PTQ Q2 2023 Issue

From thermal maldistribution to cycle length extension How Tüpraş enhanced the performance of a distillate hydroprocessing unit by cost effectively cracking more of the heavier components to diesel

Ersev Dağ, Elif Kızlap and Enes Cındır Tüpraş Mbugua Gitau Shell Catalysts & Technologies

T üpraş is one of Turkey’s largest industrial organisa - tions, maintaining its competitive position by apply - ing leading-edge technologies and finding innovative ways to unlock performance improvements across its refin - ing network. Tüpraş can trace its roots back to 1955, when the Batman refinery began domestic oil refining operations in Turkey. Under the umbrella of Tüpraş since 1984, oil refining has continued to grow at four refineries located in Izmit, Izmir, Kırıkkale, and the original Batman site. Today, Tüpraş is the 30th largest refining company in the world and the sev - enth largest in Europe, operating some of the most complex assets in the Mediterranean region. With a total refining capacity of 30 million tonnes, Tüpraş has a 53% total share of the Turkish petroleum products market. Tüpraş has an ambitious strategic energy transition plan, part of which is the goal to become carbon neutral by 2050. This refiner plans to dedicate a large proportion of its investments to the production of new energy sources, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and green hydro - gen. Under the plan, refining will continue to contribute significantly to earnings, and refining operations will be run more profitably to fund the transition.

So, when Shell Catalysts & Technologies’ ongoing moni - toring identified high radial temperature differentials in a distillate hydroprocessing unit (DHP) at the 5 Mt/y Kırıkkale facility, the refiner took immediate action. Thermal maldis - tribution is a common issue in fixed-bed reactors that can lead to reduced cycle lengths and severely affect a refiner’s profitability. It can often be a major challenge to resolve. About Kirikkale refinery Kırıkkale refinery is in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey, near Ankara (see Figure 1 ). A variety of crudes arrive by pipeline from the Ceyhan terminal on the Mediterranean coast. For example, in 2021, Tüpraş purchased 21 differ - ent types of crude oil from 11 countries, including Turkey, in gravities ranging from 20 to 47 API, mostly with high sulphur content (see Figure 2 ). The refinery, which has a 5.4 million t/y capacity and a Nelson complexity index of 6.32, was commissioned in 1986. Since then, it has met the demand for petroleum products in Central Anatolia, eastern Mediterranean, and eastern Black Sea regions. Over the years, the refinery has developed to mid-level complexity, by Mediterranean stan - dards, with the addition of a hydrocracker complex in 1993

Railway

Crude oil pipeline

Terminal

Renery

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline

OPET Giresun terminal

OPET Marmara terminal

Istanbul

Izmit

OPET Körfez terminal

Kirikkale

Ankara

Izmir

Batman

Mersin

Ceyhan

OPET Mersin terminal

OPET Antalya terminal

Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline

Figure 1 Location of Tüpraş refineries in Turkey

PTQ Q2 2023