Cracking
Cracking
Cracking
Thermal cracking:
Thermal cracking is normally conducted at temp
varing from 455 to 730 C.
The important reaction occurs are c-c bond scission,
dehydrogenation, isomerization and polymerization.
Olefinic hydrocarbons may be formed by the
dehydrogenation of paraffins.
Coke formation is an additional reaction.
Olefins formed undergo cracking and then
repolymerize, their hydrogen contents continues to
decrease.
Thermal cracking:
1) Coking
Coking are severe cracking operations designed to
completely convert residual products such as pitch
or tar into gas, naphtha, heating oil, gas oil, and
coke.
The gas oil fraction represents the major product
obtained used as a feed stock for catalytic cracking
units. The C5-220 oC naphtha may be used as a
gasoline blending agent, although its octane no.
quality from 65 to 80 RON (unleaded), is lower than
the desirable, the coke is usually used as fuel.
After something like a ten year gap, there
has been a renewed interest in coking; key
reasons are the diminishing relative demand
for fuel oils and the increasing concentration
2) Fluid Coking :
Visbreaking Process
Catalytic Cracking
It has been the most important and widely used process
for the production of gasoline from heavy distillates and
hence the major means for increasing the ratio of light to
heavy products from crude oil. The catalytic-cracking
processes in use today can all be classified as
either moving-bed or fluidized-bed units:
1) Moving Bed: In which the catalyst was allowed to fall
slowly by gravity through the reactor and a regenerator
vessels and was returned mechanically to the top.
2) Fluidized Bed: Is based on the fluidization propertied
of fine powders, which enabled the catalyst to be
transported continuously between the reactor and
regenerator.
The fluidized system has been more widely used
than the moving bed and now represents about 80
% of all cracking plants.
Catalytic Cracking
Catalyst : both systems use basically similar catalysts but
produced in a different form, in the shape of beds for
moving bed and fine powder for fluidized bed.
Acid treated clays ground to a powder
Synthetic silica- alumina catalysts of higher activity
(amorphous)
Crystalline synthetic silica alumina catalyst called
zealots or molecular sieves.
The advantages of zealots over the natural and
synthesis amorphous catalyst are
1) Higher activity.
2) Higher gasoline yields at a given conversion.
3) Production of gasoline containing a larger % of
paraffinic and aromatic HC.
4) Lower coke yield.
5) Increased iso-butane production.
6) Ability to go for higher conversion per pass without over
cracking.
Catalytic Reforming
Catalytic Reforming
The commonly used catalytic reforming catalysts containnoble metalssuch
as platinum and/or rhenium, which are very susceptible topoisoningby
sulfur andnitrogencompounds. Therefore, the naphtha feedstock to a
catalytic reformer is always pre-processed in ahydrodesulfurization unit
which removes both the sulfur and the nitrogen compounds. Most catalysts
require both sulphur and nitrogen content to be lower than 1 ppm .
Problem
1- Calculate the length of time between
regeneration of catalyst in a reformer
operating
at the following conditions:
Liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) _ 3.0
v/hr/v,
Feed rate = 5000BPSD, Feed gravity _ 55.0
API, Catalyst bulk density = 50 lb/ftcube,
Number of reactors = 3, Catalyst
deactivates after processing 90 barrels of
feed per pound of catalyst.
Hydrocracking
Hydrocracking is a two-stage process
combining catalytic cracking and
hydrogenation, wherein heavier feedstocks
are cracked in the presence of hydrogen to
produce more desirable products. The process
employs high pressure, high temperature, a
catalyst, and hydrogen. Hydrocracking is used
for feedstocks that are difficult to process by
either catalytic cracking or reforming, since
these feedstocks are characterized usually by
a high polycyclic aromatic content and/or high
concentrations of the two principal catalyst
poisons, sulfur and nitrogen compounds.
Hydrocracking
The hydrocracking process largely depends
on the nature of the feedstock and the
relative rates of the two competing reactions,
hydrogenation and cracking. Heavy aromatic
feedstock is converted into lighter productsn
munder a wide range of very high pressures
(1,000-2,000 psi) and fairly high
temperatures (750-1,500 F), in the
presence of hydrogen and special catalysts.
When the feedstock has a high paraffinic
content, the primary function of hydrogen is
to prevent the formation of polycyclic
aromatic compounds.
Hydrocracking
Another important role of hydrogen in the
hydrocracking process is to reduce tar
formation and prevent buildup of coke on
the catalyst. Hydrogenation also serves
to convert sulfur and nitrogen compounds
present in the feedstock to hydrogen
sulfide and ammonia.
Hydrocracking
produces relatively large
amounts of isobutane for alkylation
feedstock. Hydrocracking also performs
isomerization for pour-point control and
smoke-point control, both of which are
important in high-quality jet fuel.