AM-97-64 COMBINE MAK HYDROCRACKING AND FCC TO UPGRADE HEAVY OILS

Description:

Refineries around the world have become increasingly complex in order to maximize the production of high valued gasoline and middle distillates while also reducing the production of less valuable residual fuel oil. At the same time, refiners are faced with increasing pressure to reduce the sulfur level and improve the emission characteristics of all transportation fuel products. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) has emerged as the dominant primary conversion process enabling refiners to move from simple hydroskimming plants to complex, maximum fuels configurations. A block-flow example of a typical FCC based refinery is shown in Figure 1. In response to the market pressure to increase the yield of gasoline and distillate at the expense of residual fuel, significant economic incentives can exist for upgrading vacuum residue .by either delayed coking or ROSETM solvent deasphalting. Refiners must consider optimal methods to achieve conversion of the incremental heavy coker gas oil (HCGO) and deasphalted oil (DA01 while taking maximum advantage of the existing FCC facilities. The need to lower product sulfur levels, reduce FCC SO, and NO, emissions and improve the quality of middle distillates makes it attractive to consider partial conversion hydrocracking to achieve the additional conversion while substantially upgrading the FCC feedstock. This paper will present data on partial“conversion. MAK Hydrocracking and describe the benefits and flexibility when integrated with an existing FCC unit.