PTQ Q4 2022 Issue

Rejuvenate profits and support sustainability with reused catalysts Rejuvenated catalysts can optimise refinery margins for cat feed hydrotreating (CFH) applications

Ioan-Teodor Trotus and Jean-Claude Adelbrecht hte GmbH Michael Martinez and Guillaume Vincent Evonik

A cross the world, uneven refining margins despite a recovery in fuel demand, renewable fuel legisla - tion, and strict environmental regulations on CO₂ emissions strongly impact the refining industry, placing the onus on refiners’ need to optimise costs and maximise profitability. End-of-life reactor catalyst changeout is a sig - nificant and inevitable refining facility expenditure. It is also a good opportunity to make a better choice for the future by selecting the optimum catalyst to lower these costs and optimise profit. In today’s business climate, there are more cost-effective and environmentally responsible solutions than simply replacing like-for-like. Evonik’s Excel rejuvenated cat feed hydrotreating (CFH) catalyst can help global refiners reduce operating costs and maximise profitability while remaining environmentally conscious with their hydrotreating applications, including FCC pretreating (via CFH). 1 The performance of these rejuvenated catalysts was compared to their fresh counterparts in a parallel catalyst test trial conducted at hte GmbH under CFH operating con - ditions, using one of its high throughput units. What are rejuvenated catalysts? In a CFH unit, pretreating catalysts are typically replaced every one to three years, depending on unit severity. When the main bed catalyst is protected from contamination due mainly to nickel (Ni) and vanadium (V), then the CFH cata - lyst deactivation (over its lifetime) will mainly be due to coke deposition. To recover or regenerate catalyst activity, coke is ex-situ removed by carefully burning it under mild oxidative con - ditions. This process is referred to as regeneration. During regeneration, the active sites over the catalyst may sinter or agglomerate due to exotherms, leading to a less than optimal catalyst performance. Restoration to the near-to- fresh activity of regenerated catalyst is achieved by reju - venation. 1,2,3,4 Excel rejuvenation enables catalyst metal agglomerates to be redispersed on the regenerated cata - lyst, restoring its activity to fresh conditions by utilising a proprietary chemical treatment. The optimum catalyst for the CFH unit depends on feed properties, operating conditions, and product targets. Evonik offers different Excel rejuvenated catalysts systems: (1) CoMo, (2) NiMo, and (3) NiCoMo providing high activity

and stable performance during the life cycle. Other sought- after benefits include: • 50% reduction in catalyst refill cost as compared to fresh catalyst • Faster catalyst supply compared to long lead times for fresh catalysts • Better environmental footprint as seen with Evonik’s hydroprocessing solutions for decreasing CO₂ emissions and preserving natural resources while avoiding having to transport catalyst waste to landfills • Similar-to-equivalent performance compared to fresh catalyst in terms of activity, product yield distribution and stability. Using Excel rejuvenated catalysts reduces CO₂ emissions by approximately 6,000 kg CO₂ per ton of fresh catalyst replaced (i.e., compared with fresh catalyst production), thereby significantly contributing to the circular economy. Over the past five years, Evonik has successfully supplied over 8,500 tons of Excel rejuvenated catalyst to refineries worldwide, resulting in a saving of 51,000 tons of CO₂, which would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere. Independent testing To demonstrate the robustness of Excel rejuvenated cata - lysts, an independent catalyst test and comparison was performed at hte GmbH – the high throughput experimen - tation company. In this study, different Excel rejuvenated catalyst configurations (NiMo, CoMo and NiCoMo) were compared with their parent fresh material. These commercial catalysts are well proven for CFH applications where aromatics saturation is of key impor - tance, as these compounds cannot be further cracked under FCC conditions. Sulphur and nitrogen removal are also important as these will ease the further steps required to upgrade the FCC gasoline and light cycle oil products up to current fuel specifications. The test was performed in a classical X4500 trickle-bed high throughput test unit, a product line designed in-house to address the challenges of hydroprocessing applications at hte’s laboratories in Heidelberg, Germany. This state- of-the-art reactor system has consistently proven to be an outstanding tool for comparing different catalyst systems (as full-bodied extrudates) head-to-head at the same time under identical and industrial conditions.

PTQ Q4 2022