AM-14-18 Catalytic Solutions for Increasing Middle Distillate Yields and Managing Product Properties

Description:

Global growth in distillate demand has driven refiners to maximize their middle distillate yield while trying to manage final product properties such as cold flow properties, color, and cetane. This has been coupled with the availability of new domestic and unconventional crude oil sources and the global disparity in hydrogen cost and availability. This has given some refiners a unique opportunity to exploit different catalytic routes to maximizing middle distillate production. Catalytic solutions to increase middle distillate yield while controlling final product properties include hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and hydrodewaxing. Each of these routes present challenges in terms of hydrogen consumption, yield shifts, changes in cycle life, and the chemistry involved.