AM-13-13 Impact of Flow Distribution and Mixing on Catalyst Utilization and Radial Temperature Spreads in Hydroprocessing Reactors

Description:

Refiners are under increasing pressure to cope with new developments in the industry: feeds are getting heavier and tougher to process, environmental regulations are becoming increasingly more stringent, and an economic need is being felt to increase throughputs or operate at higher severity or achieve extended catalyst life with existing reactor hardware. New catalysts for hydroprocessing units are often one of the least expensive ways to get the most out of your unit under these exacting conditions. But even the best catalyst can fall short if it is paired with old or poorly performing reactor internals. We not only need to take advantage of the new catalyst developments but we also need to get more out of our existing reactor hardware by improving catalyst utilization and achieving better reactor temperature distribution and control. This potentially will need upgraded reactor internals.