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(2016) Question 38: What do you see for the future of ebullated bed technology considering changes in crude quality and availability?

With the worldwide requirement for higher conversion of residue into lighter, more valuable transportation fuels such as diesel remaining firmly in place, we very much see ebullated-bed (EB) residue hydrocracking building on its current trend as a bottom-of-the-barrel upgrading technology of choice going forward. Investment in this commercially proven, well-established technology is a way to increase complexity and ensure long-term survival in an increasingly volatile marketplace.
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(2016) Question 39: Please summarize the current status of slurry hydrocracking technology commercialization.

Slurry hydrocracking technology has been commercialized in China (VCC) and Italy (EST) in the past two to three years. Both facilities have demonstrated expected performance, including conversion and selectivity. The reliability of slurry hydrocracking is still an open question as these units have only been in operation for a short time. Additional VCC commercial units are scheduled for startup in the next 12 months.
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(2016) Question 40: As it relates to overall catalyst cycle life management, please address the following issues: What are typical cascading practices for catalyst reuse after regeneration and eventual disposal that you employ? What quality control, catalyst properties and performance specifications, and/or warranties do you have in place for regenerated catalysts? What are some of the key decision criteria you use in determining whether to send a catalyst for metals reclamation, r

First, a response to the question: What are typical cascading practices that you employ for catalyst reuse after regeneration and eventual disposal? As the leading catalyst regenerator, Eurecat sees NiMo and CoMo hydrotreated catalysts (regenerated and regenerated plus rejuvenation) in ULSD, jet, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil hydrotreating units.
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(2016) Question 41: What are the considerations you use for extending hydrogen plant catalyst life cycles (i.e., lower production rates, furnace tube failure, etc.)?

There are many parameters affecting the hydrogen plant catalyst life cycles, such as lower production rates, furnace tube failure, unplanned plant shutdowns, larger catalyst volumes, elevated energy consumption, and finite ZnO/S (zinc oxide/sulfur) capacity. Lower Production Rates will obviously result in longer catalyst lifetime due to a lower gas velocity over the catalyst.
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(2016) Question 60: When is your return on investment (ROI)adequate to justify installing a desalter to treat purchased FCC feeds? What other factors besides FCC catalyst impact and unit corrosion are used to determine ROI? How do these desalters differ, mechanically and operationally, from a conventional crude oil desalter?

This is a three-part question. The first question is: When is the return on investment (ROI)adequate to justify installing a desalter to treat purchased FCC feeds? The capital and operating costs of an FCC feed desalter are supported by improvements in performance, operating costs, and reliability.
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(2016) Question 62: We have run a full-burn FCCU for many years. We are considering processing more resid and operating in a partial CO combustion mode. What is a carbon runaway, and how can it be addressed?

A carbon runaway or “snowball” occurs in an FCC that is operating in partial CO combustion mode and very high CO levels. In the runaway situation, the carbon on regenerated catalyst (CRC) rises to levels such that additional coke that is laid down on the catalyst cannot be burned from the catalyst in the regenerator, causing the CRC to continue rising like a snowball that gets bigger and bigger as it rolls down a hill.
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