AM-14-16 Processing Tight Oils in FCC: Issues, Opportunities and Flexible Catalytic Solutions

Description:

Tight oils (also called shale oils) such as Eagle Ford and Bakken are fast becoming a major feed source for North American refineries. While these feedstocks are generally light and sweet, issues that refiners can face when processing tight oil include: contaminant metals, heat balance effects, and configurational imbalances in the refinery. This paper provides detailed characterization of tight oils along with data on the cracking of these feedstocks under different operating conditions. Catalytic solutions for (1) metals tolerance, (2) achieving maximum conversion and selectivity on light feeds, and (3) optimum butylene selectivity are discussed along with case studies on how refiners can apply new catalyst technologies to maximize the value present in tight oil feedstocks.