Increase Your Hydrocracker’s Robustness to Handle Challenging Feeds and Operations

摘要

The types of feeds processed by most of the world’s refiners are becoming increasinglyrnhigh in sulfur, nitrogen and aromatics contents through a combination of worsening crude qualityrnand processing of more cracked stocks. This macro trend has been temporarily reversed recentlyrnas refiners have opted to process crudes that are lighter and sweeter due to changes inrnmarket drivers. However, this recent trend is expected to reverse again in the future and thisrnvolatility in the market highlights the need for a robust set of catalyst options to solve challengesrnin the new refining world market where crudes are becoming heavier.rnAlbemarle has addressed these issues in several ways through our catalyst portfolio forrnhydrocracker pretreatment applications. One recent addition, KF 860 STARS?, was designedrnto improve resistance to activity loss from metal poisoning, unplanned upsets and processingrnhigh endpoint or hydrogen deficient feedstocks. In 2009, Albemarle introduced our next generationrnHC-PT catalyst, KF 868 STARS?, which offers both improved activity and stability forrnprocessing VGO feedstocks. This uniquely formulated catalyst has shown substantial benefit inrnpilot testing on some of the heaviest cracked feeds available.rnFinally, we will address the use of STAX~? technology for the design of HC-PT catalystrnsystems optimized for both performance and robustness in the face of fluctuating feedstockrnquality and operational constraints.