Article Summary

With an increasing lack of refining capacity globally to keep pace with the growing demand for transportation fuels,
including both motor gasoline and on-road diesel, refiners are under constant pressure to improve the performance
and reliability of the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU). Despite the recent global economic slowdown contributing to
reduced refinery utilisation, typical FCCU run lengths, or intervals between planned maintenance turnarounds, have
been averaging about four years, with an on-stream factor of about 0.96. This would account for a typical three- to
four-week turnaround period, with the remaining days representing unplanned feed outages. Extending the
turnaround interval to five years, with an improved on-stream factor of about 0.98, is a reasonable target for refiners.

A 50 000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity FCCU, at today’s US Gulf Coast crack spread, would generate an incremental
$0.5M per day in profit. The benefit of the reduced downtime must be weighed against the cost of a potentially longer
turnaround, higher operating cost, including catalyst usage, and potential revenue from technology upgrades. The
lengths of time between turnarounds and causes for unplanned feed outages are obviously dependent on equipment
reliability and consistent operations. As such, it is incumbent on the FCCU operating personnel to diagnose potential
causes for operating problems and return the unit to stable operation as quickly as possible.

Catalyst losses
Catalyst is continuously being lost through both the reactor and regenerator. Minimising these losses is essential to
maintain optimum unit operation as well as environmental compliance and to reduce catalyst costs. The causes for
increasing catalyst losses include refractory lining failure, excessive mass flows through the cyclones and diplegs,
insufficient dipleg length, mechanical failures with the collection system and changes with the quality of circulating
catalyst.

Using the catalyst vendor’s equilibrium catalyst report, the physical properties of the circulating catalyst may be
monitored for any change. Albemarle routinely analyses a sample of the circulating catalyst inventory for physical
characteristics, including surface area (SA), metal content, apparent bulk density (ABD) and particle size distribution
(PSD).

For those units utilising a tertiary separator, regular measurement of the PSD and metal content of the underflow of
this separator is also recommended. A shift in catalyst PSD to higher values is an indication of a potential loss
problem. A decrease in fines content typically reflects a problem with collection equipment. Depending on the unit
configuration, this can have a significant impact on catalyst circulation. On the other hand, an increase in the fines
(particles <40) content of the circulating catalyst usually points to an attrition source or a change in the fresh catalyst
PSD. Attrition in the dilute phase will not be reflected in the inventory PSD.

Cyclone problems
Increased catalyst losses will be 
 reflected by a rise in the average 
 particle size of the circulating catalyst
inventory. Cyclone separators (Figure 1) are prone to the following problems, all reducing the collection efficiency,
leading to increased catalyst losses:1
• Damage to the cyclone refractory lining and cyclone itself is a constant concern due to the highly erosive
environment experienced in the cyclones. The primary causes for wear leading to holes include excessive inlet
vapour and solids loadings, too high gas tube outlet velocities, and gas leakage up the dipleg. The linings used in
cyclones utilise refractory materials equal to or harder than the catalyst. As catalyst erodes the lining during normal
operation, the refractory is attriting the catalyst to much smaller particles. These particles are eventually re-entrained
into the inlet vapour stream to the cyclones, passing through the cyclone system, and add to the losses
• High cyclone pressure drop resulting from high gas outlet tube velocities are generally found in the second-stage
regenerator cyclones. While high outlet tube velocities are usually the result of unit operation at higher than normal
design conditions, incorrect cyclone design will frequently generate excess pressure drop. If the cyclone pressure
drop is causing a unit constraint, redesign or replacement of the cyclone(s) may be necessary
• Low cyclone pressure drop resulting from significantly reduced vapour and solids loadings will be reflected in a loss
of collection efficiency. In addition to reduced loadings, gas leakage through the cyclone assembly or faulty design
will contribute to decreased pressure drop
• Excessive gas leakage into and up the cyclone diplegs will disrupt the catalyst flow down the dipleg, leading to loss
of collection efficiency. The probability of this occurring is greater in the second-stage diplegs, as the mass flux
through the primary diplegs is usually high enough to prevent upward gas flow
• Leaks due to weld cracks resulting from thermal cycling or high stress may occur at any of the weld connections
• Holes through the cyclone body or diplegs will occur due to refractory failure
• Blockage or plugging of the dipleg due to an obstruction or catalyst bridging resulting from defluidisation or sticky
catalyst fines will effectively flood the cyclone, rendering it inoperative
• Inoperative dipleg valves or valves stuck in the closed position will also cause the cyclone to flood, leading to
catalyst losses. Deformed or missing valves, particularly on the second-stage cyclones, will lead to unsealing of the
dipleg, leaving the cyclone inoperative.
Catalyst losses due to plugged diplegs and/or stuck trickle/counterweight valves may sometimes be reduced by
adjusting the dense bed level or with a sudden bump in pressure. During the turnaround, the valve clearances should
be verified.

Operations impact on losses

The combustion air rate and resulting superficial gas velocity and dense bed catalyst level will have a significant
impact on cyclone performance. Increasing the air rate will raise both the solids entrainment and pressure drop in the
cyclones. This, in turn, increases the catalyst backup in the diplegs, and eventually the level of catalyst in the dipleg
could reach the cyclone vortex (Figure 2). At this point, the cyclone floods and catalyst attrition as well as increased
erosion of the cyclone cone and hopper will occur. Also, as the catalyst level reaches the dust hopper, some of the
descending catalyst will be re-entrained and contribute to increased catalyst losses. An excessive regenerator dense
bed level can extend losses by increasing dipleg backup and flooding the cyclone.

Operation of a partial combustion regenerator in a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is

more complex than that of a complete combustion unit.
Several problems and solutions, illustrated in operations at Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.'s Gujarat
refinery, in Vadodara, and Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh, India, represent common
situations associated with FCCUs in partial combustion mode:

 Case 1. High CRC associated with high catalyst loss and large particle size.
 Case 2. High CRC and afterburn associated with a catalyst switchover.
 Case 3. Low regenerator temperature, high CRC, and afterburn.
 Case 4. Normal regenerator temperature but high cyclone temperature.

The solutions to most of these problems were similar. In-depth understanding of parameter
interactions, hydrodynamic behavior, and fluidization is essential to troubleshooting the
operations of such regenerators successfully.
FCC operations
FCC is an important secondary process used for conversion of heavy petroleum fractions to
valuable lighter products. In FCC, zeolite-based catalyst microspheres of 20-120
In the conventional riser reactor, highly atomized and dispersed hydrocarbon feed contacts
hot regenerated catalyst. The ensuing vapor lifts the catalyst mixture at a high velocity (5-10
m/s) up the riser.
Cracking reactions are endothermic but very fast in the presence of the catalyst. They
enable substantial conversion within a very short residence time of 2-4 sec in the riser.
After going through the riser, the coked, spent catalyst passes through a counter-current
steam stripper to remove entrained hydrocarbons. The catalyst then moves to a regenerator
where, in the presence of air, the cracking reaction burns the coke deposited on catalyst.
The heat produced during coke burning acts as a source for supplying the heat to the riser
reactor via continuous circulation of catalyst between regenerator and reactor.
Catalyst regeneration is broadly carried out in two ways: partial combustion or complete
combustion.
In complete combustion mode, the coke is fully burned which results in a high regeneration
temperature (700-750° C.) and low coke on regenerated catalyst (CRC). Compared to
partial combustion, complete combustion maintains a higher air-to-coke ratio.
Partial combustion regenerators operate in a controlled air-to-coke regime so that the coke
only partially burns. This burn leads to lower regenerator temperatures (620-660° C.) and
higher CRC (>0.25 wt %).
Operation of partial combustion regenerators is usually difficult because careful control of
the air flow is required to keep the regenerator temperature within the metallurgical limit.
Such operation faces several challenges, such as afterburn, behind burn, low regenerator
temperature, and high CRC.
Partial combustion regeneration
Although partial combustion regenerators are difficult to operate and control, they have
certain desirable characteristics that sometimes make them preferable to complete
combustion regenerators.
In partial burn mode, the heat released per kilogram of coke burned is 30-40% lower than in
complete burn. This lower heat release achieves a lower regenerator temperature, which
helps in two ways:

 For a given riser outlet temperature, a lower regenerator temperature increases the catalyst-to-oil ratio,
resulting in increased conversion.
 A lower regenerator temperature decreases vanadium poisoning of FCC catalyst, minimizing the catalyst
makeup rate.

In partial combustion, some residual unburned coke remains on the regenerated catalyst;
the CRC ranges from 0.2 to 0.5 wt %, depending on the air-to-coke ratio. This CRC value
maintains optimum catalyst activity and light cycle oil (LCO) selectivity as required for
maximization of diesel yield in FCC.1 Residual CRC also helps minimize the vanadium
poisoning of catalyst.
For the above reasons, diesel mode FCCUs usually operate in partial combustion mode.
Similarly, resid FCCUs processing feed containing high level of metals (Ni and V) usually
have two-stage regenerators.
The first stage runs at lower temperature in partial combustion, and the second stage runs
in complete combustion mode to prevent hydro-thermal and vanadium deactivation of
catalyst. The resid FCCU design by Stone & Webster Engineering Corp., Houston, uses
such a two-stage regenerator.2
Even the resid FCCU designed and licensed by ExxonMobil Corp. and Kellogg Brown &
Root uses partial combustion with a catalyst cooling option for more efficient heat and metal
management.
Problems with partial combustion
Some of the problems associated with partial combustion regeneration are higher CRC,
afterburn, lower regenerator dense-bed temperature, and radial temperature maldistribution:

 Higher CRC. Usually, CRC remains in the range of 0.25-0.35 wt % in partial combustion mode. In some
instances, however, the CRC could be 0.7-0.8 wt % or more, causing substantial loss of valuable product
yields and making the regenerator operation very unstable.
 High degree of afterburn. Afterburn is the increase in temperature between the regenerator dense bed and
the dilute phase or cyclones, caused by the shift of burning CO to CO2. Since heat released by this reaction
is quite high (about two-thirds of the heat of combustion of carbon) and there is less catalyst in the dilute
phase, the heat release results in a higher dilute-phase temperature.

Usually, the difference in the dilute and the dense-bed temperature (DT) is used to control
the air flow in a partial combustion regenerator. Depending on the uniformity of air
distribution and coke burning in the dense bed, DT varies from 5 to 15° C. in different units.
There are some situations, however, when DT could be as high as 70-80° C. Such high
afterburn indicates a very high dilute phase and cyclone temperature and surprisingly, in
many instances, a relatively lower dense-bed temperature and higher CRC.
  Lower regenerator dense-bed temperature. Optimum regeneration temperature in partial combustion mode
is 640-690° C., preferably 660-670° C.

As a result of poor coke burning in the dense bed or less coke deposited during reaction,
the regenerator temperature sometimes remains lower than 620° C. Operations in such
circumstances are suboptimal and detrimental to the yield pattern and performance of the
unit.

 Radial-temperature maldistribution. For good regeneration, radial temperatures within dense bed, dilute
phase, and cyclone sections should be

Air or catalyst maldistribution, however, can cause the radial temperature difference
in each of these sections to be 20-30° C. This high difference indicates uneven air
flow, which eventually reduces the overall coke burning capacity of the bed.
Several case studies below deal with similar problems.
Case study No. 1

Click here to enlarge image

The following example shows operations with a very high CRC associated with high
catalyst loss and larger than normal catalyst-particle size.
Indian Oil Co.'s Gujarat refinery has a partial combustion FCC regenerator operating
in diesel-maximization mode. The unit is a side-by-side UOP unit with a capacity of
1.0 million tonnes/year.
In normal operations, its bottoms yield is 10-12 wt % and its CRC level is 0.3-0.4
wt % with a rare earth, ultra-stable Y-zeolite catalyst.
The performance of the unit deteriorated in October 1997. It experienced a high level
of CRC and afterburn. In fact, the CRC level increased to 1 wt %. The higher CRC
reduced the dynamic activity of the catalyst and thereby resulted in poor conversion
and high clarified oil (CLO) yield (>20 wt %).
The high afterburn (60-70° C. vs. 30° C. during normal operations) caused a very
high cyclone temperature. The unit also experienced a higher amount of catalyst
loss during this period (1.5-2.0 tonnes/day vs. 0.5-0.75 tonnes/day during normal
operations).
During two unit shutdowns, Indian Oil inspected hardware that it suspected of
causing the problem. Although the company suspected an air grid failure, there was
no significant damage to the grid.
The high CRC problem persisted for about 1 year. Indian Oil analyzed the problem
with respect to the several factors:

o Feed quality variation.

o Fresh and equilibrium catalyst quality effect, if any.
o Process condition changes in reactor, regenerator, and stripper.
o Possible hardware malfunction.

In its analysis,3 Indian Oil observed that the CRC maintained a close relationship
with the circulating catalyst particle size (80
As the volume of 0-80
CRC also similarly increased when the APS of catalyst went above 100
The higher APS is mainly a result of higher catalyst loss. During one shutdown, the
company observed that the cyclone had a number of holes in its body and
connecting flanges. After repairing the cyclone, when the unit restarted, the catalyst
loss significantly decreased and CRC level came down from 1 wt % to about 0.45
wt %.
After several months, however, the catalyst loss again picked up, and the CRC level
increased.
The increase of CRC and corresponding reduction in the amount of fines in the
circulating catalyst are mainly attributed to the shift in hydrodynamic regime in the
regenerator from conventional dense bed to the bubbling bed. The regime shift was
likely a result of:

o A reduction in the superficial velocity from 0.7-0.8 m/s to less than 0.5 m/s.
o A drastic increase in the APS beyond 90

The refinery observed that the air flow had decreased from 62,000 normal cu
m/hr to 55,000 normal cu m/hr, and the APS had increased from 85
It is estimated that if the APS increases from 75
In another diesel-mode FCCU, despite high catalyst losses of 2.5-3.0
tonnes/day, the CRC level remained in the range of 0.3-0.4 wt %.
Interestingly, the APS of the catalyst in this unit was quite good, in the range
of 75-80
The superficial velocity in the regenerator was unusually higher (0.9-1.0 m/s).
Higher velocity regenerator air resulted in expansion of the dense bed to the
dilute phase and significant attrition of the catalyst in the air grid nozzle.
In such a situation, the higher catalyst loss was primarily a result of the
expanded bed level and higher attrition of the catalyst, and therefore the APS
did not increase. The CRC level remained in the normal range in spite of very
high catalyst loss experienced by this unit.
Case study No. 2
Case 2 concerns an FCCU with partial combustion operation that
experienced high CRC and afterburn associated with a new catalyst
switchover. The data presented for this case study are collected from a side-
by-side UOP FCCU at Indian Oil's Mathura refinery with 1.0 million
tonnes/year of capacity.
It is easy to change the entire catalyst inventory of an FCCU in a period of 2-3
months because the unit uses a fluidized system. This ability gives operators
a powerful way to attempt to improve the unit performance level.
In spite of elaborate tests on activity and product yields, when brought to the
field, catalysts sometimes stabilize at much higher CRC levels than pilot tests
or model predictions predicted. Some partial combustion FCCUs also
experience higher afterburn than expected.

Click here to enlarge image

Table 1 summarizes regenerator-run data for four catalysts with respect to

their performances and regenerator operating variables. Varying the zeolite-
to-matrix (Z/M) ratio from 11.8 in Catalyst A to 1.74 in Catalyst D significantly
improved the CRC level and degree of afterburn. The CRC decreased from
0.6 wt % to 0.3 wt %, and cyclone temperature decreased from 715 to 690°
C.
It is interesting to note that the above improvements took place without much
change in the regenerator temperature and air-flow rates. The actual reason
behind the improvement in regeneration behavior is difficult to establish
because there were also hardware changes in between the catalyst
switchovers.
In fact, during the plant trial of Catalyst A, the regenerator operation
sometimes was unstable with a high degree of afterburn. During these times,
the regenerator temperature and CRC became very sensitive to the air flow.
These observations suggested that there must be certain catalyst parameters
that affect the ease with which deposited coke on the catalyst burns. Based
on further study, Indian Oil concluded that the coke-burning rate constant,
defined as "regenerability," varies from catalyst to catalyst.
The company found that the Z/M ratio has a good relation with regenerability
although there are many associated catalyst parameters, which play a direct
or indirect role in regenerability. Detailed descriptions of the regenerability
test and results are available elsewhere.3 4
Table 1 shows that the regenerator performances of the different catalyst are
directly proportional to the regenerability constant, which gradually increased
from 0.22 to 0.44 as Z/M decreased from 11.8 to 1.74.
Reduced afterburn DT with high matrix catalyst indicates efficient burning in
the dense bed itself. This, in turn, implies better utilization of air in the bed;
the air requirement decreased as Z/M decreased.
The effects of a lower Z/M ratio can be verified in other units running in partial
combustion mode.
For instance, one such unit had a CRC level of 0.25-0.30 wt % and a low Z/M
catalyst. When a new catalyst system with very high microactivity (above 78)
and Z/M ratio was tried, the CRC level shot up to 0.75 wt % and the
regenerator operation became unstable, causing three shutdowns of the
plant.
In these situations, almost nothing wrong can be observed in the hardware in
the post shutdown inspection because the root cause of the problem is the
catalyst.
Thus, along with the usual activity and selectivity study, it is important to
evaluate the regenerability of a new catalyst system for a partial combustion
FCCU. Operating companies should also evaluate the performance of the
catalyst based on expected CRC level with the new catalyst system.
Case study No. 3
Lower regenerator temperature can lead to high CRC and afterburn.
In partial combustion mode, operators usually control the regenerator
temperature within 650 to 680° C. for efficient burning of the coke.
In some instances, however, particularly in operations with very low reaction
temperatures or with very high feed rates and low activity catalyst, the
regenerator temperature could run as low as 620° C.
In such situations, coke burning in the bed becomes very slow, and the air
injected in the bottom breaks through to the dilute phase, which leads to
significant afterburn.
It is important to note that although bed temperature remains very low, the
cyclone temperature may run high as a result of excess oxygen present in the
dilute phase.
The CRC also remains relatively high even if the feed being processed is
light. In such cases, the coke yield is higher than expected as a result of CO
formation, which is favored at lower regenerator temperatures.
Higher CO levels in the flue gas means less heat generation per unit of coke
burned; therefore, coke yield is higher when regenerator temperature is
lower. In fact, some of the old units that run at very low regenerator
temperature (<600° C.) have coke yields above 6 wt %, as compared to 4.5
wt % coke yields in normal partial combustion FCCUs.
How can operators increase the regenerator temperature in these situations?
Increasing air flow alone does not help because it further worsens afterburn.
Maximizing regenerator pressure, if there is any leeway to do so, may
increase the regenerator temperature.
In addition, increasing the coke make on the reactor side by injecting a slurry
recycle or increasing reactor temperature may help. If the catalyst and air
distributor in the regenerator is not uniform, however, increasing coke make
in the catalyst will lead to an even higher CRC level. In such situation, one of
the proven solutions is to add a CO combustion promoter so that CO gets
converted to CO2 in the dense phase.
The regenerator temperature of the Gujarat refinery's FCCU was about 620°
C. and the CRC was 0.5-0.6 wt % when Indian Oil decided to add a CO
promoter to reduce the regenerator temperature. It added about 700 ppm of
CP-3A, a CO promoter manufactured by W.R.Grace & Co., to the catalyst
inventory.

Click here to enlarge image

Within 1 week after adding the CO promoter, there was a remarkable

improvement in the regenerator performance. Table 2 summarizes the
improvement in yield pattern, afterburn, and the regenerator temperature for
which the promoter was responsible.
The regenerator temperature increased by about 18° C. while the CRC level
and coke yield decreased. A low CRC level helps increase the dynamic
activity of the catalyst, thereby increasing gasoline yield in spite of marginally
higher feed rate.
Further details of the CO promoter application in partial combustion FCCU is
described elsewhere.5
Case study No. 4
If radial temperature distribution is a concern, it is necessary to inspect the air
and catalyst distribution in the regenerator.
A normal regenerator dense-bed temperature with a high cyclone
temperature is a symptom of catalyst maldistribution in the regenerator or a
faulty air grid plugging pattern, or both.
The Gujarat refinery faced such a problem in its FCCU. The temperature of
one of its cyclones was 700° C., 15-20° C. higher than other cyclones. The air
grid in this zone had 179 open holes.
Models indicated that a reduction in the cyclone temperature by 12-15° C.
decreased the number of open holes to 129. This action brought the radial
temperature difference among different cyclones to 3-5° C.6
Similarly, adoption of better internal hardware (for example, a ski jump) in the
catalyst entry section from stripper standpipe to the regenerator could
significantly reduce the CRC and afterburn level in partial combustion units.