AM-91-51 MAGNETIC SEPARATION ENHANCES FCC UNIT PROFITABILITY

Description:

As FCC catalyst particles age in the unit, they accumulate more metals and become moi magnetic. New, powerful magnets are now available which can separate the older, higher metals particles in the FCC catalyst inventory from the newer, more active and more selective particles. Thus, instead of throwing away equilibrium catalyst, which contains a mixture of new and old catalyst particles, a new process, MagnaCatIm is available that allows refiners to continuously discard only the older fraction of the catalyst inventory. This means that for any given catalyst make up rate, the refiner will have a fresher and lower metals equilibrium catalyst that is both more active and more selective. The joint development of a magnetic separation process by Ashland Petroleum Company and Nippon Oil Company is equivalent to a breakthrough in FCC catalyst technology. Capital and operating costs for magnetic separation are low, and estimates of return on investment (ROI) for typical case studies have been well over 100% for the first year.