AM-17-46 Performance Assessment of Feed Nozzle Upgrades

Description:

Shell FCCU performance following the 2016 turnarounds at the Deer Park, Texas and Sarnia, Ontario refineries confirmed significant technical and business-return gains through commercial application of Shell’s improved feed nozzle technology. Shell R&D and pilot testing enabled the pushing of prior boundaries with respect to droplet size distribution, feed vaporization and riser utilization. The 2016 turnarounds introduced into the commercial operational context Shell’s new feed nozzle technology which promotes higher-yield, more advantageous catalytic cracking reactions. As a result greater flexibility for feedstock quality variation is achieved while mitigating coke build-up in the reaction system and the reduction in the fouling potential of downstream equipment. Shell’s 2016 turnarounds also introduced the commercial roll-out of Shell’s new steam distributor design that has demonstrated improved prevention of catalyst ingress, thus mitigating potential damage sustained during an operating cycle. Shell also incorporated mechanical improvements that have elevated the reliability of the enhanced feed nozzles and included new mechanical detail that enable efficiency gains (ease, time, and safety assurance) for nozzle removal during turnarounds. These technical developments confirmed in commercial units through operational testing drive continuous improvements that extend Shell’s 30 years of FCC R&D, deliver business impacts at Shell and licensee refineries, and provide opportunities for elevating the industry understanding of FCC performance potential.