Residue catalytic cracking

In the 1970 s, heavy fuel came mainly from atmospheric distillation residue. Nowadays a very large proportion of this product is vacuum distilled and the distillate obtained is fed to conversion units such as catalytic cracking, visbreaking and cokers. These produce lighter products —gas and gasoline— but also very heavy components, that are viscous and have high contaminant levels, that are subsequently incorporated in the fuels. 

Figure 10.8 presents a variant of the FCC process, the RCC (Residue Catalytic Cracking) capable of processing heavier feedstocks (atmospheric residue or a mixture of atmospheric residue and vacuum distillate) provided that certain restrictions be taken into account (Heinrich et al., 1993). 

In a single stage, without liquid recycle, the conversion can be optimized between 60 and 90%. The very paraffinic residue is used to make lubricant oil bases of high viscosity index in the range of 150 N to 350 N the residue can also be used as feedstock to steam cracking plants providing ethylene and propylene yields equal to those from paraffinic naphthas, or as additional feedstock to catalytic cracking units. 

The feedstocks in question are primary distillation streams and some conversion products from catalytic cracking, coking, visbreaking, and residue conversion units. 

Since the war the demand for gasoline, jet, and diesel fuels has grown, while the demand for heavy industrial fuel oils has declined. Furthermore, many new oil finds have yielded heavier crudes, therefore the need to convert residue components into lighter oils for feedstock for catalytic cracking. 

Residues containing high levels of heavy metals are not suitable for catalytic cracking units. These feedstocks may be subjected to a demetallization process to reduce their metal contents. For example, the metal content of vacuum residues could be substantially reduced by using a selective organic solvent such as pentane or hexane, which separates the residue into an oil (with a low metal and asphaltene content) and asphalt (with high metal content). Demetallized oils could be processed by direct hydrocatalysis. 

Another approach used to reduce the harmful effects of heavy metals in petroleum residues is metal passivation. In this process an oil-soluble treating agent containing antimony is used that deposits on the catalyst surface in competition with contaminant metals, thus reducing the catalytic activity of these metals in promoting coke and gas formation. Metal passivation is especially important in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes. Additives that improve FCC processes were found to increase catalyst life and improve the yield and quality of products. ... 

Solvent extraction may also be used to reduce asphaltenes and metals from heavy fractions and residues before using them in catalytic cracking. The organic solvent separates the resids into demetallized oil with lower metal and asphaltene content than the feed, and asphalt with high metal content. Figure 3-2 shows the IFP deasphalting process and Table 3-2 shows the analysis of feed before and after solvent treatment. Solvent extraction is used extensively in the petroleum refining industry. Each process uses its selective solvent, but, the basic principle is the same as above. 

Coking is a severe thermal cracking process designed to handle heavy residues with high asphaltene and metal contents. These residues cannot be fed to catalytic cracking units because their impurities deactivate and poison the catalysts. 

Before the advent of the catalytic cracking process, thermal cracking was the primary process available to convert low-value feedstocks into lighter products. Refiners still use thermal processes, such as delayed coking and visibreaking, for cracking of residual hydrocarbons. 

Letzsch, W., Mauleon, J. L. Jones, G., and Dean, R., Advanced Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking, presented at Katalistiks 4th Annual FCC Symposium, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 18-19, 1983. 

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