Increasing Propylene and other Petrochemical Feedstocks in the FCC

The FCC unit has been the heart and economic driver of refinery profitability for over 75+ years! The FCC process has evolved in design, operating conditions, cracking catalysts and additives. This has resulted in units having the ability to operate in various modes with a flexibility in various feedstock qualities and product slates!

The current and future expectation of these FCC operation modes is to produce high yields of propylene, other light olefins, aromatics and fuels. It is also expected to be flexible in utilizing the most economical available feedstocks of various qualities from severely hydrotreated gasoils, resids, to very light feedstocks from condensates and tight oils! In some operating modes liquid products are not producing fuels only petrochemical feedstocks.

Existing FCC’s have to meet these new and future operating modes to remain economically viable. They will have to be revamped to become more flexible in feedstock utilization and products to meet market demands and may even potentially become integrated with petrochemical complexes! Some future units will no longer be fuels producers!

Considerations are:

1. What operating variables, catalysts & additives, and what unit design changes with updated process technology revamps will be required to meet the feedstocks and product slate flexibility future FCC’s will demand.
2. What operating, catalyst and hardware changes will be required for an existing gasoline VGO FCC to maximize propylene production?
3. What operating, catalyst and hardware changes will be required for a resid FCC to maximize propylene? What unit flexibility will result?
4. What operating, catalyst and hardware changes will be required for an existing diesel & gasoline mode resid FCC to maximize propylene production?
5. What will be the final feedstock and product flexibilities these revamped units will have?
6. In addition, the flexibility in recovering light products and product treating.

Want to know more?  Get involved in a discussion on this topic at RefComm® Galveston CatCracking May 9-10.