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FCC Cyclones
Conference Paper January 2000

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1 author:
Huub W Dries
Shell Global
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Page 1

REFINING

FCC cyclones a vital

element in profitability
When it was found that standard cyclone designs did not always work reliably,
an extensive development programme was initiated to design and produce
cyclone systems suited to demanding FCC operating conditions.
Huub Dries Shell Global Solutions International
Robert McAuley Shell UK Oil Products

here is a tremendous drive for reliability with the fluidised catalytic

cracking (FCC) process, the most
important unit in most of the worlds 620plus refineries. For a typical 5000t/d
(35 000bpd) unit, an unscheduled outage
lasting one week may lead to a profit loss in
excess of 1 million euros. FCC cyclones
have always played a critical role in FCC
reliability. These gas/solids separators operate in a hostile environment with high and
varying temperatures, variable solid loads,
fine but abrasive catalyst and hydrocarbon
vapours that can lead to coke deposition.
Refiners need to increase process profitability by increasing the uninterrupted
run-length from three to over four years,
even as cyclone-loadings increase and the
heavier feedstocks entering the market
become more fouling-prone. It is unacceptable if the cyclones are not robust enough to
meet these run-lengths.
From refining experience at Shell refineries throughout the world, it has been determined that standard cyclone designs
cannot consistently perform reliably [Hig-

Reference is made in the various sections

to the experience with cyclone systems in
the Stanlow residue FCC unit.
Primary cyclones in both the regenerator and reactor vessels in Shells standard two-vessel designs (Figure 1) have
proven separation efficiencies in excess
of 99.9 per cent. The overflow from
these cyclones is directed to a secondstage cyclone set, where about 98 per
cent of the residual catalyst is removed.
Typical conditions in the FCC
reactor/regenerator (R&R) are described
in Table 1.
For any cyclone system design, the
following process objectives have to be
met:
Final solids concentration in product
gas and flue gas should meet certain
maximum specifications
Cyclone system should function continuously and trouble-free for at least a
four-year operational cycle.
Cyclone
maintenance
during
turnarounds should be minimal and the
Figure 1 One of Shells standard two- equipment life should be at least 12
gins R et al, Refiner outlines approach to FCC
vessel FCC designs, with the reactor on years.
the right and the regenerator vessel on
design and operations; Oil & Gas Journal, 23
Experience gained from more than 30
the left. The cyclones in the reactor are of Shells FCC units (and more than 600
Nov 1998]. Hence, the company embarked
close-coupled and those in the regenera- cyclones) over several decades provide
on a developmental programme to address
tor direct-coupled
recurring reliability problems, drawing
the knowledge base to design cyclone
lessons learned from operational experisystems that meet these criteria.
ences (both good and bad) of over 600 FCC mechanical design and materials of conDownstream from the R&R, other
cyclones.
struction have also contributed to a cyclone cyclonic devices are used. HydrocyConsequently, the cyclone systems are design that is efficient, reliable and coke- clones may be used downstream from
now designed to form part of the overall resistant.
the reactor if required for slurry quality.
Shell FCC design, whereas previous
A third stage separator downTypical reactor/regenerator conditions
designs were made by cyclone manustream from the regenerator may
facturers. The features include :
be used to clean the flue gas fur Improved cyclone geometry that
ther, either to protect a power
Reactor
Regenerator
minimises erosion of walls and
recovery expander or to meet parTemperature, C
525
700
buildup of coke layers, while optiticulate emission legislation or
Pressure, bar
3
3
mising separation efficiency
both.
Gas density, kg/m3
2.9
1.0
More compact designs, based on a
Challenges facing refiners that
better understanding of catalyst flow
affect FCC cyclone systems
Cat/gas ratio at
cyclones inlet, kg/kg
710
510
from the cyclone body down into the
include economic pressures to prodipleg
duce more lighter products, proCat/gas ratio at
unit outlet, mg/kg
100200
150250
Sturdy cyclone suspension systems
cess heavier feedstock, increase
Average particle size
and cyclone crossovers/plenums that
intake, improve unit reliability,
at cyclones inlet, m
~75
~50
can withstand extreme afterburn
and meet ever more stringent
conditions with little risk of developenvironmental legislation on paring cracks. Similar developments in Table 1
ticulate emissions. These chal-

21
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w w w. e p t q . c o m

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REFINING

Performance improvement
predicates an imperative for
reducing daily catalyst losses,
increasing unit intake well
beyond the original design
limit and improvement to
process performance such as
product yields. The benefit
of each percentage point
capacity increase . . .
amounts to approximately
0.5 million euros per year for
a 5000t/d FCC unit
lenges and how they are met will be discussed in following sections.

Performance and reliability

Can coke formation on the gas outlets

in the reactor secondary reactor
cyclones be avoided, or at least be prevented from impairing the cyclone performance such as is caused by dipleg
plugging?
Can the cyclone capacity be increased
without compromising separation efficiency?
Can cracks on the cyclone system
caused by the inevitable temperature
excursions be avoided?
Proven solutions to these questions
have been developed on the basis of operational experience and in-house R&D.

Improving performance
Over the past decade, many refiners
have revamped their reactor cyclone systems to obtain better product yields by
reducing non-selective post-riser cracking. This is most commonly achieved by
applying close-coupled cyclone systems
where the catalyst is almost immediately separated from the hydrocarbon
products after the riser, which are channelled to the main fractionator where
they are quenched to prevent further
cracking.
Figure 1 shows such a system in place
in Shells latest residue FCC unit at Port
Dickson, Malaysia, which was started up
in mid-1999.
Shell close-coupled technology has
also been applied in numerous FCC
revamps. Figure 2 shows an example of
a third party unit in the USA that was
revamped to include close-coupled
cyclones. An additional feature shown
in the figure is the combination of the
separation and pre-stripping functions
in the primary cyclone. It is widely
understood that catalyst stripping

Refiners are under constant pressure to

continuously improve their FCC unit
performance and reliability.
Performance improvement predicates an imperative for reducing daily
catalyst losses, increasing unit intake
well beyond the original design limit
and improvement to process performance such as product yields. The benefit of each percentage point capacity
increase (or eqivalent amount of yield
improvement) amounts to approximately 0.5 million euros per year for a
5000t/d FCC unit. To meet these challenges, the following issues need to be
considered:
Can the cyclone perform additional
functions, such as pre-stripping
as well?
Can the cyclone capacity be
increased without compromising
separation efficiency?
Can attrition in cyclones be
maintained, or even reduced, in
the face of higher throughputs?
Can new emission limits be met
by improving third stage separator
(TSS) performance?
Improving reliability resonates
to minimising unplanned downtime due to equipment problems,
reducing maintenance costs during scheduled turnarounds and
run length extended to more than
four years. The benefit of reduced
downtime is about 1 million euros
per week for a 5000t/d FCC unit.
Again, to meet these challenges,
the following cyclone issues need
to be considered:
Can cyclone erosion be controlled, even at higher throughputs?
Figure 3 Shell external reactor design

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Figure 2 Shell internal reactor revamp

should start at the earliest opportunity
to reduce post-riser coke make.
In this particular case, this is achieved
by omitting the dipleg and injecting stripping steam into this pre-stripping
cyclone. The presence of the stripping
steam has not affected the overall cyclone
separation efficiency.

Logical choice
For processing heavy feedstocks
with a high coking tendency, the
Shell external reactor design (Figure 3) proved to be the logical
choice. The system features a reactor system with minimal stagnant
areas to minimise the risk of coke
deposition. It has an external riser
terminating in a single rough-cut
pre-stripping cyclone that is
direct-coupled to external secondstage cyclones, minimising postriser cracking.
Catalyst from the primary
cyclone flows into the main stripper section before entering the
regenerator. The system was first
applied at Deer Park, Texas. Following its success, other Shell
FCC units were revamped to this
technology. The first grassroots
application of the external reactor
design was at the Stanlow refinery,
UK, in 1988. Design throughput is
9500t/d.

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Capacity increase
Increasing an existing FCC
units capacity is often a
profitable but limited
option. Frequently encountered constraints in
the R&R separation systems include:
Excessive dipleg back-up.
Each cyclone system
operates within a pressure balance. Increasing
gas flow causes cyclone
pressure
drop
to
increase which, in turn,
leads to higher catalyst
levels inside the diplegs
(backup height). If this
level
reaches
the
cyclone bottom, catalyst may be re-entrained
and losses will increase.
High dipleg flux. Higher
catalyst load may actually overload the primary cyclone diplegs and Figure 4 Shell third-stage separator design
gas carry-under may
occur. These challenges can be relioccasion, to suppress gas carry-under
ably met with properly designed
and increase dipleg capacity, the
cyclone dipleg systems. Diplegs of pridiameter has either been increased or
mary and rough-cut cyclones (the
the submergence of heavily loaded
riser-end cyclones) need to be adediplegs has been deepened.
quately sealed by submerging the bot- Poor catalyst flowability. Catalyst
tom end inside the stripper bed. On
inside the diplegs of secondary

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cyclones may lack sufficient

flowability to provide a
high enough apparent density in the dense layer. As a
consequence, the actual
backup height will rise.
When the dipleg is relatively short, allowing this
increase may not be possible without jeopardising
performance.
Aeration is a possible means
to improve flowability but
this is not normally applied.
With increased understanding of the various flowregimes inside the dipleg, it
has been possible to increase
the capacity of any given
dipleg, not just by increasing
its diameter, but more
importantly, by adjusting
the flow conditions at the
bottom and top end of the
dipleg [Wang J et al, An experimental study of cyclone dipleg
flow in fluidized catalytic cracking; Powder Technology, 112, 2000].

With respect to the cyclone

bottom, a device to stabilise the vortex
is recommended, as previously detailed
in Figure 2. Such a feature can improve
the pressure-balance over the cyclone,
and as such be used to increase capacity.

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REFINING

Figure 5 LES simulation of coking around a cyclones gas outlet

Stanlow residue FCCU

In the Stanlow, UK, resid FCCU, the 2nd
cyclones are equipped with vortex stabilisers, and fully satisfactory operation
at 120 per cent of nominal capacity
(11 000t/d) has been achieved over several years, with no significant erosion.
The external diplegs of the reactor 2nd
cyclones are provided with gate valves,
fluidisation gas injections, DP measurements and temperature indicators.
These are particularly useful, especially at startup, to indicate restrictions,
which if undetected would result in
high catalyst loss to the fractionator.
Being external and accessible, the
diplegs can be blasted to clear blockages,
without having to enter the reactor. Dipleg blockages can also occur online, and
procedures have been used to re-establish the dipleg flow without having to
shutdown.

Reducing catalyst losses

On the reactor side, catalyst losses may
cause pump erosion, fouling in the fractionation section and reduced clarified
oil quality. With a reliable separation
system in the reactor, catalyst losses are
mostly under control. For meeting more
stringent quality requirements for clarified oil, hydrocyclones or filtration-systems may be incorporated.
On the regenerator side, catalyst losses may cause expander blade erosion
and are an environmental problem. Catalyst losses in the flue gas from an FCC
regenerator are typically in the range of
3
200400mg/Nm , but can be limited to
3
below 150mg/Nm . New environmental
legislation in many countries forces
refiners to meet particulate emission
limits below 100 and often below
3
50mg/Nm . This challenge can be met
with the following step-approach:
Optimise the cyclone system by best

Figure 6 Outlet asymmetry of a cyclone horizontal cross section

design practices for cyclone geometry

and diplegs
Minimise catalyst attrition by proper
design and appropriate catalyst choice
Improve separation downstream from
the regenerator with the latest improvements to third-stage separator technology.
The obvious route to lowering environmental emissions is to reduce the
catalyst load leaving the regenerator.
The two-stage cyclones inside the regenerator need to cope with the large catalyst load, not only in the cyclone bodies
but also in the diplegs.
Care is given to the proper sizing of
these diplegs with regards to length,
diameter and end-devices such as trickle
valves. Furthermore, when the combustion air is increased, for example, by
adding mobile compressors, both the
catalyst loading and velocity increases.
This has a pronounced effect on attrition
and hence, on the formation of microfines leading to catalyst carry-over.
To suppress attrition, it is best to
modify the cyclone inlet geometry.
Reduced losses have also been experienced by selecting a catalyst with higher
attrition resistance.
At higher velocities, cyclone separation efficiencies improve but generally
not enough to compensate for increased
catalyst entrainment, thus catalyst losses increase. Efficiency may be increased
further with longer cyclone barrels but
experience has resulted in limited gains.
It is preferable to improve final stage
cyclones by including a vortex-stabilising device such as schematically shown
in the previously discussed Figure 2 . The
vortex-stabilising device substantially
reduces the chance of erosion and attrition in the cyclone-bottom.
New designs of TSSs (Figure 4) are
now routinely meeting emission limits
3
of 50mg/Nm flue gas particulate. This

24
P T Q SPRING 2001

can also be achieved by upgrading older

TSS designs, not just by grassroots
installations.
The Shell TSS consists of a cold-wall
vessel with a conical bottom. Flue gas
enters via a central duct which distributes the particulates-laden gas in the
space between two parallel tube sheets
walls. Swirl tubes a parallel set of axial
cyclones, with optimised dimensions
are mounted between the two sheets.
Each swirl tube consists of a cast swirl
vane assembly mounted around a gas
outlet tube. The gas outlets pass through
the top of the upper sheet. Separated
catalyst and some gas leave through the
bottom outlet of the TSS vessel.
This underflow gas is further purified
in a fourth stage separator (FSS) which
usually consists of a single cyclone.
Typically, TSSs operate at around
700C with capacities of 3000 to 15 000
tons/day of flue gas. They were originally designed to protect expander rotor
blades from excessive erosion by minimising the catalyst content in the flue
gas. With the shift from expander to
environmental protection, the TSS
design needed further improvements to
enhance its separation efficiency.
Over the years, the improvement in
performance has reduced the emission
from TSS from a typical value of
3
120mg/Nm in the 1980s to the current
3
value of less than 50mg/Nm .

Stanlow refinery TSS

Normal catalyst losses from the regener3
ator are approximately 200mg/Nm .
During the design of the cyclones,
appropriate attention was given to the
dimensioning and the previously
described internal details. The TSS in
Stanlow is equipped with 144 swirl
tubes. Despite various changes to catalyst and operational conditions, the

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REFINING

The combination of the TSS

and FSS enabled Stanlow to
recover most of the lost
catalyst and this was
recycled back into the unit.
Through this unconventional
operation, Stanlow refinery
was able to manage its
catalyst losses and delay an
otherwise imminent
shutdown to the scheduled
date
stack emissions could be maintained
below the local emission limits.
Prior to the modification of the regenerator cyclone suspension system (to be
discussed in further detail), cracks in the
cyclone crossovers and plenum led to
large catalyst losses (more than 10t/d)
from the regenerator. The combination
of the TSS and FSS enabled Stanlow to
recover most of the lost catalyst and this
was recycled back into the unit.
Through this unconventional operation, Stanlow refinery was able to manage its catalyst losses and delay an
otherwise imminent shutdown to the
scheduled date.
On the reactor-side, the unit is
equipped with hydrocyclones to clean
up the slurry. Most of the time, these are
not required, as the required clarified oil
quality can be met, indicating how well
the reactor-cyclone system is performing. However, when in operation, these
have operated reliably.

Improving unit reliability

Over the past decade, a multi-disciplinary task force has evolved to identify the key causes of FCC unreliability
and gain insight with respect to type,
origin and frequency of unscheduled
downtime. Following data-gathering
from site-visits and research activities,
the team formulated and implemented
design-improvements and best practices. Most cyclone-related downtime
can be traced to three root causes, and
in all of these areas important progress
has been made.
Coke formation. Coke tends to adhere
in stagnant zones inside secondary
cyclones, usually at the lee side of the
gas outlet tube, and also in the dipleg.
During temperature fluctuations, coke
may spall-off and block a dipleg.
Depending on the severity of losses, the
unit may be forced to shut down to

Figure 7 Improved regenerator cyclone crossover and plenum system

address the problem.
Erosion of cyclone components (bottom
cone, gas outlet tube, diplegs/trickle
valves); damage to erosion resistant lining and its metal support may occur. In
particular at sharp transitions (eg
cyclone gas outlet and bottom cone/dipleg transition) some lining may erode
away.
Mechanical damage of the cyclone suspension system in the form of metal
cracks may be caused by temperature
shocks. These cracks may lead to perforation that will deteriorate over time,
resulting in unacceptably high catalyst
losses. An extended downtime may then
be required for repairs.

Coke growth
Using a 3D large eddy simulation (LES)
technique, stagnant areas in a cyclone
can be clearly seen in Figures 5 and 6.
The predominant adherence to the leeside of the gas outlet mimics quite accurately the findings in Shell's commercial
units. This technique was used in conjunction with small-scale experiments
to develop a new design for the cyclone
top section (the inlet scroll & gas outlet
contour).
Findings show that formation of thick
coke layers can be avoided without compromising separation performance. Furthermore, a coke screen is incorporated
at the inlet of the dipleg to negate the
potential effects of fallen coke pieces.

Erosion damage
The demand for higher throughputs and
higher efficiency will result in increased
velocities within the cyclones and,
hence, increase their vulnerability to erosion damage. Damage is typically found
on the vortex turnaround point in
the proximity of the dipleg inlet.
Although lengthening the cyclone

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P T Q SPRING 2001

body may reduce the severity of the

problem, the problem was resolved
fundamentally by changing the local
flow pattern through the use of proprietary vortex stabilisers.
Although erosion-resistant refractory is commonly applied to safeguard
the cyclone interior, local damage to
this lining and the anchor may still
occur (such as in the bottom cone and
gas outlet tube area) if appropriate precautions are not taken. Such damage,
like abrasion and biscuiting of the
surface can be minimised by reducing
the amount of steel on the surface.
A change has been made from the
traditional hex mesh to single-point
anchoring systems. Experience with
this change shows that the quality of
the application improves because the
installation is simpler and much faster,
not only by stud-welding but also by
shot-creting of the lining.
As for the refractory material itself,
the abrasion resistance and strength are
important properties, but so are its
expansion and shrinkage characteristics. Recently, new abrasion-resistant
materials have entered the market.
These materials exhibit excellent abrasion resistance, shrink less and are simple and fast to apply. When applied with
special care, these materials show superior performance when used in combination with single-point anchoring
systems.
Erosion of the dipleg trickle valves is
related to the backflow of gas up the
diplegs due to the low-flow condition
and the negative pressure inside the
cyclone. This has necessitated adoption
of the hard-surfacing (stelliting) of the
valve-plate and the submerging of the
dipleg bottom end. In special cases, the
use of counterweighted flapper valves is
advised.

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REFINING

Cyclone reliability has

improved substantially over
the past decade and has
contributed to unit
availability while capacity
has increased and
turnaround time decreased
Mechanical damage

plenum, and, as a quick repair method,

this time to non-cyclone related areas in
the reactor as well.

Conclusion
The Stanlow residue FCC unit represents
one of Shell Global Solutions two standard designs; the one especially for processing heavy feeds. The External
Reactor design features direct-coupling
of cyclones, the functional combination
of separation and stripping inside the
large rough-cut cyclone, and the
absence of a reactor shell. The unit
incorporates many elements of the engi-

Regenerator cyclones that use traditional suspension systems are particularly

prone to cracks in the crossover ducting
from the secondary cyclone gas outlets
to the central plenum. Once these
cracks form, they will gradually grow
larger through erosion and may eventually lead to unacceptably high catalyst
losses.
In virtually all the reported cases, the
failures were weld cracks that stem from
low cycle thermal fatigue. Measured
temperatures in the Stanlow regenerator
during upset conditions showed that
severe afterburns occurred predominantly in the cyclones. Temperature
excursions of 100C were recorded. To
compound matters, the temperature
excursions were not uniformly distributed. With these data in hand, it became
clear what would happen when the temperature of a pair of crossovers were suddenly increased and the rest remain
unchanged. The thermal expansion will
create high stresses and may result in
cracks at both sides of the crossover.
With this understanding, a new proprietary design was developed which can
accommodate the expected non-uniform thermal expansion (Figure 7).
The new cyclone suspension system
provides more flexibility by allowing
any thermal expansion to be absorbed.
Potentially acute temperature changes
are also moderated by the use of insulating material.
The improved crossover and plenum
design has been implemented in a number of locations, including Stanlow, and
has already proven itself. Shortly after
the implementation of the above system, Stanlow experienced a unit upset
which triggered an extremely severe
temperature excursion in the regenerator runaways. Based on past experiences,
such an incident would have led to
cracks in the crossovers and plenum if
the traditional suspension system was
still in use. However, the improved suspension system was able to withstand
the severe conditions without damage.
The single point anchoring with the
new refractory material has been
applied inside the new regenerator

27
P T Q SPRING 2001

neering solutions that have been developed over the past two decades.
Through revamps, the catalyst separation systems have been improved further.
Cyclone reliability has improved substantially over the past decade and has
contributed to unit availability while
capacity has increased and turnaround
time decreased. Catalyst losses to stack
and to clarified oil are below their
design values, even though unit capacity has increased to 120 per cent of its
design value.
"