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AM-17-49 Iron Poisoning Investigations Enable Opportunities for Success

Alexis Shackleford BASF Houston, TX Melissa Clough BASF Houston, TX

Format:
Electronic (digital download/no shipping)

Associate Member, International Member, Petrochemical Member, Refining Member - $0.00
Government, NonMember - $35.00

Description:

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units around the world aim to maximize profits from a given barrel of oil. In the United States, tight oils and residue-containing (i.e. resid) feeds represent opportunity crudes with high potential profits for refineries. With the right tools, refineries can take advantage of these low cost feed options. However, these opportunity crudes often contain higher amounts of contaminant metals. Typically, tight oils contain higher amounts of iron, calcium, and sodium, while resid feeds contain higher amounts of iron, nickel, and vanadium. The focus of this paper will be on the effects iron contamination has on catalyst performance in the unit. Iron contamination of FCC catalysts has come to the forefront of FCC issues in the past few years due to the increased processing of tight oils in the United States and resid feedstocks around the world. In the past year, iron excursions were seen in all regions of the world. Problems associated with iron include reduced conversion, increased bottoms, and circulation issues. Due to these issues, BASF conducted extensive research on the effects and mobility of iron. Deeper understanding of iron poisoning phenomena allow the industry to better prepare for a potential spike in iron and to better troubleshoot existing or ongoing iron excursions. The mobility of iron, both inter- and intra-particle, has been examined via numerous laboratory techniques. This work was enabled by cooperation with three refineries in the United States that experienced high iron on equilibrium catalyst (Ecat). Industry data were also analyzed, including fines data and refinery case-studies. Furthermore, BASF examined various catalyst technologies for their potential to withstand iron poisoning. These investigations culminate to a greater understanding of the impacts of iron on FCC catalyst. This information enables refiners to choose and implement technologies and troubleshooting strategies to ensure success.

Product Details:

Product ID: AM-17-49
Publication Year: 2017