ERTC 2023 Conference Newspaper

ERTC 2023

nificant acceleration towards decarboni- sation, net-zero emissions (NZE) will not be reached until the early 22nd century, resulting in 2.2°C of warming by 2100. Sky 2050: Security Through Mutual Interest Under Sky 2050, the dominant driver is long-term climate security, specifically tar- geting net-zero emissions by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2100. Despite a slow start, as nations con- tinue to grapple with their own vulner- abilities to supply and price shocks, citizens push strongly for change within their own countries and the adoption of new technologies to deliver environmen- tal security. To gain support, especially among the young, politicians adopt climate-friendly policies, which soon become national pri- orities – the ability to deliver on these poli- cies becomes a measure of national power. The adoption of low- and zero-car-

Global anthropogenic CO emissions from energy use, industrial processes and land use

Global mean surface temperature above 1850–1900 baseline: Sky 2050 and Archipelagos

(a)

(b)

2 2.5

2.22˚C (1.72 – 2.27˚C) in 2100

History (observations) History (MIT model)

History Archipelagos Sky 2050

Sky 2050 Archipelagos

1.5

1.24˚C (0.97 – 1.56˚C) in 2100

0.5

Net emissions to atmosphere

Net drawdown from the atmosphere

-0.5

-10

1850

1900

2050

2100

1950

2000

Year

-20

Historical temperature data are taken from HadCRUT5 (November 2022). In these scenarios, we use global mean surface temperatures (ensemble medians) as modelled by the MIT Joint Program (December 2022). The gures in brackets refer to the ‘very likely’ range, dened as the 90% interval.

1960 1980

2040

2060

2080

2100

2000

2020

Year

Figure 2 (a) Anthropogenic CO₂ emissions drop more rapidly under the Sky 2050 scenario with net-negative emissions reached by mid- century; (b) despite initially continuing to rise, global warming is limited to 1.2°C under Sky 2050 compared to 2.2°C under Archipelagos

of the century, temperatures fall to 1.2°C above baseline.

bon technologies rapidly accelerates as nations embrace a ‘just go for it!’ mind- set. Despite an overshoot in mid-century, when global temperatures briefly exceed 1.5°C, ambitions hold firm and, by the end

3 Visual Capitalist. 4 Energy Institute. 5 IEA. Contact: david.hone@shell.com, chris.egby@shell.com

References 1 IEA. 2 EIA.

Balancing act of managing a refinery: New technology vs increasing revenue

GENERAL ATOMICS electromagnetic systems

Refining management is a constant balanc- ing act between investing in new technol- ogy and increasing revenue potential. The trend in European refining is toward utilis- ing severe catalytic cracking technology to increase profits while taking advantage of the existing crack spreads. Increased crude prices, environmen- tal compliance costs, and International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020 regu- lation enforcement are causing the spread between lighter, less severe crudes and heavier, opportunistic crudes to become a bigger part of refining economics. Exploiting fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units’ capabilities to convert heavy atmos- pheric gasoils, vacuum gasoils, and atmos- pheric resids into more valuable gasoline and middle distillates can support more pos- itive profit margins. The Race for Profits An FCC unit is one of the most productive and versatile technologies among the refin- ing processes. Driving FCC technology into higher severity to meet increased propylene demand for petrochemical feedstocks is a growing trend. However, creating greater profits from FCC units can come at a cost. Along with fuel gas, C₃S, and C₄S, FCC units also produce a 650°+F heavy aromatic oil by- product known as slurry oil. Slurry oil refers to the catalyst fines carried over from the FCC reactor, which end up in these bottoms. Catalyst fines must be separated or settled out of the oil, resulting in a product commonly referred to as main column bottoms (MCB), decant clarified oil (DCO), clarified oil (CO), or clarified slurry oil (CSO). The Challenge Higher severity FCC units operate at criti- cal conditions and concentrations in the production of higher ends for petrochemical feedstock supply. This makes the process

did you know? Gulftronic Electrostatic

lent to 3 tons/day of fines. Assuming there are 2 tons/day of sludge for every ton/day of fines, a total of 6.5 tons/day of sludge and fines would have accumulated in the storage tank. In one year, the accumulation would be approximately 2,372 tons. The Electrostatic Separator adds value by upgrading the slurry oil quality for high- grade coke production. Assuming a product value increase of €6 per barrel of slurry oil, the added value is: 4,800 BPD Slurry Oil Product * 365 Days * €6.0/BPD = ~€10.5 million/Yr The only meaningful process cost for the Electrostatic Separator is recycle. For this scale, the recycle flow rate would be 2 vol% of the effluent, or 100 BPD. At a cost of €1.0/BPD, this cost is: 100 BPD Recycle * 365 * €1.0/BPD = €36,500 Ignoring the labour and material costs of tank cleaning, consider the cost of landfill- ing the removed sludge. Assuming landfill is~ €1.0 /lb, the cost is: 1,600 Tons/Yr * €2,000/ton = €3.2 Million/Yr The annual revenue increase is: €10.5 Million – €0.4 Million + €3.2 Million = €13.3 Million/Yr C ontact: Gulftronic.info@ga.com Separators process 65 million barrels of slurry oil each year to increase profits

General Atomics Gulftronic Electrostatic Separator

CASE STUDY: Choosing the Right Technology to Increase Profits An active European refinery is operating an FCC unit with a throughput of 80,000 BPD with an Electrostatic Separator System installed in the slurry rundown for clarified slurry oil production. The FCC unit has a slurry oil product flow of 6.0 vol% of feed, or 4,800 BPD at 0.0 API. The FCC unit uses an Electrostatic Separator to remove fines from 3,000 ppm to <20 ppm. This is equiva-

more challenging, especially at the bottom of the barrel, where high concentrations of solids, contaminants, and catalysts under- mine the possibility of upgrading the slurry oil stream. Upgrading FCC technology must coincide with increased efficiency, reduced maintenance costs, and improvements in the catalyst equilibrium cycle. Removing sol- ids and increasing the lifespan of the FCC unit is directly related to incrementing the bottom line in refining.