PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENTS SPECIALREPORT Improve catalyst management at the FCC unit System revamp reduces unloading time, boosts refinery operations M. L. SARGENTI, N. ERGONUL and M. SCHERER, Grace Catalysts Technologies; H. UPADHYAY, R. McCLUNG and T. 5. W. AL RAWAHI, Orpic Sohar Refinery benefits ftom the stable and consistent addition of catalyst to the unit. For the regular addition of fresh catalyse, the best practice isto ensure steady activity in the inventory and mini mize upsets typically caused by slug additions of fresh catalyst, However, catalyst management in the FCC wnt is important during a number of activities associated with the FCC, risks and costs of mismanagement can be magnified if a large volume has to be moved every day. The Orpic Sohar refinery in ‘Oman sought co improve the injections of normal catalyst, equi librium catalyst (Eeat) and additives, and to find an optimum solution to the hoppers configuration while improving the fresh catalyst unloading system, which is described in this article T he performance of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit C, and the Orpic Sohar site description. The Sohar refinery, located 220 kilometers (km) northeast of Muscat in Oman, isthe larger of the country’s qwo refineries. With a production capacity of 116,000 barrels per day (bpd), the zefinery’s main products (gaso line, propylene and diesel) are distributed co different markets inside and outside ofthe country The FCC unit typically processes 100% atmospheric rsidue, and approximately 2% of che total catalyst inventory is tejuve nated with fresh material everyday. Beeween 20 metric tons pet dlay (mpd) and 30 mpd of fesh catalyst combined with addi- tives andéor Ecat (depending on the operational requirements) ate injected daily Catalyst and additive injection system. In the original design setup, four hoppers were used for the storage of fresh FCC catalyst, Ecat and a ZSM-5 additive. Over the last year, a spe cifically customized, multi-component database and information system (DAIS) for the simultaneous addition of vatious additives was installed to enable the refinery to operate at maximum flex ibility and reliability. Due co the particular setup of the refinery, a technical visit prior to the installation of the addition device was necessary t0 1¢ optimal location of the DAIS units and to design the proper connections between the hoppers. Catalyst injection is an intensive operation, since the volume managed in the daily additions is substantial. Therefore, it was suggested that two mult ‘comp standby basis. With this solution i is possible co constant tain an uninterrupted dosage of fresh catalyst into the FCC unit. determine nent DAIS system units he installed, for operation on a ‘An additional flow bin was included eo allow sep: ofa combustion promoter, if required, 2s shown in Figs. land 2. Revamp of catalyst unloading system. In the conven: tional operation, approximately 20 co 30 super sacks of fresh lyst, weighing 1,000 kilograms each, were unloaded every day into eT es ee eeeBd ea the storage hopper (Fig. 3). The handling of sucha large volume ‘of material was 2 time-intensive and envizonmentally unfriendly ‘operation. In addition, during the caalyst unloading, inevitable dduse generation caused catalyst losses and limited maintenance activities in the area ‘An effective way to avoid the handling of super sacks isto deliver larger volumes of catalyst and additives overseas in more suitably designed containers fited with polyethylene bulk liners. However, this method requires specific facilities for unloading the trailer con Bulk-lined containers are the desired solution to safely and effectively transport catalyse overseas and to store large volumes of catalyst from th inital production site for shipment to the end user at the refinery. For the operation at the Sohar refinery, trailer Sipping equipment was supplied o allow the plant co change from the traditional super sack delivery method to the safer, cleaner container system, while also providing a second backup system. This solution was easily and successfully installed onsite, with- ‘out the need for extra engineering and construction. The frame is adjustable to various trailer heights, and can accommodat a trailer of up to 40 fect without the front ar. The maximum capacity is 35 mt, including the trailer tilting chassis. In this system, the truck drives the container onto the frame, the cruck is removed, and the whole trailer is then fixed while being tilted backwards. After the container is emptied, the truck pulls away a5 the new supply atrives, as shown in Fig. 4. The catalysts then ees cransported inc the storage hopper bya proprietary piping system (Fig 5). This easy-tonse system is operated by a vacuum, which substantially reduces the time of the unloading operation, While ‘one caller is being unloaded, a second tle can be prepared for unloading on a second tng chassis Improved operation and benefits. Implementing the above-mentioned solutions ina holistic approach allows fora large reduction in dust generation while handling the fresh catalyst. The reduced dust generation within the process areas could decrease the number of hours spent on sice cleaning and housekeeping Additionally, the lesser dust generation represents a safer and more pleasanc working environment for operations personnel. The reduced manual handling of catalyst, on che other hand, can be used either to free operator hours for other duties or t0 reduce site costs accordingly. For example, che number of contract personnel performing the manual handling can be reevaluated, or the personnel can be assigned co new duties. In conclusion, the use of the newly implemented, multi-com- ponent DAIS system and the custom-built container offloading facilities at ehe Sohat refinery allowed the plant co operate at maxi- ‘mum flexibility and reliability. Lastly, the unloading process for che daily consumption of catalysts was considerably simplified and, shortened to around one quarter ofthe previous time required. MB "DAIS units ate exclusively manufactured for Gace by Pheu Maria Luisa Sargent hod: he postion of ecology cooxsnaton manage Nathan Ergon ca technical sales manage t Grace Catass Tenaogis Matthias Scherer is director of ses or amination ond logistics at ats chaos Hemant Upadhyay wos 3a senor process enginar atthe Or Shar refinery nomen Robert MeClung is he geal manager of cca sees tthe Opie Sohar reine Oman Talal Said Wasser AI Rawabi aseicr process engine a the Oc Soha refiner Oman