liquid volume. Albemarle esti- mates that the new catalyst brings an incremental profit of $0.25/bbl when compared to AFX processing the same feedstock. An additional profit of $0.11/bbl is obtained when relief in throughput constraint by lower regenerator temperature is considered. The technology and design of Denali AFX is unique and the suc- cessful trial in Taiyo’s FCC unit has proven it to be a promising next gen- eration catalyst for maximum pro - pylene applications.
critical. The best catalyst in the lab- oratory is of no use if you cannot produce it in commercial quantities. Look for someone who has done it before – a lot. Rule 7: R&D Being able to adapt and upscale catalyst use to commercial scales requires a solid research and devel- opment function, backed by an innovation mindset. You need a partner that is open to new ideas and new processes, especially those that enhance sustainability. Many companies need a cata- lyst that will be specific to them and need a partner that can work with them on that development on a long-term, strategic relationship rather than just a transactional one. You need a partner that has a sig- nificant R&D capability, and which has innovation as part of its DNA. Companies have established centres of excellence in different parts of the globe, which brings us to rule 8. resid feedstock. As the refiner’s FCC unit is highly constrained, this decision required a step-out cata- lyst to meet its goals. To meet these challenges, Albemarle proposed to apply and trial Denali AFX, its lat - est residue-to-propylene catalyst. This catalyst was developed with a proprietary zeolite technology that offers enhanced mesoporosity and improved stability. The zeolite con- tributes to better coke selectivity, one of the key parameters needed to ena - ble the processing of heavier feeds. In addition, Denali AFX enhances metal tolerance, another essential feature for such operations. Furthermore, it is assembled with high accessibility to minimise hydrogen transfer and preserve light olefins like propylene, while also coping with very high lev- els of iron. The trial started in December 2019 and was concluded to be successful. Use of Denali AFX demonstrated better coke selectivity than AFX and enables Taiyo to be more flexible in its choices of heavier feeds. Denali AFX is a robust and reliable solution with good physical integrity. When processing heavier feeds, it delivers better propylene yield, better pro - pylene selectivity, and enhanced Algae based carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) sequestration has gained more interest due to its ability to utilise produced CO 2 as a carbon source, its high capacity for CO 2 fixation, and a faster growth rate than con- ventional crop plants. The biomass produced can be used as a feedstock for other value-added products such as biofuels and chemicals. A hydrogen unit integrated with a fertiliser unit using recovered CO 2 SRU is an exist plant and equip - ment sizes are set, there are limited techniques to increase the ammonia ous methods for CO 2 disposal. CO 2 based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a significant application of recov - ered CO 2 . CO 2 based EOR involves pumping compressed CO 2 through injection wells to an oil-bearing for- mation. This restores pressure in the formation and forces the remaining oil toward production wells. It also mixes with the oil, expanding its volume and reducing its viscosity. This enables it to flow more quickly through the porous rock of the oil reservoir. Injection of CO 2 into mature oil fields is increasingly con - sidered the most effective method available to revive output. AAG and SWAG. SWAG almost always contains a substantial amm - nia concentrati n, 55% NH 3 i his example. The mixed feed is 6.65% ammonia n a dry basis. An often quoted guideline is that the reaction furnace effluent should be below 150 ppmv ammonia. As Figure 4 shows, however, the NH 3 level c n be 10 times higher than the recommend d maximum when very high levels of xygen enrichm nt are used and the r ac ion furnace outlet is k pt t 2400°F. Th problem with igh ammoni levels is the propensity for ammonia t form ammonium s lts in downstream equipment, most especially in sulphur condense s towards the end of th converter/ condens r sequence. Amm ium s lts cause incre sed pressure drop, which r uces plant throughput and eventually (m ybe quite quickly) pluggi g of li es, and nece sitating plant shutdown to clear. For this particular case, since
on a commercial scale or a totally new catalyst solution needs to be developed, then a project basis may be the best approach. Either way, you need a partner that will adapt to a business model which suits you. Rule 10: Standards Safety, compliance, quality, and sustainability are increasingly Carel Pouwels is Global FCC Specialist Light Olefins withAlbemarle Catalys s inAmsterdam, The Netherla ds. With ext nsive experience in the development and application of novel FCC catalyst technologies, he has held positions in application research, FCC technical service, sales, marketing, and business management. He currently holds the role of Global FCC Specialist Light Olefins. He holds a chemical engineering degree from Delft University of Technology. Email: Carel.Pouwels@Albemarle.com important to companies across the globe. No company wants their corporate image or brands dam- aged by association with non-com- pliance or safety issues. Choose a partner that will protect your reputation and even enhance it through sustainability initiatives and improved quality. Pao Sheng Wang is a Global Technical Service Engineer with Albemarle Corporati n, located in Taipei, Taiwan. With 24 years’ experience in the FCC industry, he provides technical service to the Japan and Taiwan area, supports troubleshooting, and performs unit health checks for Albemarle’s FCC customers and sales teams in the Asia Pacific region. He holds a BS in chemical engineering from Cheng Kung National University. Email: paosheng.wang@albemarle.com special igh efficiency bur ers from reputable supplier are essential to ensure the reliability and operability of the SRU. Since the volume of the reaction furnace is set by the exist - ing equipment, the residence time is determined by the flow rate through the furnace. One way to increase ammonia destruction would be to allow the reaction furnace to oper - ate at a higher temperature. This Michael Ross is Director Custom Catalysts at Evonik Catalysts. He is based in Calvert City, Kentucky, USA. Email: michael.ross@evonik.com Tomochika Kotani is an Account Sales Manager for Albemarle’s catalysts portfolio, including FCC catalysts, polymer catalysts (organometallics), and curatives. Based in Tokyo, he holds a MS in biochemistry from Kyushu Institute of Technology, Email: tomochika.kotani@albemarle.com Electrolysis Biomass- microbial Kuniaki Manabe is General Manager – Refining Department (Group-1 and Group-2) with Taiyo Oil Company Ltd. He participated in the RFCC project for the Shikoku operations before going on to serve as a Group Leader for Refining Group-2 of Taiyo’s Refining Department, and later a General Manager for Refining Group-2. Email: kn_manabe@mail.taiyooil.co.jp NG, $/MMBtu H , $/kg 5.8 10.8 700 720 680 550 640 620 600 580 80 100
Rule 8: Regional presence Think global, act local is perhaps a bit archaic now, but it does include a fundamental truth. You need a catalyst partner backed by expe- rience, heritage, and significant resource, but you want to deal day to day with someone who under- stands your local conditions and needs. Look for a partner with global mass and regional reach. Rule 9: Flexible business models The catalyst needs of different com - panies are as diverse as the range of business sectors they represent. One size definitely doesn’t fit all. You need a flexible partner that is will - ing to adopt a business model that suits your particular business envi- ronment, even if it is not a typical setup. 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 6.0 4.0 8.0 32 000 38 000 36 000 34 000 30 000 28 000 26 000 24 000 22 000 20 000 20 40 O 2 in enriched air, mol%
Peak tube wall temperature Peak heat flux
60
AFX, DENALI and GRANITE are marks of Albemarle. Figure 6 Hydrogen price compared with natural gas price
Figure 5 Effect of oxygen enrichment on peak heat flux and temperature in the waste heat boiler
Custom catalysts may be devel- oped on a project basis or may be bought off the shelf from an existing product range. If a desired catalyst has not been previously produced 2 MatsuuraT, Bruno K, Hiroki E,TheTaiyo FCC,A “Three Legged Stool” success story, 2013 UOP FCC & Merox Technology Users’ Conference. 3 Rautiainen E, Nelissen B, Catalyst contamin- ation, Hydrocarbon Engineering , April 2003. 4 Yung K Y, Jonker R J, Meijerink B, A novel and fast method to quantify FCC catalyst accessibility, ACS 2002. destruction in the reaction furnace. Ammoni destruction is det rmi ed by reaction kinetics driven by three primary factors: the temperature within the reaction furnace, the r s idence time in the reacti n furnac (also sh wn in Figure 4 ), and the mixing ch racteristics of the burner being used. References 1 Amano T, Wilcox J R, Pouwels A C, Matsuura T, Process and catalysis factors to maximise propylene output, PTQ, Q3 2012, 17-27. 10.0 12.0 5 Pouwels C, The quintessence of FCC catalyst design to maximize propylene, ME Tech 2011, 13. It is important to note that with high levels of oxygen enrichment, 2.0 2.9 0 2.0 SMR Coal gasi cation
3.4
Biomass gasi cation
Figure 7 Cost comparison for hydrogen production technologies
REFINERY CATALYST TESTING Select The Best Catalyst With Confidence
Your feed , your conditions Commercial extrudates are tested with real feedstocks at industrial process conditions .
Cost-effective comparison Parallel evaluation of 16 catalyst systems side-by-side in one run under the exact same conditions.
Reliable results. Statistically significant Test duplicates for improved accuracy. We can discriminate <1°C activity difference and <0.5 wt% in MD yield.
www.avantium.com/rct Avantium Chemicals B.V. +31 (0) 20 586 80 80
www.digitalrefining.com www.digitalrefining.com .eptq.com
Catalysis 2022 63 PTQ Q4 2019 65 PTQ Q4 2020 95
cat albemarle.indd 5
25/02/2021 11:05
Powered by FlippingBook