PTQ Q3 2023 Issue

Improve energy efficiency of your hydrocracking unit

Reduced fuel firing in HCU product fractionators enables higher diesel yields and improved product properties while reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions

Kiran Ladkat, Jan De Ren and Kiran Kashibhatla Honeywell UOP

R efinery Scope 1 and 2 emissions represent 3% of the global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, which equates to 1,124 million tonnes annually.1 For a typical refin - ery configuration that has hydrocracking and delayed coking units, 9%² of these emissions originate from hydroprocess - ing units, where the major contributor for an individual unit is the hydrocracking unit (HCU) because of the higher operat - ing severity as compared to hydrotreating units. Figure 1 provides an overview of the three GHG protocol scopes (1, 2, and 3) and categories for each of the scope emissions. Improving energy efficiency and reducing CO₂ emissions from existing HCUs is a key focus area for improv - ing refinery profitability and reducing emissions. Within the HCU, the main contributors to carbon emissions are fired heaters and rotating equipment. Against this backdrop, Honeywell UOP’s dual stripper and dual fractionator solutions for HCUs have demonstrated

reduced fuel firing in the product fractionator feed heater by ~50-55%, enabling higher diesel yield and improved diesel product properties. Together, this delivers improved refinery economics and reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions. These are solutions that can be applied to new and existing HCUs. The fractionation section of an HCU is designed to sep - arate the net reactor effluent from the reactor section into the desired products: LPG, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and unconverted oil. A simplified flow diagram of a single strip - per first HCU fractionation section is shown in Figure 2 . The fractionation section typically includes a stripper, a product fractionator with two or more side cuts, side-cut strippers, a debutaniser, a naphtha splitter, and other columns, depend - ing on the required product recovery. Dual stripper flow scheme for existing HCUs Several new HCUs have been designed by Honeywell UOP

HFCs

PFCs

Scope 2 Indirect

Scope 1 Direct

Scope 3 Indirect

Transportation and distribution

Purchased goods and services

Purchased electricity, steam, heating & cooling for own use

Investments

Capital goods

Leased assets

Company facilities

Processing of sold products

Fuel and energy related activities

Employee commuting

Franchises

Company vehicles

Transportation and distribution

Use of sold products

Business travel

Leased assets

Waste generated in operations

End of life treatment of sold products

Reporting company

Upstream activities

Downstream activities

Figure 1 Overview of greenhouse gases (GHG) protocol scopes and emissions across the value chain³

PTQ Q3 2023