benefits for both conventional and unconventional feeds. This catalyst technology platform arrests or delays the surface sintering and vitrification processes, resulting in higher accessibility retention even at high levels of metal contaminants. A commercial trial was completed successfully in a resid unit susceptible to Fe poisoning, resulting in improved acces - sibility (AAI index) due to better metals tolerance. Improved accessibility resulted in an estimated 3 vol% reduction in bot - toms fraction and 0.3 wt% reduction in dry gas yields com - pared to the reference Upgrader™ catalyst while increasing yields of high-value gasoline and LPG. 1 This resulted in obvi - ous commercial benefits from yield selectivity. Renewable feeds are also variable in their hydrocarbon types and oxygenation levels. Deoxygenation reaction pathways and the interaction of oxygenated hydrocarbons with conventional feed molecules can significantly impact unit operations and performance, including heat balance, product yields, product quality, and demonstrated catalyst performance. ReNewFCC catalyst technology optimises catalytic sites to manage the deoxygenation pathways and can be tailored for specific refineries, units, and/or feedstocks combinations to reliably and profitably co-process renew - able feedstocks in the FCC. ReNewFCC™ selectively manages the deoxygenation pathways and can significantly reduce coke and hydrogen make during the co-processing of FOG-oils (fats, oils, and greases) while improving LPG olefinicity and gasoline yields (see Figure 4 ). As a result, lower gas compressor duties and higher profitability can be realised compared to conventional catalyst technologies applied in energy transition scenarios. Crude to chemicals solutions We are also focused on developing new catalysts as conven - tional refineries shift their focus from maximising the produc - tion of transportation fuels to making high-value chemical products. We have capabilities in various oil-to-chemicals technologies, including selective conversion to high-value chemical products like aromatics or improving light olefins yields. Clean fuels solutions – renewables Ketjen was the first catalyst supplier to introduce specific products for hydroprocessing renewable feedstocks. Now with more than 15 years’ experience and more than 50 cycles in co-processing renewables operation, we have developed superior grades like ReNewFine to handle the challenges associated with renewables operations. These can convert existing units to renewables units with hydrotreating up to 100% vegetable oil feed (see Figure 5 ). ReNewSTAX, a catalyst sequencing and reaction optimi - sation technology, is the best way to utilise all our experi - ence in renewable feed hydroprocessing, from traditional vegetable oils to used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fats, in units operating with hydrogen partial pressure outlet as low as 25 bar. Current market dynamics The use of renewable feeds in fuels is of growing importance
ReNewFCC Technology ∆ Yields, CTO = 4
Coke Gasoline LPG ole ns
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5
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FOG - oil, wt% feed
Figure 4 ReNewFCC product yield changes observed compared to conventional catalysts
to operating strategies that seek to reduce CO₂ emissions sustainably. However, these feeds present operational chal - lenges like higher hydrogen consumption, catalyst poison - ing, and pressure drop control issues. These challenges can easily lead to reduced cycle lengths if not managed well. Feed focus Traditional biofuels are easily attainable feeds from familiar sources like rapeseed, canola, soybean, sunflower, animal fats (Cat III) and possibly FAME. These traditional biofuels consist mainly of triglycerides. Advanced biofuels are much more complex and remain under development. Typical advanced biofuel feeds include palm oil derivatives, distillers’ corn oil, used cooking oil, ani - mal fats (Cat I and II), algae, and tall oils. Renewable feeds, except for tall oil, are made up of (tri)- glycerides and free fatty acids (FFA) that contain multiple unsaturated hydrocarbons. These require increased hydro - gen coverage to mitigate rapid catalyst coking.
Figure 5 Overview of clean fuels solutions in renewables
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