifting its Business Model to Comply with
New Market Realities
Luis Aires, VP Strategy & Portfolio, BP
11.40 TECHNOLOGY TREND SETTERS PANEL The Role of Technology in Securing Future
Routes to Competitiveness
Panelists: Süleyman Özmen, Vice President, Refining and Chemical Licensing,
Shell Global Solutions
Sean Smyth, Vice President, ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing
Guy Lewis, Vice President Strategic Marketing and Commercial Excellence, Honeywell UOP
Eli Ben-Shoshan, Global Business Leader, DuPont Clean Technologies
12.30 Interactive Roundtables – Which will you choose?
Quick one-minute teasers from our leaders on what is in-store at their
roundtable session
12.40 Networking Lunch

ERTC Stream A ERTC Stream B: ERTC Stream C GPS STream

Catalyst Advances Energy Efficiency & Environmental New Processes & Technologies Refining: Petrochemical
Sponsored by BASF
Chairman: Jake Gotham, Director, Sponsored by Alpha Robotix srl Opportunities
InSite Technical Services

14.00 Strategies for Metals Management
in Residue FCC Units
Vasileios Komvokis, Regional Technology
Manager – Europe, Middle East and Africa,
BASF Refining Catalysts
14.25 Improving FCC Unit Profitability
Emmanuel Smaragdis, Technical Sales
Manager, Grace
Dimitrios Gkanis, FCC Process Engineer,
HELPE
14.50 Removing Barriers in Steam
Methane Reforming using CATACELJM
SSRTM Step-Out Technologies A Paradigm Shift in Design Thinking
Michael Hepworth, Johnson Matthey
15.15
TOTSUCAT EZload: Activated
Catalyst Made Non Self-Heating for
Delivery in Big Bags
Reinder Van Bruggen, Area Sales & Totsucat
Product Manager, EURECAT
Ion Dimitriev, Process Engineer, Petrotel-Lukoil Global Technology, Alfa Laval Lund AB
14.00 Sustainable Energy in Oil Refining:
Case Study of Refining Energy Efficiency
Programme
Igor Šepić, Director of Energy Department,
INA - Industrija nafte, d.d
Kari Kunnari, Energy Efficiency Expert,
Neste Jacobs Oy
14.25 Residue Hydrotreating in a 0.5%
Sulphur Bunker Fuel World Will Address
all the Challenges
Joris Mertens, Senior Staff Consultant, KBC Peter Blaser, Vice President of Engineering
14.50 Waste Water Treatment 4.0 –
Required
Sneha Verma,
Process Speciality Engineer, Fluor
15.15
Make Your Energy Efficiency
Project Fly!
Evae Andersson, Refinery Industry Manager,
14.00 Drones in the Refining Industry: The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Giovanni Brambilla, Business Development
Manager, Alpha Robotix srl
14.25 Plant Performance Visualisation
Arne Aase, Advisor, Statoil Mongstad Refinery
14.50 The Experience of a Team of
Experts to Resolve Severe Regenerator
Maldistribution
Services, CPFD Software
15.15 Transforming Waste Heat to New
Process Heat with the Qpinch Heat
Transformer
Erik Verdeyen, Chief Marketing Officer, Qpinch
15.40 First Commercial Methaformer
Stephen Sims, President North America,
NGTS Global
14.00 Oil-to-Chemicals – in Search of the
Holy Grail
Jelle Ernst Oude Lenferink, Process
Engineering Manager, Fluor
14.25 Fuels and Chemicals from the Sun
and Air: First Experiences from the
Integration and Test Campaigns
Pekka Simell, Principal Scientist,
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
14.50 Rompetrol Maximises Propylene to
Increase FCC Profitability
Ljubica Simic,
Technical Sales Manager CEE, Grace
George Valentin Nilca, FCC Unit Process
Engineer, Rompetrol Rafinare

15.40 Maximising Octane BarrelsFrom 15.40 Maximising Value Addition

Your Gasoline Hydrotreating Unit
Jignesh Fifadara, Global Business Manager,
Refining Solutions, Albemarle
16.05 Afternoon Networking Break
Through Flexible Upgrading of Crude to
Transportation Fuels and Petrochemicals
Ujjal Mukherjee, VP Technology, Chevron
Lummus Global

ERTC Roundtables Sign up to the roundtable you want to attend GPS Roundtables

16.35 D: Ask the Experts E: Fuel Oil and Bottom for the Barrel 16.35
For engineering students to ask more informal Leb by: Lee Hermitage, Marketing Director,
A: Solutions to Develop Innovative A: Integration of Bio Feedstocks in
questions to experts about what a career in Europe, Africa & CIS, Honeywell UOP
Advances in Delayed Coking Equipment the industry may look like, advice and tips, as Petrochemical Plants
Led by: DeltaValve well as the challenges and opportunities Roger Green, Vice President, Chemical
Moderated by: Angeliki Lemonidou, Professor, Consulting - Europe, Africa & CIS, IHS Markit
B: Improving FCC Yields through Catalyst Department of Chemical Engineering School
and Process Technology Advances of Engineering, Aristotle University of B: Methanol as an Alternative Energy and
Led by: Roger Hage, Business Development Thessaloniki Feedstock Source
Manager, Filtration & Separation, Experts: Dimitrios Karonis, Associate Eelco Dekker, Chief Representative Europe,
Royal Dahlman Professor, National Technical University of Methanol Institute
Athens
Vassilios Petoussis, Planning & Economics
C: Recovering Spent Catalysts from Section Engineer, Motor Oil
Chemical Processing to Further Maximise Anastasios Alexandridis, Strategic Planning &
Returns and Lower Costs Intelligence Engineer, Hellenic Petroleum
Led by: Brad Cook, VP Commercial Operations,
Sabin Metal

17:20 End of Conference Day One 18.30 Buses Leave for the Gala Dinner at the Vorres Museum
 wednesday 15th November 2017
ERTC GPS

08.30 Registration 08.30 Registration

REFINERIES OF THE FUTURE MARKET TRENDS FOR THE GLOBAL PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
09.00 Chair’s Opening Remarks 09.00 Chair’s Opening Remarks
Stefano Milanese, Partner, Ad. Little
09.10 MARKET KEYNOTE Exploring the Petrochemical Industry in a Global
09.10 In-Conversation with….. ENI R&M Competitive Landscape
Michele Viglianisi, Vice President, ENI R&M Roger Green, Vice President, Chemical Consulting - Europe, Africa & CIS, IHS Markit
Interviewed by: Stefano Milanese, Partner, Ad. Little
09.30 PANEL DISCUSSION Petrochemical Demand Drivers – Connecting Products With
09.30 PANEL DISCUSSION Clean Energy and Sustainability: What the Growing Renewable Consumer Markets
Fuels Market Means for Refiners Moderator: Roger Green, Vice President, Chemical Consulting - Europe, Africa & CIS, IHS Markit
Moderator: Stefano Milanese, Partner, Ad. Little Panelists: Dorothee Arns, Executive Director, Cefic Petrochemicals Programme
Panelists: Megan Richards, Director Energy Policy, European Commission Tim Stedman, Senior Vice President and Business President, Basic Plastics and Feedstocks,
Teemu Lindberg, Director, Refining, Biofuels Development, UPM Biorefining Trinseo
Michele Viglianisi, Vice President, ENI R&M Krisztina Petrényiné Szabó, Head of Group Petrochemicals Product Management, MOL
Jacek Smyczyński, Director, Production Efficiency and Optimisation Office, Dr Hatem Belfadhel, Director, Global Technology Programming, CHSBU, Technology
PKN ORLEN S.A. Management, SABIC

10.10 European Refining Outlook – How is the Industry Performing?
Stephen Wright, Vice President - Europe, Russia, Africa Operations, Solomon Associates
10.30 Rising Stars Celebrating the Future Leaders of the Refining and
Petrochemical Industry
11.00 Networking Coffee Break
10.10 CASE STUDY
On-Purpose Production: Giving Feedstock to Petrochemicals as a By-product
Krisztina Petrényiné Szabó, Head of Group Petrochemicals Product Management, MOL
10.30 KEYNOTE
Developing Partnerships to Access New Markets and Diversify Portfolios
Dr Hatem Belfadhel, Director, Global Technology Programming, CHSBU, Technology
Management, SABIC

ERTC Stream D ERTC Stream E ERTC Stream F GPS Stream

Process Optimisation & Design Advances in Biofuels & Refinery Configuration New Technologies &
Chaired by Baker Hughes Alternative Fuel Production Analysis Innovations

11.30 Uniflex Technology – Maximising
Profitability with High Residue
Conversion
Gary Brierley, Senior Manager for Uniflex
Commercialisation, Honeywell UOP
11.55 Smart Solution for Improving
Isomerisation Performance through
Purification of Hydrogen Supply
Maxime Vassieu, Technologist, Gasoline &
Aromatics Business Line, Axens
Afroditi G Pourtoulidou, Chemical Engineer,
Hellenic Petroleum
12.20 Reactive Adjunct Chemistry
– Improve Profitability with Lower
Downstream Reliability Issues
Erwin Leitner, Sr. Vice President, Dorf Ketal
11.30 The bioCRACK Process – a Refinery 11.30 Capturing the Maximum Value from 11.30 Maximizing C3 and C4 Olefin
Integrated Biomass-to-Liquid Concept the Bottom of the Barrel Production from the FCC via Catalyst
to Produce Diesel from Biogenic Jock Hughson, Licensing Technology Manager, Technologies
Feedstock Shell Global Solutions International B.V. Carl Keeley, Regional Marketing Manager –
Dr Edgar Ahn, Member of the Management Europe, Middle East and Africa, BASF
Board, CSO, BDI – BioEnergy International AG 11.55 Achieving Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel
with IsoTherming Technology 11.55
Paraxylene Production via BP
11.55 IH2 Technology in Operation Matthew Clingerman, Regional Engineering Crystallisation Technology
Dr Alan Del Paggio, Vice President, Manager, DuPont Nicholas Kinnis, Contract Development
CRI Catalyst Company Manager, Aromatics & Higher Olefins
12.20 Carbon Taxation to Meet Climate Petrochemicals, CB&I
12.20 Bio-Oil: an introduction to the Next Change Targets – Impact on Refinery
Opportunity Feedstock for FCC – Biofuels Process Configuration and Operation 12.20 TAR Vessel Entry Best Practices –
Steve Shimoda, Program Director FCC Reducing Total Downtime and Effluent
Michel Lenoel, Founder, GreenAlyze
Technology, TechnipFMC Joshua Ackerman, Technical Sales Engineer,
Petrochemicals, ZymeFlow Decon Technology

12.45 Networking Lunch 13:45-15:15 Business Coaching Workshop – Presenting with Impact Led by: Alan Donegan, PopUp Business School

14.15
Determination of Residue Quality
and Yields from 1H NMR Spectra of
Crude Oils and Chemometrics for
Process Optimisation
Lorenzo Sassu, Programme Manager,
Sartec Saras Ricerche e Tecnologie Srl
14.40 Best Practices in a Refinery Wide
Implementation of APC
Eleni Zouridaki, Chemical Engineer,
Motor Oil Hellas (MOH)
Maurizio Rossi, Technical Manager,
Alpha Process Control
15.05 Optimising The Never Ending
History – Integrated Operation and
Simulation of MHC-FCC
Maria Nieves Alvarez, Process Development
Advisor, Repsol
15.30 Crude Oil Blend Optimisation Allows
Higher Margin without Upset
Francesco Ragone, Product Manager,
Chimec S.p.A
14.15
Advances in Bio Jet Fuel Technology
Using Non-Food Renewable Sources
Juan Manuel Anzaldo Trejo, Process Engineer,
Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo
14.40 Technical Economic Evaluation of
Renewable Jet Fuel from Power Biomass
and or Carbon Dioxide
Dr Ralph-Uwe Dietrich, Research Area
Manager Alternative Fuels,
German Aerospace Center Profitability
15.05 Improvement of Transportation
Fuels Sustainability via
Co-Hydroprocessing of lipid-Feedstocks
and Petroleum Fractions
Stella Bezergianni, Principal Researcher,
Hellenic Petroleum and Centre for Research &
Technology Hellas (CERTH)
Vassilios Dimitropoulos, Chemical Engineer,
Refinery Process Engineering Section,
Hellenic Petroleum
15.30 The Potential Feedstock for the
Production of Advanced Biofuels in Croatia
Vesna Kucan-Polak, Advance Techn.& Product
Dvlp Chief Expert, INA-industrija nafte d.d.
14.15
Regional Feedstock Availability and
ERTC Stream G Alternative Approaches to Chemicals
Hydroprocessing Value Chains
Abeer El-Sherbiny, Business Development
14.15
Enabling Access to New Markets Engineer Marketing & Business Development
by Leveraging Isomerisation Dewaxing Division, The Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding
Technology Company (Echem)
Louis Burns, Global Licensing Manager, Fuels
Applications, ExxonMobil 14.40 Optimsation Ethylene Technologies
Vassilios Dimitropoulos, Chemical Engineer, – With More Flexibility, Productivity and
Refinery Process Engineering Section,
Hellenic Petroleum
Yang Zhigang, Regional Representative, Sinopec
14.40 Challenges in Co-processing of
Renewable feedstocks
15.05 An Insider’s View of Dividing Wall
Columns
Jostein Gabrielsen, R&D Senior Manager,
Joseph C Gentry, Vice President, Licensing &
Haldor Topsoe
Technology, GTC Technology
15.05 Expert Solutions for Customised
Performance – Precision Tuned Stacked
15.30 Improve Decision Making Through
Model Based on Material Qualities
Catalyst Systems
Estimation
Amin El Aissami, Technical Service Engineer,
Marco Lanteri, Industry Principal Refining and
Criterion
Petrochemicals, Pimsoft
Domenico Napoli, IT Project Manager, ENI
15.30 MSAR – Fuel for Power Generation,
Marine Bunkers and Refinery Uses
Matthew Bridgeman, Process Engineer,
Quadrise International Limited *Agenda correct at the time of printing

15.55 Networking Coffee Break 17.00 Closing Remarks from the Chair

16.15 WRAP UP PANEL 17:00-18:30 Business Coaching Workshop – Building Your Personal Brand
Ensuring ERTC and GPS 2017 Make a Difference to Your Next 12 Months
Panelists: Grigoris Stergioulis, CEO, Hellenic Petroleum 18:00 NETWORKING DRINKS 4.0
 thursday 16th November 2017
ERTC 4.0 – dedicated to the next refining revolution
08:30 Welcome Coffee 11:00 Speed Networking

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION 11:20 Networking Break

09:00 Opening Remarks
09:10 KEYNOTE Adnoc Refining’s Digital Transformation of Refining Operations
Fuad Al-Ansari, Vice President Information Technology Division, Adnoc Refining
09:30 EXPERTS IN ACTION MOL’s Process Optimisation Using Machine Learning
Tibor Komróczki, Head of the Process Information and Automation, MOL
Microsoft Senior Representative
11:40 EXPERT PANEL IIoT & Data Handling
Johan Ferket, Consultancy Manager, Stork, a Fluor Company
Joe McMullen, Marketing Director, Schneider Electric
Emerson Senior Representative
12:20 EXPERT IN ACTION Digital Transformation: Digitising Refineries Leveraging IIoT
Joe McMullen, Marketing Director, Schneider Electric

09.50 EXPERT PANEL Digital Plants 12:40 EXPERT IN ACTION IIoT-enabled Asset Information and Performance
Tibor Komróczki, Head of the Process Information and Automation, MOL Management – Key Enablers
Paul Bonner, Vice President Consulting & Analytics, Honeywell Connected Plant Johan Ferket, Consultancy Manager, Stork, a Fluor Company
Paolo Leonardi, Technical Services Manager, ENI
Aurelien Galicher, Group Data Architect, Total 13:00 EXPERT PANEL Cyber Security
10:40 EXPERT IN ACTION Cloud Based Performance Assurance – the Next Generation of 13:40 Networking Lunch
Performance Management Systems
Tim Shire, Senior Staff Consultant, KBC

interactive workshops

14:50 Digital Asset Life Cycle Management How Digitalisation is Changing People’s Roles
The Real Meaning of IIoT – Maximising its Full Within an Organisation
Potential to Help your Day to Day Operations
Led by: Tim Shire, Senior Staff Consultant, KBC

16:50 CLOSING KEYNOTE Digitalisation in (Best) Practice – Plant 4.0 17:10 Closing Remarks and End of ERTC 4.0
Aurelien Galicher, Group Data Architect, Total

Five top tips to maximise your time at ERTC:

1. Be clear on your goals
A. Do you want to consolidate
existing relationships or meet
new people?
B. Do you want to acquire ‘how
to’ expertise or gather industry
insights and intelligence?
C. From a personal standpoint,
are you trying to grow your
‘personal brand’ or make
connections with others?
D. Do you want to learn more
in order to do your current job
better, or to get to the next level?
2. Attend sessions you do not
already know a lot about
When multiple sessions happen
simultaneously, you should
consciously choose to attend
those on topics you do not
already know a lot about. All of
us have a predisposition to be
attracted to the familiar, and
when you are surrounded by
strangers at a conference you
will naturally gravitate to those
subjects you already feel more
comfortable with. But resist
that temptation.
3. Listen to case studies
Sessions involving detailed,
single-company case studies –
often delivered by the person at
a company who was in charge
of the project – can be very
informative and interesting.
Let’s face it: no-one learns as
much from a success as they
do from dealing with a problem
or a mistake. And case study
presentations at conferences
are the one venue where you
might get genuine insight about
the kinds of things that went
wrong and should perhaps have
been done differently.
4. Ask questions!
Use the Q&A period after
presentations to ask about
problems and obstacles
encountered and how they were
overcome. And ensure you get
the answers that will be the
most valuable to you personally.
5. Use a checklist each morning
before leaving your hotel
room to make sure you do Not
forget something
1. Business cards. Take a LOT of
them, and always have a supply
on your person.
2. Conference agenda with
sessions marked.
3. List of companies or
attendees you most want to
meet or connect with.
4. Laptop or tablet. Capture
notes electronically so you can
more easily retrieve and use
them later.

ERTC offers a platform for valuable and facilitated discussions:

Speed Networking
Speed networking ensures you do not miss out
on that vital introduction. You will be at a table
with six of your peers for three minutes. When
the bell rings, pick up your business cards and
move to the next table for more introductions.
A great ice-breaker that sets up further
discussion later on at the show. Remember to
bring lots of business cards!
Roundtables Business Coaching Workshop
Roundtables are an opportunity to debate a Presenting with Impact
topic or problem in more depth. You have the Understand the difference between a great presentation
opportunity to opt in and select the roundtable and an average one:
that is right for you. Small groups of 10 people • The mistakes everyone makes
discuss a topic around tables, with individuals • How to bring messages to life
switching tables periodically and getting • Inspiring and captivating the audience you are talking to
introduced to the previous discussion at their
Come along prepared to see presenting slightly
new table by a table host.
differently and have a little fun!

6
 ERTC 2017

Q&A with Diomidis Stamoulis

Head of Strategy for Manufacturing Operations, Hellenic Petroleum

What do you think the
impact of COP 21 will
be on the refining
industry?
It will have a huge
impact on the
refining industry
in Europe and will
play a crucial role
in future legislations and agreements. We
are already operating in a heavily legislated
environment and I feel that, as refiners in
Europe, we have additional expenditures
compared to those regions that surround
Europe. We need to anticipate increased
competition due to the fact that Europe will
have a common legislation, but in surround-
ing regions the legislation could be vastly
different. An example of this is Greece,
which sits at the edge of Europe and com-
petes with refineries in Turkey and the
Middle East, where the regulations for sus-
tainability are not mandatory; in this sense,
COP 21 will have critical implications for
the economic balance. It may cause an une-
ven situation among refineries and become
a catalyst for increased competition.
Do you think the European Commission is doing
enough to help refiners?
The European Commission has to find a
balance between opposing forces within
the region. On the one hand, it is difficult
for the European Commission to ignore the
impact that refining has had on the current
climate change crisis, with many people
and NGOs vocally opposing the industry.
However, it is also true that the industry
serves around 95% of our transport needs,
produces products that people use in their
daily lives and provides jobs for thousands
of individuals. If products produced by the
refining industry ceased to exist, we cannot
imagine what the repercussions would be.
Personally, I believe that until now the
European Commission has tried to remain
on the side-lines of the criticism of the refin-
ing industry, but it will become increasingly
difficult in the future to avoid confronta-
tion due to regulations concerning carbon
emissions. We are slowly phasing out fossil
fuels, and refining will have to bear the cost
of that.
Do you think that operational excellence
still separates the best and worst
performers in downstream?
Absolutely yes! Throughout my years in this
industry, I have seen a vast amount of pro-
gress in technology advances, and I believe
that trying to be efficient in all processes
is a daily job for every refiner. In order to
survive, preparation and adaptability are
key. Focusing on long-term vision is part of
the culture of operational excellence, cen-
tring on where the technology is making
advances while taking into consideration
that refining technologies may take years
to implement.
Operational excellence can also be seen
in short-time business strategy in the daily
scheduling of your operation to be optimally
efficient. I strongly believe in operational
excellence and think it is a crucial process
that has to take place continuously in our
industry in order to drive success.
Are energy costs and efficiency still
important to Europe, global refiners and
petrochemical producers?
People sometimes forget that the oil price
has lowered and continue to try and make
savings as the cost of energy becomes
higher. I believe you should always prepare
yourself for the worst, and even in this envi-
ronment of low oil prices you should not
reduce investments. Doing this can place
you in a dangerous position in the future
when prices may spike again; being efficient
is something that should be continuously
designed and implemented.
Will we see an increasing move towards
greater digitalisation, such as supply chain
(supply and demand market analytics,
digital processes), predictive maintenance,
operations intelligence and digital
workers/remote operations?
Digitalisation it is a matter of cost benefit
analysis; refiners who have simple, repeti-
tive operations and are not continuously
evolving will hesitate to invest in digi-
talisation on an operational level. Like all
systems, it is not a matter of buying new
software, it is the mentality and culture
of the business that is key. What we have
observed in several digitalisation products
is that businesses are very eager to buy
the tools and the right technology to help
move their businesses forward. If a com-
pany wants to invest in this technology
and make it as cost-effective as possible,
it needs to ensure it has the right mentality
towards digitalisation, otherwise success
is not guaranteed. Digitalisation will play a
crucial rule in this industry, and if we ignore
it we are ignoring reality.
What are you most looking forward to at this
year’s ERTC event?
Last time I participated, I was really
impressed with the variety of topics dis-
cussed, and how the event addressed the
challenges of our time, both technical and
through long-term vision.
What do you think the benefits of events such
as ERTC are for the industry?
The atmosphere of the event, the discus-
sions and presentations are the catalysts
that invite key conversations between
participants. It is a great gathering of the
refining industry, and the fact that it is held
yearly means it can always include recent
developments. I think that the variation of
participation from various areas is impor-
tant. The participants are a good mix of
refiners, suppliers and technology experts
who have an excellent opportunity to share
knowledge and opinions. ■

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7

Maximising FCC performance and yields
with catalyst innovations
Carl Keeley, Vasilis Komvokis, Kitty Cha BASF Refining Catalysts
BASF analyses equilibrium catalyst (Ecat)
and operating data from over 200 units
worldwide. These data provide valuable
information on refinery conditions and are
used to anticipate future catalyst needs.1
There is a trend to increase the proportion
of heavy feed processed by FCC units. At
the same time, there is decreasing demand
for high-sulphur fuel oil and strong demand
for lighter fuels. This confirms that refiners
need advanced FCC catalyst and additive
technologies to achieve multiple targets.
Maximisation of liquid yields and destruc-
tion of slurry remain the top objectives for
the FCC unit. To minimise slurry, good sur-
face porosity, the right pore dimensions,
good pore connectivity, and sufficient pore
volume are vital. With the right pore archi-
tecture, heavy molecules can diffuse to
cracking sites easily. BASF enables this via
its in-situ manufacturing process to engi-
neer catalysts. For example, its Distributed
Matrix Structures (DMS) technology is
designed to provide enhanced diffusion of
feed molecules to cracking sites located on
the external, exposed surface of highly dis-
persed zeolite crystals. The feed first cracks
on the external acid sites of the zeolite
itself, rather than on an active amorphous
matrix material, providing improved reac-
tion selectivities. Liquid yields are improved
via selective bottoms conversion.2
To drive a high conversion, good coke
selectivity is also required. This is demand-
ing on the FCC catalyst, as metal contami-
Metal Effect
Nickel Dehydrogenation: increase H2 and coke
Vanadium Zeolite destruction
Activity reduction
Dehydrogenation
Iron Added iron can block catalyst surface,
hindering access to pores
Dehydrogenation; CO promotion;
increases SOx
Table 1 Contaminant metal mobility and catalyst technologies
European refineries towards a sustainable world
grigoris stergioulis Hellenic petroleum
Grigoris Stergioulis,
CEO, Hellenic Petro-
leum, will discuss
market demands
and how to sustain
a strong business in
such a competitive
environment.
South East Medi-
terranean refineries have been under ongo-
ing pressure to keep up with competition in
the Middle East. In an arduous economic
environment that involves higher salaries,
energy costs, stricter environmental regu-
lations and safety protocols, the only way
to stay in business is through operational
ERTC 2017
nants drive dehydrogenation reactions
which lead to increases in H2 and coke.
Therefore, good pore architecture and good
metal passivation are essential to minimise
contaminant coke production. Different
metals passivation technologies are avail-
able depending on the metal mobility (see
Table 1).3 For high conversion, catalysts
from BASF’s DMS and BBT platforms
deliver maximum yields. To optimise the
gasoline/cycle oil split, Prox-SMZ technol-
ogy can be used.4
Did you know:
BASF has the
world’s fastest
equilibrium catalyst
(ecat) analysis
turnaround time?
With increasing fuel and petrochemicals
demand, refiners are looking to optimise
the olefins production and LPG/gasoline
split. The BASF approach is:
1. Optimise zeolite and matrix cracking to
generate olefins.
2. Optimise the rare earth per zeolite to tai-
lor the LPG/gasoline selectivity.
3. Use additives to fine-tune yields of C3s
and C4s.5
Metal mobility Catalyst technologies
Low mobility Speciality alumina
Boron based technology (BBT)
High mobility Rare earth based
Calcium and magnesium based
High zeolite content
Low mobility Catalyst with high surface porosity and
engineered pore architecture
excellence. The latter is collectively mani-
fested under the term ‘over-performance’,
which is the difference between true oper-
ating margins and international benchmark
margins. The five pillars to a healthy over-
performance that will secure the sustain-
ability of the SE refiners are:
• High asset utilisation
• Energy efficiency
• Global optimisation among the process
sites AND the various business units
• Crude slate enhancement
• Human capital development.
Mr Stergioulis will also speak about the
initiatives undertaken in the last few years
to secure refinery operation and keep
8
The use of heavier feeds may introduce FCC objectives
more sulphur and nitrogen. As sulphur in Lower gas and Lowest gas and
the products and SOx emissions must be Ecat coke improved coke conversion
Equivalent Ni conversion maximisation
minimised, refineries can utilise the follow-
ing solutions to reduce sulphur compounds: Resid High Fortress NXT BoroCat
feed
• Capture sulphur using SOx reduction Moderate Endurance Borotec
additives, convert this to H2S in the riser,
Table 2 Resid-FCC catalyst solutions
and remove H2S from the LPG using amines
or adsorbents.
Trial achievement Improvement Notes
• Minimise the gasoline sulphur using sul- observed
phur reduction additives.6
Coke factor Reduced by 18% Reduction in
Nitrogen is a concern as it is a temporary regenerator
Gas factor Reduced by 2%
acid-site poison and can increase nitro- temperature allowed
gen oxide (NOx) emissions. Refiners can feed quality to be
address these concerns through:
Resid in feed Increased by 7%
deteriorated
These benefits
• Optimised acid-site density to compen-
sate for temporary deactivation. Bottoms yield (slurry) Reduced by 4% allowed the refinery
to increase FCC
• Using a NOx reduction additive and low-
NOx CO combustion promoter.
Gasoline production
Catalyst addition rate
Increased by 2%
Reduced by 5%
profitability
Safe, reliable and economic FCC opera-
tion requires refiners to achieve multiple Table 3 Refinery improved FCC
targets. There is a broad array of FCC cata-
performance and yields
lysts and solutions available to meet these
demands. BASF has introduced new FCC
benefit was enabled by a clear reduction in
catalyst gas and coke factors.
catalyst innovations for refiners process- Even with more resid in the feed, the refin-
ing moderate to heavy resid feedstock; ery reduced the slurry yield and increased
wanting lower hydrogen and coke yields; the gasoline yield. Furthermore, a signifi-
and desiring deep bottoms conversion and cant reduction in catalyst addition rate was
higher liquid product yields (see Table 2). achieved, because Fortress NXT has ultra-
Fortress NXT is based on the DMS plat- low sodium on fresh catalyst. Thus, Fortress
form and integrates a new nickel passivation NXT is inherently resistant to sodium plus
technology and separate particle vanadium vanadium deactivation.7 The overall trial
trap. This approach minimises non-selec- performance is summarised in Table 3. The
tive secondary metals-catalysed reactions refinery continues to use Fortress NXT. ■
that result in increased gas and coke for-
mation. In a commercial trial, Fortress NXT 1 Lessons from FCC history, PTQ Catalysis
2017, 37-45.
enabled the refinery to maximise resid feed 2 Distributed Matrix Structures, NPRA
rate and gasoline yield, while minimising AM-03-38.
slurry. The unit’s main constraint was a high 3 Applied Catalysis A 495, 2015, 39-44.
4 The Stamina Test, Hydrocarbon Engineering,
regenerator temperature and dry gas yield.
Sept 2010.
As the proportion of Fortress NXT catalyst
5 ZSM-5 Additive Maximises Propylene, PTQ
increased in the inventory, a reduction in Catalysis 2015, 31-33.
6 Meeting Gasoline Sulfur Requirements, NPRA
regenerator temperature was observed,
AM-05-60.
which moved the unit away from a con-
7 Journal of Catalysis 207, 2002, 237-246.
straint and allowed the refinery to increase
the proportion of resid in the feed. This Contact: carl.keeley@basf.com
Hellenic Petroleum afloat amidst a multi- of Crete. The Group aspired to contribute
tude of adverse events (such as the deep substantially to the efforts of the country to
recession in the domestic market and fall- revert to steady growth rates and to becom-
ing regional oil products demand). ing an energy hub of significant importance
For example, Hellenic Petroleum has for the wider region of SE Europe. If indeed
recently upgraded the old Elefsina top- the existence of exploitable hydrocarbons
ping refinery into a modern hydrocracking is verified, it is certain that Greece will
refinery with zero fuel oil production. The enter a new era, with tangible benefits for
group had to deal with a significant change the national economy and the local commu-
in product volumes and slate that called nities, and will contribute to the geopolitical
for a more export-oriented approach for and energy upgrade of Greece.
the company. Mr Stergioulis and other representatives
Finally, a joint venture comprising of of the group aim to inspire and encour-
Total (operator), ExxonMobil and Hellenic age other businesses to be proactive, and
Petroleum expressed interest in exploring respond to their challenges with a flexible
hydrocarbons in two offshore blocks south and resilient mind set. ■

Precious metals catalyst: understanding the technology
Bradford M Cook Sabin Metal Corporation
The Catalyst Life-Cycle
The vast majority of petroleum and pet-
rochemical processors use catalysts that
contain one or more precious metals such
as platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and
rhodium (commonly referred to as plati-
num group metals, or PGMs). In addition
to PGMs, many of these catalysts con-
tain another valuable precious metal, rhe-
nium (Re), which is most typically used in
combination with platinum for reforming
naphthas. Whatever their precious met-
als composition, all PGM and rhenium-
bearing catalysts must eventually be
replaced with fresh catalysts (or ‘changed
out’) to restore efficacy to the process or
speed up process reactions. The spent
catalysts are then sent to a precious met-
als refiner to recover the value contained.
What happens to the catalyst over the
course of its production cycle can have a
dramatic effect on the precious metals
refiner’s ability to recover the PGMs and
especially rhenium.
Recovering Your Precious Metals
Traditionally, precious metals catalyst
refiners recover PGMs and rhenium by
dissolving the spent catalysts in strong
caustics or acids. This hydrometallurgical
recovery process is commonly referred to
in the industry as ‘digesting’.
Digestion serves well to recover the pre-
cious metals from spent process catalysts
in most cases. Certain events and circum-
stances encountered over the life of the
catalyst, however, can create many prob-
lems when trying to digest:
• Overheating during operation can
harden substrates (gamma alumina con-
verting to theta or alpha alumina), ren-
dering them insoluble to even powerful
solvents.
• Excessive fines or carbon content can
prevent the exposure of the catalyst sur-
face area to the solvents.
ERTC 2017
• Metals present in the feed, or additives
introduced to extend catalyst life, can cre-
ate chemical imbalances and interfere with
the desired chemical reaction.
Individually, each of these factors can
reduce precious metals recovery, and in
combination these effects can be great. In
some cases, as much as 20 or 30% of the
rhenium contained can remain insoluble.
Should the insoluble materials still hold
precious metals, the hydrometallurgical
refiners must send them out to a copper
smelter to recover the platinum group met-
als, but the rhenium is lost.
A refiner who uses pyro-metallurgical
technology (for example, Sabin’s Pyro-Re
process) can recover virtually all of the Re
from spent catalyst lots, maximising the
return value, because you – the catalyst
owner – are paid based on the total pre-
cious metals content.
Take Away Customers are wise to watch
the precious metals refinery contract lan-
guage very carefully: terms regarding the
values being returned should be based on
total precious metals contained and not on
acid-soluble precious metals content.
DID you know: Sabin
Metal is hosting
a RoundTable on
Recovering Spent
Catalysts on
Tuesday at 16.35?
Removal of Contaminants
All spent catalysts are contaminated to
some degree with unwanted materials and
elements such as sulphur, carbon, moisture,
9
and solvents. The pre-reclaim burn process,
or kilning stage, assures spent catalysts are
freed from the accumulated contaminants
and that materials are free flowing for high-
est possible sampling accuracy.
Take Away Pre-burning may be performed
at the precious metals refiner’s site or
elsewhere. Significant cost and time sav-
ings can be realised if your precious metals
refiner is able to provide all services from
one location.
Importance of Accurate Sampling Assaying
In order to determine the precise amounts
of precious metals contained in any given
shipment of hydrocarbon catalyst, the
process must begin with a series of steps
designed to create uniformity. Once the
catalyst batch is free-flowing and free
from contaminants, carefully controlled
sampling measures can draw a sample
that is truly representative of the whole.
Most hydrocarbon processing catalysts
are sampled by a process known as dry
sampling, which involves the use of mesh
screens, vibratory feeders, rotary sam-
plers, and other specialised equipment.
Once accurate samples are obtained,
the precious metals refiner and the cata-
lyst owner can analyse the samples for
their precious metals content indepen-
dently. Most precious metal assay labora-
tories perform assays in triplicate by more
than one method to ensure accuracy. The
goal is for these independent assays to
return values that are in close agreement.
If this is the case, their values are averaged
to arrive at a ‘mean’ valuation of the PGMs
in the spent catalyst.
In a small percentage of cases, the val-
ues of the two independent assays are not
within agreed tolerances, and a third sam-
ple (known as the ‘umpire’) is sent to an inde-
pendent laboratory to settle the dispute.
Take Away Catalyst owners should audit
their precious metals refiners and their
independent laboratories at least annually,
and always utilise third-party representa-
tion to ensure all processing and weighing
takes place precisely as intended. ■
Contact: bcook@sabinmetal.com
 ERTC 2017

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10
 ERTC 2017

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11

Process selection: a refinery study of FCC vs Gasolfin
for naphtha cracking into propylene
Bart de Graaf, Ray Fletcher, Herman van den Bold InovaCat B.V.
European refineries have experienced
challenging market conditions over the
past decade. Between 2008 and 2013,
European refining capacity decreased by
3 mbpd or 15% of its total capacity, and
between 2011 and 2016 Europe’s larg-
est refiner, Total, slashed its European
refinery capacity by 20%. During the same
period, refining capacity in North America
increased from 17.6 mbpd in 2008 to 18.4
mbpd in 2016, with refinery utilisation
rates increasing from 83% to nearly 90%.1
There were several factors contributing
to this shift, including excess global refin-
ing capacity, shifting fuel demand patterns
(and fewer gasoline exports to the US),
relatively high costs and regulatory bur-
dens at both national and EU levels. But
probably the most important contributing
factor was a lagging European demand
due to slow recovery from the economic
crisis. Fortunately, there are early indica-
tions of recovery, with oil demand showing
a strong increase, especially in Central and
South East Europe. This stems from local
economic development as refineries in this
part of Europe concentrate on supplying
local markets and are less oriented on fuel
exports, especially to the US.
An additional global trend is an increasing
focus on petrochemicals. The global growth
of propylene is projected to increase by
4.5% in the next few years compared with
the projected fuel consumption increase in
the automotive sector of 0.9% per year for
the foreseeable future.3
For this purpose, a European refinery
has performed a study on maximisation of
propylene due to its long-term strategic
goal of shifting from a fuel-based refinery
to supplying petrochemical facilities. This
will be achieved by either an increase in
FCC severity with the use of ZSM-5 addi-
tive or by adding a separate conversion
unit for post-processing of the FCC naph-
tha – the Gasolfin process as developed by
InovaCat. For this study, the refiner sent
FCC naphtha to be processed in a dedi-
cated pilot plant at CPERI laboratories in
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ERTC 2017
Thessaloniki, Greece. Although no details
of the economics can be presented as yet,
the results clearly favoured the post-pro-
cessing of naphtha in a separate conver-
sion unit. It must be noted that this result
was obtained without taking into account
optimisation of all naphtha-range products
available in this refinery, including light
straight-run and delayed coker naphtha.
For this study, three different catalytic
systems were tested in the pilot plant. The
catalytic system for Gasolfin consists of
a dehydrogenation catalyst and a crack-
ing component. FCC naphtha contains a
substantial concentration of olefins. This
changes the concentration profile in the
fixed-bed reactor system between both
catalytic components. Initially, it was
assumed that due to the presence of ole-
fins less dehydrogenation catalyst would
be required. Surprisingly, pilot plant studies
showed that when the cracking component
is the minority component of the catalyst
blend, this favours the stability of the sys-
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Inovacat invented
the first catalytic
process that
directly converts
gasoline into
petrochemicals?
tem, increases cycle length, and improves
the selectivity towards LPG olefins over the
formation of light gases.
In this study, the latest generation of
Gasolfin catalysts have been employed.
In prior studies, propylene yields up to 28
wt% have been obtained. In this study,
throughout the cycle length, all three cata-
lytic systems showed around 40 wt% pro-
pylene selectivity (on naphtha feed basis,
12
100
90
70
LPG olefins selectivity wt%
70
60
50
40
30
Cat system 1
20 Cat system 2
10 Cat system 3
0
Time on stream
Figure 1 LPG olefin selectivity of the Gasolfin process obtained in pilot plant in high
conversion mode, using three separate catalytic systems
including the non-reactive aromatics in the gasoline mode. Combining the flexibility to
feed. When excluding the aromatic con- operate the FCC unit at maximum charge
tent propylene selectivities, up to 50 wt% rate with optimised motor fuels production
is observed). Propylene yield for these plus the ability to shift production propyl-
catalytic systems is 40% higher than in ene (or butylenes for alkylation feed) to a
the first generation of Gasolfin catalysts, second unit (Gasolfin) offers the refiner an
thus highlighting the optimisation poten-
tial in the catalytic system. Separately, the
additional degree of freedom. This mode
of operation frequently releases existing
propylene selectivity approaches a linear FCC constraints. ■
dependency on the presence of the crack-
ing catalytic component of the catalytic Conclusions
system. These selectivities are substan-
tially higher than the 5-8 wt% propylene
This study shows the potential of adding
an extra degree of freedom in the opera-
yield observed in the standard FCC unit tion of a fuel-based refinery desiring to
or the 17% propylene typically observed
in conventional naphtha steam cracking.
shift towards an integrated petrochemical
platform. The most surprising result of this
Major improvements in the catalytic sys-
tem stem mostly from improved selec-
study next to the 50% propylene selectiv-
ity in naphtha cracking is that the simple
tivities of the dehydrogenation catalysts, payout of the additional capital expenditure
reducing the aromatic by-products when is less than 18 months of operation.
operating in propylene mode.
Some considerations in the economic 1 U.S. Energy Information Agency, U.S.
Operable Crude Oil Distillation Capacity and
evaluation are: why do the economics show U.S. Percent Utilization of Refinery Operable
a clear preference for a separate conver- Capacity, www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pnp_unc_
sion unit over maximising the propylene dcu_nus_a.htm
2 http://blogs.platts.com/2017/10/16/
yield in the FCC unit? Although this is refin-
europe-oil-economy
ery specific, a refinery operating in a gaso- 3 BP Energy Outlook 2017.
line market will most often maximise profit
via operation of the FCC unit in maximum Contact: bdegraaf@inovacat.com

Creation of energy efficiency action plan for oil refinery
with advanced energy analysis
Igor Šepić INA Kari Kunnari Neste Jacobs Oy
The INA Group plays a major part in the
exploration, refining and distribution of
oil, gas and oil derivatives in Croatia, and
has a number of affiliates fully or partially
owned by INA d.d. INA has upstream pro-
jects in Angola and Egypt, refineries in
Rijeka and Sisak, and its retail network
consists of 438 petrol stations in Croatia
and other regions.
INA d.d. introduced its Energy
Management System (EnMS) in 2015.
It has since been through recertification
and continuous improvement audits, and
is now developing a sustainable energy
platform. Based on the ISO 50001:2014
standard, the EnMS team has created a
platform to raise energy performance to
the next level by applying the plan–do–
check–act cycle. A certified EnMS con-
firms that the company is committed, and
working continuously and strategically to:
1. Decrease energy consumption
2. Optimise the use of energy sources
3. Introduce best available techniques in
the field of energy.
The energy efficiency programme for
the Rijeka refinery was based on these
three objectives.
Did you know:
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help you boost
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efficiency while
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The joint Neste Jacobs and INA EnMS
team carried out a study of energy effi-
ciency improvements in 2016. The objec-
tive was to identify feasible, practical and
proven energy performance improvement
opportunities. The study was refinery
wide, and included process units, power
plant and logistics, as well as current
EnMS practices and development plans.
The energy performance of the refinery
was benchmarked lower than average,
partly because the refinery was not run-
ning at full capacity.
The energy analysis was executed using
the following phases:
1. Baseline phase – site review and crea-
tion of comprehensive and presentative
energy baseline.
2. Analysis phase – identification and cre-
ation of improvement opportunities.
3. Action plan – prioritisation and creation
of implementation plan for improvements.
The baseline phase started with the
request and review of input data. Based
on these data, preliminary benchmarking
was carried out by calculating energy per-
formance indicators (EnPI) for processes
and main equipment.
ERTC 2017
One of the main events of the pro-
ject was the site reviews of the refin-
ery, which included kick-off meetings,
mechanical field reviews, interviews with Creation of Energy Creation of Action plan
operating staff and input data verifica- energy baseline analysis improvement
tion. Based on these site reviews, as well opportunities
as DCS and laboratory data, process • Recording and • Identification of • Selection of the • Action plan
simulation models were created from all modelling the improvement most feasible > Verified by the
major energy consumers. A utility simu- current situation potential options customer
lation model was created from energy > Pinch > Includes
systems and production, including com- > Benchmarking responsibilites
prehensive steam balance. Detailed heat > Energy optimisation > Ready for
workshop implementation
and material balances from more than
95% of energy consumption were also Input data Workshop for screening of Final
created. To achieve a common under- delivery improvement opportunities reporting
standing between Neste Jacobs and
INA, and provide a firm basis for analy- Site visit and review Presentation of results;
sis, all relevant data were issued as a of input data workshop for action plan
baseline report for commenting and veri-
fication by INA’s experts.
During the analysis phase, energy per- Figure 1 Execution of energy analysis
formance of the baseline was analysed
to identify the potential for improvement. improvement opportunities. This included With the energy management practices
The main tools used for this were pinch project packages for quick wins (operations and the investment portfolio proposed
analysis, best technology and practices and maintenance), small and major invest- in the action plan, major energy savings
benchmarking, as well as energy optimi- ments, as well as preliminary responsibili- could be achieved on a site scale, with a
sation workshops. ties and implementation schedules. significant effect on operating costs, refin-
Pinch methodology was used to evalu- After the establishment of INA’s EnMS, ing margin and the overall profitability of
ate the current level of heat integration trends showed a decrease in energy costs, the Rijeka refinery. ■
and provide targets for improvement. an optimisation in energy use, and the intro-
Composite curves were created to define
targets for minimum potential consump-
duction of best technology in investment
projects categorised as relevant to energy. Contact: kari.kunnari@nestejacobs.com
tion and also to determine key areas
where improvements could be achieved.
Utility grand composite curves were used
to define optimal energys source and util-
ity temperature levels. This expanded
to site level with the utility simulation
model. All sources of excess heat were
also listed systematically.
Best technology benchmarking was
used to identify the performance gaps
between current performance and best
technology performance defined by
Neste Jacobs. This was applied to pro-
cess energy intensity, heat integration
performance, fired heater and boiler per-
formance, as well as pump and compres-
sor performance. In the field of energy
management, the current situation was
assessed against best practices in areas
of organisation, energy monitoring and
energy planning.
Workshops that employed a HAZOP-
style process for systematic energy
optimisation of the industrial process
screened every part of the process
based on Neste Jacobs’ procedures to
identify improvement opportunities.
Energy baseline, pinch analysis and
best technology benchmarking results
formed the basis of the workshop. The
result was a list of improvement oppor-
tunities that were believed to be practi-
cal, proven and feasible. Together, INA’s
and Neste Jacobs’ experts decided on
opportunities to be evaluated further via
detailed cost-benefit analysis.
At the action plan phase, cash flows
and a preliminary implementation plan
were created for the most feasible
13
 ERTC 2017

Renewable components in European refining companies

Stefano Milanese Arthur D Little

The whole European community,
including petroleum refineries and fuel
distribution companies on the supply
side and the transportation sector
at the demand side, is under ongo-
ing pressure to significantly reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions and
develop a more environmentally
friendly footprint.
Fuel oil consumption is under increasing environmental
pressure, with stricter regulations on use in marine trans-
portation. Emissions from diesel fuels from fossil sources
have been under scrutiny from regulators and public opin-
ion. Companies are striving to become more sustainable
by replacing traditional fuels with a renewable alternative,
such as biofuels. Different energy sources for mobility have
recently emerged around the concept of electric vehicles
and fuel cells and are penetrating the transportation market.
How can refiners respond to the new trend and
market developments?
There are different potential insertion points for biofu-
els or biomass at the fuel production value chain. The
simple one is to replace part of the crude oil at the dis-
tillation process with renewable feedstock. This has
limited viability unless the material is purely composed
of carbon and hydrogen, with minimal levels of olefins.
The most interesting insertion point for renewables
into refineries is as ‘biomass/renewable intermediate’
fed into conversion processes, finishing processes or
speciality units. The lower risk and lower effort insertion
point is to blend biocomponents into near finished fuel.

Strategies for refiners

Experience
Major players in the downstream industry are at an
institutional level looking to switch to an industrial
and commercial configuration, where renewable fuels

the Sabin difference take a larger share, but they have not yet adopted this
option on a broad basis. There would be incentives
for refiners who want to move to biofuels and specifi-

for precious metal cally the use of second- and third-generation fuels for
their production.

catalyst recovery
Refining is a well-established business, with rela-
tively standard configuration and operations, so any
industrial and commercial strategy for switching

and refining. to a more renewable feedstock will need time to be

implemented, adjusting plant to produce efficiently
and training personnel accordingly. Refiners are
aware that this switch does not come without costs
and they will need to make significant investments.
European refineries need to monitor and consider on
a broad basis the range of biocomponents available
for their industrial and commercial operations in a
flexible manner.

Options for refiners

At ERTC, Mr Milanese will be addressing the range
of different clean component options refiners can
exploit, such as methanol and more sophisticated
components. Methanol or ethanol have been an option
for refiners in the US, and are highly developed in the
We turn science into art for region due to the amount of resources available. In

highest possible returns Europe, methanol will be hard to produce as it requires

relevant land use. European policies and directives

and added value. urge transport fuel suppliers to provide an increas-

ing share of renewable and low-carbon fuels, includ-
ing advanced biofuels, renewable transport fuels of
The “science” of recovering and refining precious non-biological origin, waste-based fuels and renew-
metal catalysts is straightforward: state of the art able electricity.
technology. The “art” of this process, however, is The European Union is encouraging research into
what makes Sabin different from all others: that’s renewable fuels and investment in innovation by sup-
the knowledge, experience, and expertise gained porting companies and research institutions finan-
from over seven decades of successfully serving cially. European refiners will need to look at the entire
thousands of organizations around the world. We’d fuel and energy value chain, and seek alternative
be pleased to count you among them. options that will be better suited to them.
Operational and commercial flexibility of European
refineries is fundamental to establishing a solid plat-
form for the future, and it is very likely that it will imply
Learn more at sabinmetal.com a radical reorganisation in the light of more integrated
energy companies.

The future for refineries

Refiners are aware that the market is evolving and that
their role is changing. It is as yet unclear when renewa-
ble fuels and components will take on a significant role,
but there is no doubt that renewables are taking over
and, now more than ever, companies are working hard
toward achieving cleaner production. There are numer-
ous opportunities for European businesses to ‘go
green’, but that change needs to be embedded within
an industrial and commercial strategy if the companies
are to prosper and remain competitive.
Stefano Milanese will be moderating a session on
Wednesday 15th November. ■
Sabin ExpTheDif-QR.indd 1 8/26/17 11:16 AM

14

Operating in the jungle of renewables
Kiki Larsen, Sylvain Verdier Haldor Topsoe
In Europe, 10% of transport fuels should
come from renewable sources by 2020.
This will partially be achieved by hydropro-
cessing renewable feedstocks. However,
compared to the processing of fossil fuels,
the conversion of renewables to transport
fuels poses new challenges. New types of
contaminants, such as phosphorus, are
introduced, large exotherms arise, and
corrosion due to oxygenated compounds
needs handling.
The key objective for each renewable pro-
cessor is to find the optimal solution based
on feed properties and the required prod-
uct specifications. These parameters will
impact the choice of technology and cata-
lyst solution. This is best done by having a
strong dialogue and collaboration with the
technology and catalyst vendor, so that the
introduced challenges specific to renewa-
bles are addressed to ensure the most opti-
mal performance.
As with fossil fuels, variations in renew-
able types are many (vegetable oils, animal
fats, used cooking oils and pyrolysis oils,
residues from pulp mills). To successfully
produce fuels from renewables, the feed-
stock needs to be evaluated with regard to:
- Fouling tendency and grading catalyst
requirements: Which contaminants will af-
fect the cycle and to what extent (deactiva-
tion, pressure drop)?
- Activity: Can the oxygenated compounds
be easily hydrodeoxygenated (HDO)? Is
organic nitrogen a concern due to its inhibit-
ing effect on hydrotreating activity?
- Yield structure and product properties:
Online Cleaning technology applied to a major European refinery
Marcello Ferrara ITW
A major European refinery processing a
variety of light, heavy and opportunity
crudes, along with slop and gasoline con-
densate, faced high delta P on their CDU
pre-flash tower in excess of 0.35 kg/cm2,
while the normal operating delta P was
0.15 kg/cm2. The high delta P prevented
the entire crude distillation unit being run
at its maximum throughput.
In particular, the light straight-run naph-
tha product was coloured and off-spec, so
the CDU had to run at a significantly lower
capacity or accept non-optimised process
conditions, with related losses.
In addition, the delta P was variable and
sensitive to both crude quality and flow
rate, which forced the refinery to make con-
tinuous operating condition adjustments.
Typical mechanical cleaning would
have forced the refinery to shut down the
CDU for about two weeks, with a severe
impact on refinery production and conse-
quent financial losses, not to mention the
mechanical cleaning costs and the associ-
ated safety and environmental concerns.
Instead, they decided to ask ITW to repeat
the pre-flash tower Online Cleaning (OLC)
ERTC 2017
The feedstock composition will have a huge Feed Plant Animal Tall oil Sulphate Hydro- Pyrolysis Algae-
influence on the end products and the end triglyceride triglyceride triglyceride thermal oil dervived
product properties. For example, some tri- bio crude pyrolysis oil
glycerides may contain fatty acids with high
Derived from Various vegetable Animal fat Wood Wood Biomass or Biomass Algae
carbon numbers that would produce mol-
oils coal
ecules outside the desired fuel range.
Main product Diesel and jet Diesel Diesel Gasoline Jet fuel Gasoline + Gasoline +
- Deactivation: Phosphorous and silicon diesel diesel
are known to deactivate the catalyst even Topsoe R&D tested Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
at very low concentrations (a few ppm) and
Industrial operation Yes Yes Yes No No No No
may deactivate the bulk HDO catalyst with- (Topsoe’s catalyst)
out a proper grading.
- Heat balance and hydrogen consump- Table 1 List of different renewable feedstocks, the main product derived from them,
tion: High oxygen content and unsaturated and Topsoe’s experience in handling them
compounds will give rise to large exotherms
and will also strongly affect the hydrogen rience in layout, control, and handling of loss. It can be combined with cracking cata-
consumption. upset situations. lyst if heavy end reduction is required.
On top of the feedstock evaluation comes • Isomerisation catalyst in sweet mode for
the fuel specifications. The three main fuel cloud point improvements and reduction in
Did you know: specifications are listed below:
• EN-590 based mainly on 100% HDO and
aromatic content. It can be combined with
cracking catalyst if heavy end reduction
Topsoe just dewaxing for cloud point requirements. is required.
launched the • MK-I, as EN-590, but the aromatic speci-
fications are tightened to yield max 5%
To get the optimal performance of a
renewable processing unit, feedstock, tech-
TK-930 D-wax total and 200 ppm PHA. The T95 end point
is also lower than the EN-590.
nology, and end product need to go hand in
hand. This requires a close collaboration
catalyst for diesel • HVO-100, as MK-I, but the aromatic spec- between the technology/catalyst vendor
dewaxing without ifications are further tightened to max 1.1%
total, and with lower density requirements.
and the refinery.
Topsoe’s strengths as a technology and
yield loss? To reach these specifications, a variety of
solutions exists:
catalyst vendor include strong research
and technology developments, plus
• Graded beds for activity and guards extensive experience within design and
- Mechanical: The acid number and by- against renewable impurities. field support. Table 1 lists the different
product of the feedstock will affect to • Combined isomerisation and cracking renewable feedstocks, the main products
which degree corrosion will be an issue for catalyst to improve cold flow properties and derived from them, and Topsoe’s commer-
the unit. reduce heavy ends. cial experience. ■
- Unit operations: The handling of a wide • Isomerisation catalyst in sour mode for
operating window requires strong expe- cloud point improvements with low yield Contact: kikl@topsoe.com
method they had successfully performed
two years earlier.
0.5 18 000
ITW’s OLC technology is able to clean
Maximum and stable throughput
an entire production unit or any equipment 0.45
after ITW online cleaning 17 000
with the use of patented cleaning meth- 0.4
ods and chemicals, together with a propri- Declining throughput 16 000
etary monitoring system. The technology 0.35 before cleaning
Throughput ton/day
is capable of dissolving and stabilising 0.3 15 000
any precipitated asphaltene or coke-like
deposits on a closed loop basis in less than 0.25
14 000
High and unstable ∆P
24 hours. The deposits are turned into a
∆P kg/cm2
0.2 before cleaning ∆P on-spec and stable after
stable liquid, which can be fully reused and ITW online cleaning 13 000
reprocessed. 0.15
The ITW patented chemical was injected 0.1 12 000
into the bottom of the pre-flash tower Time
through a temporary line, and circulated
together with a refinery stock used as a Figure 1 CDU pre-flash tower – delta P vs throughput
carrier on a closed loop basis. In about 24
hours, the OLC cleaning procedure was The entire OLC procedure was com- The refinery is now considering ITW’s
complete and the unit resumed production pleted without opening any of the equip- OLC technology as an operational excel-
straight away. Within about one day, the ment involved in the cleaning process, lence tool to postpone or completely avoid
unit was at its maximum capacity, with all and without any waste generation since any major mechanical cleaning, and main-
products on-spec and the pre-flash tower all of the washing fluids were fully repro- tain the unit at its maximum performance,
delta P back to its normal level of 0.15 kg/ cessed. Based on data collected during the maximising profitability. ■
cm2. In addition, the achieved delta P was monitoring period, it was estimated that a
very stable and operating conditions were total of 14 tons of coke-like material was
running smoothly. removed during the OLC process. Contact: mferrara@itwtechnologies.com
15
 ERTC 2017

Accurate, real-time H2S measurement achieved

with in-line analyser
Francis HUMBLOT ARKEMA

Arkema, in keeping with its policy of inno-
vation, introduces an additional service
to its current Carelflex service that helps
refiners to perform the sulphiding of their
hydroprocessing catalysts with dimethyl-
disulphide (DMDS) Evolution E2 during
the start-up phase of their units. During
this critical period, the temperature ramp-
up and DMDS Evolution E2 flow rate are
adjusted depending on the H2S concentra-
tion in the recycle hydrogen.
Today, refiners manually obtain every
hour the H2S concentration information
with H2S reactive tubes. Due to the high
toxicity of H2S and flammability of hydro-
gen, this measurement is a risky operation,
and the refinery has to dedicate workforce
to this task during the busy unit start-
up period. Moreover, the accuracy of the
result depends on the experience of the
operators, and a faster response analysis
than every hour would also be welcome to
anticipate decisions for a quicker and more
• Accurate and continuous measurement
of H2S concentration, from 0.03 to 5%.
• Tightly closed system, without any risk
of exposure to H2S to workers.
The core of this equipment is a spec-
trometer that has benefited from the latest
advances in electronics and signal treat-
ment to drastically improve the sensitivity
and selectivity of the H2S determination in
a complex gas.
Did you know:
ARKEMA now
provides an
in-line H2S analyser
service during safely near the hydrogen sampling point of resulting data are included in the final
Hydroprocessing the hydroprocessing unit.
A small flow of the recycle hydrogen is
Carelflex report.

efficient catalyst activation.
Arkema has developed multi-step chem-
istry and processes based on H2S. Thanks
to its know-how in handling this danger-
ous gas and extensive experience in the
hydroprocessing catalyst sulphiding pro-
cedure with DMDS Evolution E2, Arkema
has designed (patent filed) an in-line H2S
analytical tool that addresses all refinery
concerns:
1600
1400
1200
DMDS flow rate litres/hour
catalyst activation? sampled at high pressure. For an accurate
and stable measurement, the gas pressure
is reduced to almost atmospheric pressure
Equipment deployed before entering the analyser. The outlet
A full set of analytical equipment is deliv- gas that exits the analyser is injected into
ered with the current equipment required the flare network of the refinery to avoid
to inject DMDS. All the electric equip- any atmospheric release. All gas connec-
ment of the H2S analyser complies with tions are achieved with high-pressure
the European ATEX certification (EC II 2 hoses and quick couplings for a fast and
G EExd IIC T4) and can be implemented safe implementation.
 
Service description
DMDS flow rate 16000 The H2S analyser equipment is delivered
Arkema H2S analyser with the standard Carelflex equipment
Refinery H2S lab analysis 14000 needed for DMDS injection. The Carelflex
Refinery H2S reactive tubes team implements and tests both sets of
12000 equipment the day before the sulphiding
Benefits and Market feedback
Thanks to a versatile pressure reducer,
this equipment has successfully been
used to monitor H2S in the recycle
hydrogen of hydrocrackers units, gasoil
hydrodesulphurisation units and naphtha
hydrotreaters.
Commercially launched in Europe by
Arkema at the start of 2017, this new
service has proved to be a great success
because it offers:
• Very safe equipment: since the start,
workers have never been exposed to any
H2S leak.
• High reliability and excellent accuracy:
continuous H2S monitoring has been
achieved at all the refineries that asked

operation. During catalyst activation, a for such a service, and H2S concentra-
1000 10000
Carelflex operator puts the H2S analyser tion has always been in line with other
800 8000 on stream and monitors all the equip- analytical methods (reactive tubes, online
ment, checking that a continuous gas flow GC).
600 6000 is fed in and the H2S analyser is running • A useful tool to better manage the cat-
normally. H2S concentration informa- alyst sulphiding operation according to
400 4000
tion is refreshed every two seconds and catalyst manufacturer procedures and
H2S ppm

200 2000 available throughout the activation pro- guidelines.

cess. On request, this analytical tool can • Continuous H2S indication that helps
0 0 even stay on stream after the comple- to anticipate DMDS flow rate changes.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Injection duration hours tion of the DMDS injection and during the DMDS consumption and sulphiding time
start of the production mode. The H2S can be reduced significantly. ■
concentration is automatically recorded
Figure 1 H2S in-line analyser service at a European gasoil HDS unit each minute on a memory stick, and the Contact: francis.humblot@arkema.com

16

High-efficiency filtration extends SRU cycle length
John Burwell Crystaphase
At a facility in the heart of Western Europe,
engineers had all but resigned to their
fate: every 60 days, they would have to
take down a whole section of their opera-
tion just to change out their sulphur recov-
ery unit.
The de facto standard procedure was
to load their Claus reactor with ceramic
spheres for filtration. After countless
cycles of trial and error, engineers had
settled on a grading system of 6.4 to
12.7mm spheres. The bed of spheres was
already as deep as they could manage;
any deeper would cut further into valuable
space for catalyst. Besides, it was unclear
if a deeper bed would help. Sixty days
seemed like the most they could get out of
the unit, whatever they tried.
The attitude toward this unit had long
been ‘cheap and fast,’ but pressure on the
engineers was rising. The SRU was not a
profit centre for the company, yet it was
absolutely essential to the operation.
Other units simply could not run with-
out the SRU. Everything depended on it.
Desperate for relief, one engineer set out
to find a better way.
Since this company was not strictly in
the petroleum or petrochemicals sectors,
its engineers were not already familiar
with the wide reputation of CatTrap tech-
nology for controlling pressure drop and
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ERTC 2017
extending reactor cycles. But when an
SRU case study on crystaphase.com
seemed far too familiar, the engineer con-
tacted Crystaphase.
At the very next changeout, which wasn’t
far off, the company collected samples of
the previous loading and sent them to
Crystaphase for analysis. In their foulant
lab, the company’s technicians found car-
Did you know:
Crystaphase can
double or triple
cycle lengths for
more than just
hydroprocessors?
bon soot deposits in the catalyst bed. It
was an answer that raised a question: how
was the soot breaking through? Turning to
particle size distribution analysis, techni-
cians discovered the culprit: the particles
were too small to be captured efficiently
by the spheres. The sphere filtration sys-
tem was, in effect, useless.
17
The composition and morphology of the
foulant, and the apparent depth of the
crust layer, indicated a need for a filtration
system with a high particle storage capac-
ity. And with the limited space available,
high storage efficiency would be the key to
unlock longer cycles.
For a high-efficiency filtration system
that could hold a high volume of particles,
Crystaphase recommended a system
based on CatTrap. The company loaded
it, started up the unit, and began
gathering data.
After 30 days – historically the first indi-
cator of trouble – pressure drop had yet
to climb. Sixty days came and went, and
pressure drop remained steady. Another
Figure 1 Imagery from a scanning
electron microscope revealed carbon soot
month went by, and then another. Not bypassing an inefficient filtration system.
Crystaphase technicians designed a
until the fourth month did pressure
drop begin to rise. The cycle length
CatTrap system to target these fine
particles
had doubled.
The concept was proven, so the engi-
neers went back to Crystaphase for year to fewer than two. Plant-wide opera-
another round. Further study revealed fur- tions improved. The whole facility became
ther optimisations to make. Today, the cur- more profitable, with lower costs and
rent cycle is well on its way to six months of higher uptime.
uptime, if not more. As for the engineers, they could finally
Relief once seemed beyond hope, but stop dreading their next SRU changeout,
with the CatTrap system installed, the and start looking forward to their compa-
SRU was going far beyond expectations. ny’s next big thing. ■
Sixty-day cycles turned into six-month
cycles. Changeouts fell from five per Contact: john.burwell@crystaphase.com
 ERTC 2017

High-performance catalysts and technology in action

wes cotton criterion Catalysts & Technologies

As environment regulations continue to get be utilised in several ways to improve unit

stricter, refiners are being challenged to performance. DC-2638 is ideally suited 140
Feed Feed
provide cleaner transportation fuels while, to units processing challenging feeds
SG = 0.865 SG = 0.853
at the same time, processing more difficult at low hydrogen partial pressure, which T95 = 405˚C T95 = 358˚C
crude slates. Following an early adoption require robust HDS activity with limited Fs = 1.2 wt% Fs = 1.7wt%
in Europe, US and Japan, ultra low-sulphur H2 consumption. The synergistic effect FN = 240 ppm FN = 250 ppm
120
diesel (ULSD) standards continue to be of a CoMo/NiMo/CoMo stack is employed P = 60 barg P = 40 barg

Relative volume activity

LHSV = 1.15/ h LHSV = 1.00/h
-1 -1
implemented globally. Significant invest- in medium-pressure units that process
340 Nm3/m3 200 Nm3/m3
ment has been made recently in India and refractory, higher nitrogen feeds such
China to migrate to Euro IV and Euro V as light cycle oil (LCO) or light coker gas
grade fuels respectively. The recent IMO oil (LCGO), but are H2 constrained. The 100
decision to reduce sulphur in bunker fuel to enhanced HDN activity of the NiMo layer
0.5 wt% by 2020 presents another chal- reduces the organic nitrogen going to the
lenge. Catalyst suppliers have a key role to bottom CoMo layer, resulting in a syner-
play in this on-going transition. Criterion gistic boost in HDS performance. Such 80
Catalysts & Technologies has over three a system enables a unit to maximise the DN-3636 DN-3638 DN-2635 DN-2638
decades of experience in applying cus- rate of high margin feeds such as LCO HDS
tomised catalyst solutions and operating and LCGO without a significant H2 con-
strategies to help refiners improve yields, sumption penalty. Criterion was the first Figure 1 Centera GT DN-3638 and DC-2638
process challenging feeds and maximise to apply this concept to distillate units in
profitability. the early 2000s. Over the years, we have improves the cold flow properties of the exposure of maintenance personnel to a
Launching in 2017, Criterion’s latest continued to build the modelling tools and ULSD product, while distillate MHC uses high-risk environment inside a reactor and
technology, Centera GT, builds on the fun- a low-activity hydrocracking catalyst to reducing turnaround time.
damentals of the original Centera family enable processing of heavier feeds. One Criterion has been leveraging digital
while incorporating enhancements to the refinery achieved a 7% higher diesel yield technologies such as advanced analyt-
catalyst carrier as well as molecular struc- did you know: by maximising T95 shift using a combi- ics and high-performance computing to
ture of the active metal sites. The acceler-
ated development of Centera GT is a direct Criterion is nation of high-activity NiMo catalyst and
diesel-selective MHC catalyst. The unit
enable seamless sharing of data and auto-
identification and notification of outliers
result of investing in computational mod-
elling, deploying high throughput catalyst
leveraging Rive continues to deliver profit improvement of
6-9 MM $/year.
in unit performance. Criterion’s CatCheck
Advisor is a virtual ‘tech services’ assis-
testing and leveraging state-of-the-art Molecular Highway The performance of a hydroprocessing tant that utilises machine learning algo-
characterisation method and data analy-
sis tools. Atomically specific modifica- technology unit is dependent not only on the catalyst
system, but also on the reactor and inter-
rithms and pattern recognition to provide
high-level recommendations based on
tions to the alumina carrier have resulted
in the creation of novel nanoscale features
for increased nals design. Uniform gas and liquid flow
distribution in the reactor is essential for
data analysis and catalyst performance.
It includes web access to kinetic mod-
as well as a more desirable set of physical
and chemical properties. The modified car-
hydrocracking good catalyst utilisation and optimum unit els tuned to the actual performance of
the unit, which are used by customers to
rier enabled Criterion’s scientists to engi- product yields? performance. Use of older generation reac-
tor internals leads to substandard catalyst track KPIs such as conversion, yields and
neer highly dispersed MoS2 particles with performance and substantial lost oppor- catalyst activity. The kinetic models can
step-out intrinsic activity for HDS, HDN tunity. Criterion’s licensing partner, Shell be used to evaluate what-if scenarios
and HDA. The effect was so pronounced expertise needed to optimise the catalyst Global Solutions, has developed several and case studies, as well as generate
that it provided the highest active metal design depending on the unit conditions reactor internal improvements, such as LP vectors. Digitise you catalyst experi-
site utilisation observed for alumina sup- and requirements. its High Dispersion (HD) distributor trays, ence now.
ported catalysts. Advanced catalyst char- Sites with access to low-cost H2 can Filter Trays and Ultra-Flat Quench trays. In conclusion, Criterion continues to
acterisation methods, including aberration use the enhanced saturation activity These improved internals produce excel- push the boundaries of hydroprocess-
corrected Scanning Transmission Electron of DN-3638 to push aromatic satura- lent flow distribution over a wide range ing catalyst R&D by leveraging emerging
Microscopy (STEM), were critical to the tion, maximise volume swell and cetane of conditions. The HD trays have been technologies to accelerate development
development of Centera GT. improvement. The resulting low-sulphur particularly helpful in boosting the per- and tailor molecular properties for step-
Figure 1 shows HDS activity for two new diesel product (<5 ppm) is a valuable formance of older hydroprocessing units. out performance. Our high-performance
ULSD catalysts, DN-3638 and DC-2638, blending component to maximise overall Employing these custom-designed trays catalysts combined with excellent techni-
at 60 and 40 bar respectively. Both exhibit refinery diesel yield. Another way to take can produce as much as 30-50% activity cal service and advanced monitoring tools
more than 20% HDS and HDN activity advantage of higher activity catalysts is to gain through the improved catalyst utilisa- help refiners maximise return from their
improvement compared to their Centera free up reactor volume for beyond ULSD tion and extra volume for loading catalyst. assets in these challenging times. ■
predecessors. applications such as dewaxing or distil- The internals are designed for easy assem-
The step-out activity of Centera GT can late mild hydrocracking (MHC). Dewaxing bly and reassembly, thus minimising the Contact: Wes.Whitecotton@shell.com

revamps
2017

ptq

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2017

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Q2 2017

PETROLEUM
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the refining, gas and petrochemical Publisher of PTQ & DigitalRefining.com Rachel Storry
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 ERTC 2017 Organised by

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Where the leaders and engineers from The number one platform to ensure

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Tech Service Our laboratory methodically identifies particles and poisons because nobody’s
reactor has time for downtime. Little foulant particles can cause big problems for reactors. Studying the
morphology of particle characteristics is what led to the superior filtration efficiencies of Crystaphase CatTrap®.
For questions or to learn more visit us at crystaphase.com.

There’s always
time for science.

science@crystaphase.com

20