FCC TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES:

A COMMERCIAL EXAMPLE
Authors:
S.J. McCarthy - Mobil Technology Company
M.F. Raterman - Mobil Technology Company
C.G. Smalley - Mobil Technology Company
J.F. Sodomin - Mobil Oil Corporation
Rik B. Miller - The M.W. Kellogg Technology Company
Publication / Presented:
AM-97-10
Date:

FCC TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES:

A COMMERCIAL EXAMPLE

by

S.J. McCarthy, M.F. Raterman, C.G. Smalley

Mobil Technology Company
Paulsboro, New Jersey USA
and

J.F. Sodomin
Mobil Oil Corporation
Paulsboro, New Jersey USA
and

Rik B. Miller
The M.W. Kellogg Technology Company
Houston, Texas USA

FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

I.

ABSTRACT

The refining industry has become exceedingly competitive over the past 15 years. The net result
of competitive pressures has been significant downsizing and rationalization of less profitable
refineries. To survive, the remaining refineries must continue to improve efficiency, reduce
operating costs, and adopt flexibility to respond quickly to changes in market demands. Also,
refineries must implement selective technology upgrades to ensure continued profitability. Fluid
Catalytic Cracking is one of the most flexible and profitable refinery upgrading processes.
Therefore, a properly equipped Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit has significant potential to ensure
refineries remain competitive.
Mobil and Kellogg have developed advanced FCC process technologies that are proven
mechanically reliable and profitable. This paper highlights selective FCC technology upgrades
aimed at debottlenecking an existing FCC unit and improving financial performance. These
technology upgrades include: Closed Cyclones to reduce post-riser thermal cracking, stripper
modifications to reduce coke make, ATOMAX feed nozzles to improve feed atomization, and
radial injection to improve feed and catalyst mixing. Mobils Paulsboro refinery is provided as an
example of how selective FCC technology upgrades can improve overall refinery profitability.

II.

INTRODUCTION

Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is one of the most flexible and profitable refinery upgrading
processes. While commercialized more than 50 years ago, FCC has maintained a preeminent
position by evolving to meet changing product, environmental and operational demands quickly and
profitably. Several recent hardware developments are aimed at debottlenecking unit constraints to
improve financial performance. Specific developments include elimination of post-riser thermal
cracking, stripper modifications to reduce coke make, and high efficiency feed and catalyst mixing.
Successful commercial demonstration of new hardware developments is critical before widespread
implementation. Reliability and operability are vital for a refinery to realize the full benefits of new
technology. The FCC alliance of Mobil and M.W. Kellogg combines the strength of both companies
to ensure the reliability and operability of new technology. Mobil provides both traditional FCC
research and development and commercial demonstration of new technologies. Kellogg provides
strong process and mechanical engineering capabilities.
This paper highlights specific FCC technology upgrades which have proven profitable for both
existing and grassroots units. Specific technology upgrades discussed include closed reactor
cyclones, new baffle design for high flux strippers, ATOMAXTM feed nozzles, and radial feed
injection. Mobils Paulsboro refinery provides an excellent example of how these selective
technology upgrades can improve overall refinery profitability.
These FCC technology
improvements have also been successfully demonstrated at other Mobil and licensee refineries.

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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

III.

BACKGROUND

Mobils Paulsboro refinery provides an excellent case study of how strategic technology upgrades
can improve the FCC units contribution to overall refinery profitability. The FCC is a UOP high
efficiency unit (Figure 1) built in 1980 and originally designed to process 30 TBD. The FCC
feedstock is a mixture of indigenous VGO, purchased VGO, lube plant byproducts, and coker gas
oils. These feedstocks are not hydrotreated by the refinery and are a daily challenge to upgrade.
Main products are fuel gas, C3 and C4 LPG, gasoline, light cycle oil and slurry oil. Operating
strategy is for maximum conversion and is typically constrained by coke burning rate and wet gas
compression capacity. Advanced control packages are in use on the FCC, main fractionator, and
unsaturated gas plant.
The unit was revamped to include Closed Cyclone technology in 1988. Then, in 1995, Paulsboro
installed ATOMAX feed nozzles and proprietary FLUX TUBE stripper baffle technology that
reduced regeneration air requirements and improved yield selectivity. ATOMAX and FLUX
TUBE technologies were jointly developed by Mobil and Kellogg. The FCC unit now processes
more than 46 TBD at conversion levels well above 70 vol%. Yield surveys were performed before
and after the turnaround to quantify the benefits of the hardware improvements. The impact of each
of these technologies is discussed below.

IV.

MOBIL / KELLOGG FCC TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS

a.

Closed Cyclones

Cracking temperatures above 1000F are common for FCC units operating to produce light olefins
and high octane gasoline. At these temperatures, the contribution from non-selective thermal
cracking in the reactor vessel becomes significant. The main advantage of catalytic cracking over
thermal cracking is lower coke and higher gasoline selectivities. Therefore, it has become
imperative to redesign product and catalyst separation systems to eliminate thermal cracking.
Many designs to reduce non-selective post-riser cracking have been investigated, developed and
commercialized over the past 20 years. They all share the same basic concepts of quickly
separating spent catalyst from cracked products, introducing the catalyst into the stripping zone, and
minimizing the time product vapors are held at high temperatures.
The evolution of FCC riser termination devices is depicted in Figure 2. Early designs favored crude
rough cut separators on top of the riser followed by reactor cyclones. In later designs, rough cut
separators were replaced by riser cyclones. Although they are more efficient than their
predecessors, both rough cut separators and riser cyclones discharge the products into the
reactor/disengager. The large volume in this region allows significant thermal cracking to occur at
essentially riser top temperature. Analysis shows that about 50% of the hydrocarbons that exit the
riser cyclones are backmixed into the reactor vessel. Rough cut separators result in even higher
levels of backmixing. The hydrocarbons that backmix undergo unselective thermal cracking
resulting in a loss of gasoline and distillate yield and increase in light gas and heavy fuel oil make.

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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

Closed Cyclones essentially eliminate the backmixing in the reactor vessel. This is accomplished
by directly connecting the outlet of the riser cyclones with the inlet of the reactor cyclones. With
Closed Cyclones only about 3 wt% of the riser products are backmixed in the reactor vessel, mostly
due to entrainment of hydrocarbons down the riser cyclone diplegs. Converting unducted riser
cyclones to Closed Cyclones typically increases gasoline and distillate yield by about 2.5 wt % while
reducing dry gas yield by about 1 wt %. This represents a reduction of 40% in the sulfur-free, dry
gas make. Even greater benefits have obtained when revamping units that previously used crude
inertial separators1.
A refinery may take advantage of the reduction in gas make by increasing cracking severity and
conversion. Other refineries may choose to increase feed rate or resid content within a wet gas
constraint. Another benefit of Closed Cyclones is the reduction in unwanted byproducts. One such
thermal byproduct, butadiene, increases acid consumption in downstream alkylation. Closed
Cyclones typically reduce butadiene yield by about 50%.
Closed Cyclones were installed on the FCC unit at Mobils Paulsboro refinery in 1988. Tracer tests
showed that Closed Cyclones reduced hydrocarbon backmixing in the FCC reactor vessel from
about 40 wt % to about 3 wt %. Butadiene measurements after the turnaround were approximately
45 to 50% lower than the pre-turnaround values, demonstrating a significant reduction in thermal
cracking. Also, reactor vessel temperatures ranged from 40 to 70F lower than the riser top
temperature, again confirming reduced backmixing.
Yield surveys before and after the turnaround show that gasoline and distillate yield increased by
2.4 wt % at the expense of light gas and heavy fuel oil (Table 1). At that time, Paulsboros FCC
operation was constrained by the refinery fuel gas balance. Therefore, the refinery took advantage
of the drop in dry gas make by increasing severity. Despite increasing severity to maximum riser
top temperature, the fuel gas yield was still less than without Closed Cyclones. This increase in
severity further decreased bottoms yield and increased gasoline octane. Overall, Closed Cyclones
provided about a $0.30/bbl uplift.

b.

Feed Injection and Catalyst Mixing

The feed injection system is one of the keys to yield optimization and profitability. Catalytic cracking
reactions occur in the vapor phase on the active catalyst surface. Therefore, a well designed feed
injection system must provide quick vaporization and intimate contact between catalyst and oil.
Poor feed vaporization and mixing create localized regions of high and low catalyst-to-oil ratios and
induce backmixing which increases coke. Improvements in feed injection can reduce coke and light
gas production, resulting in higher conversion and improved selectivity toward premium products.
Gasoline yield increases as high as 5 vol% and conversion increases of over 4 vol% have been
observed commercially with the Kellogg/Mobil ATOMAX feed injection system.
Rapid feed vaporization requires atomization into small droplets with a narrow size distribution.
Smaller droplets vaporize faster than larger droplets. The feed injection system must also efficiently
use the available liquid pressure drop to reduce operating costs or provide optimum atomization
within fixed feed supply pressure constraints. The spray pattern from the nozzle must evenly
distribute the oil within the riser to provide rapid and uniform oil and catalyst mixing. Oil should be
sprayed into a dense phase of catalyst to ensure high local catalyst-to-oil ratios. The feed must
have sufficient momentum to penetrate the flowing catalyst without causing erosion of the riser wall
or excessive catalyst attrition.
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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

ATOMAX nozzles have been installed on most of Mobils FCC units and have been licensed to
more than 32 FCC units to provide superior feed atomization and mixing. The ATOMAX nozzle,
shown in Figure 3, was developed jointly by Mobil and Kellogg. Its key features are that steam
pressure provides most of the energy for atomization and mixing and, thereby, avoids expensive
pressuring of the liquid feed. Simple and reliable internals and a unique discharge cap provide
superior atomization, riser coverage and penetration without erosion of the nozzles or riser wall.
Atomization is not significantly effected by large changes in feed rate and this compliments various
FCC operating strategies.
ATOMAXTM nozzles were installed at Mobils Paulsboro refinery during the 1995 turnaround.
Paulsboros original feed nozzles were an atomizing tip-orifice type, installed axially at the base
of the riser. The new feed injection system consisted of ATOMAX nozzles oriented radially around
the circumference of the riser. The new nozzles were designed for higher feed rate and efficiently
utilized available feed pressure drop.
Yield surveys before and after the turnaround show Paulsboro achieved a 1.3 wt % increase in
conversion and a 1.4 wt % increase in gasoline yield with the installation of ATOMAXTM nozzles
(Table 1). Improved feed vaporization and oil and catalyst mixing reduced thermal cracking, which
reduced the coke and dry gas selectivities and improved the gasoline selectivity. Reduced coke
selectivity allowed higher conversion within the coke burning limitations of the unit. Overall,
ATOMAXTM nozzles provided a $0.34/bbl uplift, representing about a 3-month payout.

c.

Stripper Baffle Design

The performance of the FCC reactor stripper also has a substantial impact on yields and profitability.
Ideal stripper design provides adequate catalyst residence time and low catalyst fluxes to allow
steam to flow upward through the stripper. Good stripper baffle and steam distributor design are
also essential to good stripper performance. Poor stripper performance results in hydrocarbon
vapors being burned in the regenerator. This increases both regenerator temperature and steam
partial pressure. Poor stripping also reduces feed rate or conversion in FCC units constrained by
air blower capacity.
Mobils Paulsboro FCC stripper is an annular design (Figure 4) which operates at relatively high
catalyst fluxes. Higher than design feed rates and operating severities have increased catalyst
fluxes, resulting in flooding and poor stripping efficiency. Figure 5 depicts the problems encountered
in high flux annular strippers. This type of behavior has been observed in cold flow stripper
modeling and confirmed in commercial tests.
A survey in August 1994 confirmed the stripper problems and, depending on conditions, unstripped
hydrocarbon vapor accounted for 10 to 15 wt% of the regenerator coke load. An efficient stripper
typically achieves less than 6 wt% unstripped hydrocarbon vapor as a percentage of total coke. Low
spent catalyst standpipe density also indicates poor stripper performance because a high
percentage of the steam added to the stripper is being entrained with the spent catalyst to the
regenerator.
In 1995, the Paulsboro refinery installed a new proprietary stripper baffle technology that reduces
flooding and improves stripping efficiency. Known as FLUX TUBE baffles, this technology was
jointly developed by Mobil and Kellogg. Compared with previous baffles designs, they are extremely
efficient in high flux strippers and they significantly increase the operating range without requiring
modification of the stripper shell. The performance of conventional and FLUX TUBE baffles is
compared in Figure 6.
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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

FLUX TUBES have been successfully installed at two other Mobil locations and in one licensed
unit. The low-cost modifications did not require enlargement of the outside shell of the reactor
vessel and did not extend the turnaround duration.
Paulsboro FCC Stripper Performance Before and After FLUX TUBE
Installation

Hydrocarbon Vapor as a % of Total Coke

Relative Stripper Efficiency
Steam to Reactor, wt%
Steam to Regenerator, wt%
Regenerator Temp., F

Pre-Turnaround
10 - 15
69 - 78
35 - 50
50 - 65
1365

Post Turnaround
3-5
89 - 93
68 - 78
22 - 32
1335

A survey conducted following the turnaround showed about a 65% reduction in unstripped
hydrocarbon vapor entrained to the regenerator at constant stripping severity. The reduced
regenerator coke load lowered regenerator temperature by about 30F and provided the flexibility
to operate the FCC unit at higher feed rates and higher severity. The lower regenerator
temperature, accompanied by a lower steam partial pressure, reduced catalyst hydrothermal
deactivation. Equilibrium catalyst activity increased by 3 MAT at constant catalyst makeup rate.
Yield surveys before and after the stripper modification show Paulsboro was able to achieve a 1.2
wt% increase in conversion at constant feed rate because of the stripper modifications (Table 1).
Correspondingly, gasoline and alkylation unit feed increased, predominantly at the expense of light
cycle oil and bottoms. There was a slight increase in dry gas as a result of improved stripper
performance. As expected, coke yield increased slightly due to the lower hydrogen content of the
coke, with better stripping, which reduced the heat of combustion per pound of coke.
Overall, FLUX TUBE
stripper baffles provided about a $0.12/Bbl uplift. Also, the operating
envelope of the Paulsboro stripper has been sufficiently extended to allow a much wider range of
operating conditions.

V.

SUMMARY

The Paulsboro Refinery has benefited from selective FCC technology upgrades all of which came
from development programs jointly conducted by Mobil and Kellogg and which are available for
license from Kellogg. Most of the FCC technology improvements have also been successfully
implemented at other Mobil locations as part of our program to remain competitive. As described
above, these technologies have helped Mobils Refineries remain profitable and viable in an
exceedingly competitive environment.

VI.

REFERENCES

1.

"FCC Reactor Product-Catalyst Separation --- Ten Years of Commercial Experience with
Closed Cyclones; R.B. Miller, T.E. Johnson, C.R. Santner, A.A. Avidan, and D.L. Johnson;
1995 NPRA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA; 20 March 1995.
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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

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FCC Technology Upgrades: A Commercial Example

TABLE 1

Paulsboro FCC Yield Improvements: Post Revamp

Closed Cyclones

ATOMAX

FLUX TUBES

H2S

0.0

0.0

0.0

Dry Gas

-0.4

-0.3

0.2

Propane

-0.1

0.1

0.1

Propene

0.0

-0.1

0.2

n-Butane

0.3

0.1

0.1

i-Butane

0.3

0.1

0.2

Butenes

0.0

0.0

0.1

Gasoline

0.8

1.4

0.2

Light Cycle Oil

1.6

-0.9

-0.8

Bottoms

-2.6

-0.4

-0.4

Coke

0.1

0.0

0.1

Conversion

1.0

1.3

1.2

Uplift, $/bbl

0.30

0.34

0.12

Yields, wt%

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Mobil's Paulsboro FCC Unit

UOP high efficiency unit originally designed
to process 30 TBD
Feedstocks: Non-hydrotreated
Indigenous and imported VGO
Lube byproducts and coker gas oils

Products
Fuel gas, C3 and C4 LPG, and gasoline
Light cycle and slurry oils

Strategy: Maximum conversion

Constraints: Air blower and wet gas
compressor capacities

Figure 1

Evolution of Riser Termination Devices

Inertial Separator

Riser Cyclones

Closed Cyclones

Poor cat alyst /vapor separation

Good catalyst /vapor separation

Excellent catalyst /vapor separation

Much dilute phase cat cracking

Lit tle dilute phase cat cracking

No dilut e phase cat cracking

High vapor residence t ime

(post-riser thermal cracking)

High vapor residence t ime

(post-riser thermal cracking)

Very low vapor residence time

(no post-riser t hermal cracking)

Figure 2
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ATOMAX Feed Injection Technology

Original Mobil Paulsboro feed nozzles were an
atomizing "tip-orifice" type, installed axially
ATOMAX Feed Injection System
now installed on most Mobil FCC units
small, uniform droplets provide rapid
feed vaporization
efficient use of feed pressure drop
uniform spray pattern that penetrates
flowing catalyst
catalyst lifted to injection zone in dense phase
for improved hydrodynamics and heat transfer

Higher conversion and improved product

selectivities

Figure 3

Figure 4
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ATOMAX Feed Injection System

Figure 5

FLUX TUBES Outperform Conventional Baffles

Stripper Efficiency (%)

FLUX TUBE Baffle

Baffle "B"

CRITICAL FLUX

Baffle "A"

Superficial Mass Flux (lb/ft/s)

Figure 6
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