Hydrocarbon
Engineering, July 2018, features the following article …
///////A different mindset
With uncertainty in the global transportation fuels market, Ujjal Mukherjee, Chevron Lummus Global, USA, outlines key considerations for crude to chemicals operations.
Ujjal Mukherjee is the Vice President, Technology, for Chevron Lummus Global. He has worked in the petrochemicals and refining industry for over thirty-four years. His special area of expertise is technology development in distillate and residue hydrocracking. Ujjal has been personally involved in the conception and design of 45 hydrocrackers, including most of the largest operating hydrocrackers in the world. Ujjal holds 24 patents in high-pressure hydroprocessing and is the author of many technical articles and reference chapters related to refining technologies. Ujjal has a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Rutgers University.
source: https://ertc.wraconferences.com/speaker/ujjal-mukherjee/
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TIP: Google® Ujjal Mukherjee Chevron Lummus Global
One interesting result …
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NEW HYDROPROCESSING APPROACHES TO INCREASE PETROCHEMICALS PRODUCTION
By
Daniel B Gillis and Theo Maesen, Chevron Lummus Global (CLG)
CLG is a joint venture between Chevron and CB&I
Abstract
Over the past several years there has been increased interest in combining refinery and petrochemical projects to maximize production of the highest value products while meeting transportation fuel needs. To accomplish these often competing objectives, the hydroprocessing approaches utilized in the refinery are critical. Both the processes and catalysts selected have a significant impact on petrochemical feedstock production. Recently, CLG has been assisting several of our clients with identifying ways to increase their project values based on our extensive portfolio of residue hydrotreating, residue hydrocracking, and VGO/Distillate hydrocracking technologies. This paper shares some of these newer approaches now available and compares their benefits with the traditional paths for producing petrochemical feedstocks.
Refinery’s Role in Petrochemical Production
The conventional roles of hydroprocessing in petrochemical production has been to pretreat FCC (or RFCC) feed so as to increase propylene and naphtha yields, especially heavy naphtha as it is an important reformer feedstock, and a source for C8-C10 aromatics. Other refinery streams suitable for petrochemical production include light naphtha and LPG steam cracker feeds.
The manufacture of petrochemical feedstocks frequently competes with the manufacture of transportation fuels. This is because:
- Maximum propylene production requires the (R)FCC to operate at higher severity as compared maximum gasoline production. Figure 1 illustrates this for a RDS/RFCC refinery configuration at different RFCC severities.
- Maximum aromatics production requires maximum reformate production, which in turn requires maximum heavy naphtha production. A VGO hydrocracking unit can be tailored toward maximum heavy naphtha production with as high a C8-C10 aromatics content as possible, but maximizing the naphtha-range aromatics yield will be at the cost of the middle distillate yield, in particular the diesel yield. Interestingly, there appears to be a shift in transportation fuel demand from diesel toward gasoline in some of the very same regions that are interested in enhanced production of petrochemical feedstocks.
Residue Conversion Approach Implications
Irrespective of a refinery’s focus on the manufacture of transportation fuels or of petrochemical feedstocks, the fate of the residual oil is frequently a critical component of the refinery margin. There are three major residue conversion options of interest to most projects:
- Delayed Coking has historically been the most popular full conversion technology. However, it has a disadvantage in that this process yields a comparatively large fraction of less desirable products like fuel gas and coke. Coke yields can be as high as 30 to 35 wt%.
- Residue Hydrotreating (RDS) is attractive for maximizing gasoline and thereby propylene yields. A disadvantage is that this process exhibits limited feedstock flexibility, and that it struggles in particular to handle the heaviest feedstocks.
- Residue Hydrocracking (RHC) is attractive for maximizing the yields of liquid product manufacture with the broadest possible feed slate. Typical residue conversion yields with an ebullated bed process such as LC-FINING are 65-80+ wt%. Combining LC-FINING with coking can boost conversion levels toward 85-90 wt% and reduce the coke make to 12-14 wt%. This combination results in 15-20 wt% higher liquid yields compared to coking by itself, as shown in Figure 2. Also shown are CLG’s latest RHC high conversion offerings of LC-MAXTM and LC-SLURRYTM, which have even higher total liquid yields. The higher total liquid yields accessible with the LC-FINING technology platform tend to be in the middle distillates boiling range, so that they require further processing so as to be turned into petrochemical feedstocks.
Refiners invariably want the reliability of proven technologies in new projects yet want to maximize profitability by their ability to respond to supply and price volatility for both feedstocks and products. Thanks to recent technical advances, CLG can now offer solutions based on the reliable LC-FINING and RDS technology platforms that expand feedstock optionality and that provide the desired flexibility to diversify product dispositions, e.g. switching emphasis from diesel to naphtha or from transportation fuel to petrochemical feedstock production. These advances include both processes and catalysts.
Free full text: https://www.mcdermott.com/MDRSite/media/CLG-Resources/New-Hydroprocessing-Approaches-to-Increase-Petrochemicals-Production-Rev-4.pdf
source: https://www.mcdermott.com/MDRSite/media/CLG-Resources/New-Hydroprocessing-Approaches-to-Increase-Petrochemicals-Production-Rev-4.pdf
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