AM-14-26 Take ACTIONTM - to Maximize Distillate and Alky Feed from your FCC Unit

Description:

The tight oil revolution, the decrease in gasoline demand, Renewable Fuel Standard requirements, and the change of the US to an exporter of refining products have changed refiners’ economics and operating objectives. Distillate and alkylation feed from the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit are now often more profitable than gasoline. Cheaper domestic tight oil crudes have upended the trend towards heavier and sourer crudes, creating both opportunities and challenges. These paraffinic sweet crudes generate FCC feeds with lower distillate production, gasoline octanes, and C4 olefinicity. In addition, tight oil feeds are low in Ni and V but are high in Fe, Ca and often Na; creating challenges for FCC catalysts. ACTION is a novel FCC catalyst designed to beat these challenges. It combines Albemarle’s renowned matrices, novel high silica-to-alumina ratio zeolite technologies and a unique manufacturing process, allowing the FCC unit operator to target the distillate, gasoline, LPG and C4 olefins yield profile needed for maximum profitability. ACTION also promotes isomerization reactions to improve octanes. By utilizing the most accessible Fe and Ca resistant matrix available, ACTION can withstand these metals, maintaining activity and bottoms cracking. Three commercial examples were analyzed using advanced computer simulation modeling of the unit data, demonstrating the performance of ACTION catalysts with both gas oil and resid feeds. They show how ACTION maximized bottoms cracking in these FCC units and increased distillate and alkylation feed production.