FCC Network News August 2000 Volume 5

HIGHLIGHTS OF NPRA 2000 CAT CRACKER SEMINAR The NPRA Cat Cracker Seminar was held August 8 and 9, 2000 at the Adams Mark Hotel in Houston, Texas. On Tuesday, August 8, a panel of FCC experts conducted a Q&A session with the following four categories: 1. 2. 3. 4. Refractory, Materials, Internals, Expansion Joints and Slide Valves Rotating Equipment Turnaround/Maintenance/Inspection Process/Performance Issues

A transcript of these proceeding will be issued by the NPRA which contains the full content of the Q & A discussion. There were several points made during the Q & A that may be of immediate interest. There was a question regarding whether any refiners are using some type of on-line refractory wear indicators. During the discussion, one of the panelists, Mr. Frank DeMartino of Shared Systems Technology, indicated that he has developed a patent pending method for refractory wear indication in FCC units. The method essentially consists of embedding a dissimilar indicator material inside a cube or block of refractory that will be released if the refractory is worn down to the indicator material. The materials have been selected so that they would be released into the FCC circulating catalyst inventory and could be detected during routine equilibrium catalyst analysis. Using different types of materials for different points in the FCC unit would provide a mechanism for identifying the location of the wear. If anyone is interested in further information, Mr. DeMartino has indicated that he can be reached at (856)853-5700. Several other refiners indicated that they have embedded thermocouples in plastic and rammable refractory used to line FCC cyclones. Another section of the Q & A involved discussion of innovative techniques to improve FCC turnaround effectiveness. During this discussion, there was a brief presentation of an innovative scaffolding design which allows for quicker turnaround time on

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NPRA FCC CONFERENCE (CONTINUED) scaffold set-up. Excel Scaffold reportedly has a unique design that can meet scaffolding requirements at any angle desired. It was reported that in one FCC application, a scaffolding set-up was completed in 46 hours versus an estimated 180 hours for a conventional ring and pin design. The scaffolding is manufactured by Excel Scaffold and is offered to industry exclusively through Atlantic Scaffolding. Information can be obtained at www.excelscaffold.com, which contains a listing of distributors. On Wednesday, August 9, a series of Concurrent Workshops was held on various topics of interest including Scrubbers, Regenerator Cracking, On-Line Troubleshooting, PRT Expander Reliability, FCCU Turnaround Strategy, FCCU Hot Taps, Cyclones, and Refractory. NEW FEATURE PROVIDES ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS In the July edition, FCC Network News introduced a new feature aimed at providing answers to questions of current interest. Each month we will post one question submitted by members of The FCC Network. We will then solicit answers from our advisory panel. Also, we would like to invite newsletter readers to submit answers. All submitted information will be compiled into a single response to be published in the following edition. The source of any response will not be identified unless there is a specific request to do so. Answers can be submitted through The FCC network contact form or via email to refining@nauticom.net. Julys question is posted below followed by a composite of the answers: Question #1: What are the potential root causes of FCC debutanizer fouling on the gasoline side? What are the potential solutions to each root cause? Answer #1: When increasing resid addition to an FCC unit, there can be an increase in the production of reactive diolefins because of less than ideal feed vaporization which leads to increased thermal cracking. A step change was observed in butadiene concentration, which resulted in polymerization of butadiene in the reboiler to form a thin rubbery deposit. Additives are available to specifically inhibit butadiene polymerization. A second potential root cause is corrosion upstream of or in the debutanizer overhead which leads to the accumulation of iron sulfide (from bisulfide corrosion) in the reboiler tubes. Iron deposits may accelerate polymerization. Potential solutions include use of corrosion inhibitor to stop bisulfide corrosion or use of an antifoulant, which is more expensive.

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FCC NETWORK Q&A (Continued) At one commercial FCC unit, severe fouling on a debutanizer reboiler was limiting the operation. The causes were determined as follows. First, poor water separation in the contact drum led to corrosion in the stripper and debutanizer. Corrosion product (iron sulfides) collected in the thermosyphon reboiler, which was a natural low point. Second, higher than typical reboiler temperatures contributed to accelerated gum formation in the reboiler. These gums provided the glue for corrosion products to form. Until turnaround, dispersants and gum inhibitors were used with mixed success to control fouling. Addition of a nozzle to the bottom of the shell to steam sparge (i.e. knock off the fouling layer) did not help. Decreasing FCC riser outlet temperature (lower dienes production) and relaxing the gasoline RVP target took some load off the reboiler. At turnaround, modifications were successfully made to the recontact drum to improve water separation and reboiler configuration was altered to lower operating temperature. Recently, there has been an increase in water carryover to the stripper and debutanizer and the debutanizer fouling rate has accelerated. This problem has been compounded by the collection of corrosion from upstream equipment. We appreciate the responses that we received to last months question. This months question is presented below: Question #2: How should refiners optimize the amount of dispersion steam that is added along with the FCC feed through the feed nozzles? What are the observed changes that occur when either increasing or decreasing the amount of dispersion steam? We look forward to your input. HOW TO DETERMINE FCC CATALYST FLUIDIZATION CONDITIONS Synetix Services has recently completed a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to the use of radiotracer techniques for determining the condition of catalyst fluidization and transport as well as diagnosing and solving FCCU operating problems related to catalyst flow. Most of the questions are hosted in the sections entitled Fluidization Fundamentals in FCC and FCC Unit Operations and Troubleshooting. An alternative method for accessing these FAQs is to search under the term radiotracer. NEW INTERNAL TO IMPROVE CATALYST STRIPPER PERFORMANCE The Mixing and Reaction Technology group at Koch-Glitsch recently unveiled a new structured packing technology for application in FCC catalyst strippers. The new technology, named KFBE has been installed in a commercial FCC operation and stable operation has been achieved. As of press time, no formal evaluation had been completed to quantify the impact of the new internals on catalyst stripping performance. Cold flow modeling work completed during the development of this technology reportedly suggests

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NEW STRIPPER INTERNAL (Continued) a strong superiority over disc & donut designs in the areas of capacity, stripping efficiency, residence time and steam usage. Reported advantages include having close to 100% of stripper cross-sectional area open and active (vs. maybe 50% for disc & donut), increased residence time of up to 50%, and elimination of potential steam pockets and stagnant catalyst zones. For further information about KFBE, contact Richard Rall of Koch-Glitsch at (316)828-7283 or by FAX at (316)828-4444. ADVANCEMENTS IN SHORT CONTACT TIME CRACKING TECHNOLOGY The Milli-Second Catalytic Cracking (MSCC) unit installed at Orion Refining in Louisiana has been successfully start up. The August 14 edition of the Oil and Gas Journal describes a new short contact time cracking process based upon a reactor configuration employing downward flowing catalyst. This high-severity FCC process, HS-FCC, is designed to optimize both overall product yields and petrochemical feedstock production. Key features of the process include contact time less than one second, down-flow reactor that suppresses back-mixing and improves residence time distribution control, and high catalyst-to-oil ratio to minimize thermal cracking, overcracking and hydrogen transfer. The process has been jointly developed by the Petroleum Energy Center (Tokyo) and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Dharan). The OGJ article provides pilot plant cracking yields for the new process compared with riser results at very high cat-to-oil ratios. Fortum Oy recently sent The FCC Network a technical paper entitled NexCC - Novel Short Contact Time Catalytic Cracking Technology. The paper describes a new catalytic cracking process incorporating short contact time, higher reaction temperature and high catalyst-to-oil ratio. A key element of the NexCC process is a completely novel reactor design that makes it possible to construct large-scale equipment with small height-to-diameter ratio. In NexCC, the reactor and regenerator have been built in a concentric configuration, with riser channels that have an axially annular crosssection. Spent and regenerated catalyst flows are controlled by special valves, which are located inside the pressure vessel. NexCC utilizes multiple entry cyclones for separating catalyst from gas flows in both the reactor and regenerator. Separation efficiency of the multi-entry cyclone is reported as usually better than that of a conventional cyclone, and is optimal for handling gas flows with high particle concentrations. NexCC operating conditions include high reaction temperature (1020-1150F), short residence time (0.7-2.2 sec) and high C/O ratio (10-20). The product spectrum is more olefinic than conventional FCC. Development of the NexCC process is described in a technical paper to be added to The FCC Network when the site is upgraded in September. An NexCC diagram is shown below.

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SHORT CONTACT TIME TECHNOLOGY (Continued)

Diagram of the NExCC Reactor System

US Patent 6,099,720 was issued to IFP on August 8, 2000 and describes a method and device for a down-flow catalytic cracking process. The patent describes a falling curtain of catalyst formed by a shaping means consisting of both fixed and movable elements that combine to create constriction in the catalyst flow. The cross-sectional area of the constriction is varied by altering the position of a conical or tapered element relative to the fixed element attached to the vessel wall. Oil feed is injected countercurrent to catalyst flow, but at an angle that is no greater than 30 degrees from the horizontal. The angle of feed injection is adjusted so that the resultant vector representing linear momentum is horizontal. The patent contains data showing the best overall combination of yields with this feed injection configuration.

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DESIGN YOUR OWN FCC CONFERENCE! The staff of The FCC Network is in the beginning stages of planning an FCC Process Conference for 2001. It is proposed that the conference will consist of a number of key elements including presentation of papers, short technical seminars, and panel discussions. At this time, we are soliciting comments from the readers of The FCC Network News to determine your interest in regards to both subject matter and format. If you have ideas or suggestions, please use the site Contact Us form. We are looking forward to your comments. HOW TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR FCC UNIT Lets face it. The FCC process is a complex and demanding process that requires an indepth understanding of many different engineering disciplines such as reaction kinetics, catalysis, fluidization, fluid-solid separation, combustion, gas compression, fractionation, heat exchange and environmental control. To optimize FCC unit performance, it is necessary to gain a deep understanding of core principles in many of these areas. Do you understand everything you need to know for maximum effectiveness in your current assignment? It is possible to educate yourself by reading books and talking to the experienced engineers in your company. However, for those who are interested in a more direct approach to gaining FCC knowledge, Refining Process Services offers a series of technical seminars. The instructors for these programs each have at least 20 years of relevant hands-on experience and are ready to share all of their hard-earned knowledge. Fluid Catalytic Cracking Process Technology provides an in-depth study of FCC process fundamentals and equipment. FCCU Equipment Operation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting emphasizes mechanical and operational aspects of the FCCU. FCC/Coker Main Fractionators and Refinery Gas Plants provides an in-depth look at the design, operational and troubleshooting aspects of FCC product recovery. FCC Advances, Optimization and Revamps discusses the most recent advances in FCC process technology and provides strategies for FCCU optimization and debottlenecking. Production of Low Sulfur Gasoline and Diesel Fuels provides an extensive analysis of strategies and technologies for reducing FCC gasoline sulfur. For more information, visit www.petroleumrefining.com or email us at rps@nauticom.net .

Thanks for reading our newsletter. Staff of The FCC Network