Coking, catalyst deactivation from

The Likun Process (China) uses a two-stage cracking process under normal pressures where the waste plastics are first pyrolyzed at 350-400°C in the pyrolysis reactor and then the hot pyrolytic gases flow to a catalyst tower where they undergo catalytic reforming over zeolite at 300-380°C. By having the catalyst in the second stage this overcomes the problems of rapid catalyst deactivation from coke deposits on the surface of the catalyst. 

Experimental work in a micro scale activity test equipment was performed to derive a testing strategy for the optimization of FCC unit operation due to coke deposition on catalyst. The cracking of cumene over a super-D zeolite catalyst was chosen as the model reaction because the nature of this reaction can represent the cracking of typical commercial FCC feeds such as gas-oils via the dealkylation of branched aromatics. In addition, this reaction can also eliminate any obscurity in catalyst deactivation from other contaminants. 

Temperature. Normally, inlet temperatures range between 850 and 1000 °F. The temperature at which the catalyst beds are held is the primary variable available to the refiner to control product quality. Very high temperatures, above 1000 °F, can cause thermal reactions that will decrease reformate yields and increase catalyst deactivation from coke formation. 

The appHcations of supported metal sulfides are unique with respect to catalyst deactivation phenomena. The catalysts used for processing of petroleum residua accumulate massive amounts of deposits consisting of sulfides formed from the organometaHic constituents of the oil, principally nickel and vanadium (102). These, with coke, cover the catalyst surface and plug the pores. The catalysts are unusual in that they can function with masses of these deposits that are sometimes even more than the mass of the original fresh catalyst. Mass transport is important, as the deposits are typically formed... 

The activity and stability of catalysts for methane-carbon dioxide reforming depend subtly upon the support and the active metal. Methane decomposes to carbon and hydrogen, forming carbon on the oxide support and the metal. Carbon on the metal is reactive and can be oxidized to CO by oxygen from dissociatively adsorbed COj. For noble metals this reaction is fast, leading to low coke accumulation on the metal particles The rate of carbon formation on the support is proportional to the concentration of Lewis acid sites. This carbon is non reactive and may cover the Pt particles causing catalyst deactivation. Hence, the combination of Pt with a support low in acid sites, such as ZrO, is well suited for long term stable operation. For non-noble metals such as Ni, the rate of CH4 dissociation exceeds the rate of oxidation drastically and carbon forms rapidly on the metal in the form of filaments. The rate of carbon filament formation is proportional to the particle size of Ni Below a critical Ni particle size (d<2 nm), formation of carbon slowed down dramatically Well dispersed Ni supported on ZrO is thus a viable alternative to the noble metal based materials. 

Catalyst deactivation refers to the loss of catalytic activity and/or product selectivity over time and is a result of a number of unwanted chemical and physical changes to the catalyst leading to a decrease in number of active sites on the catalyst surface. It is usually an inevitable and slow phenomenon, and occurs in almost all the heterogeneous catalytic systems.111 Three major categories of deactivation mechanisms are known and they are catalyst sintering, poisoning, and coke formation or catalyst fouling. They can occur either individually or in combination, but the net effect is always the removal of active sites from the catalyst surface. 

Computed results from this model are compared to actual kiln performance in Table VI and the operating conditions taken from kiln samples are given in Table VII. There are no unit factors or adjustable parameters in this model. As with the explicit model, all kinetic data are determined from laboratory experiments. Values of the frequency factors and activation energies are given in Table VIII. Diffusivity values are also included. The amount of fast coke was determined from Eq. (49). With the exception of the T-B (5/12) survey, the agreement between observed and computed values of CO, CO2, and O2 is very good considering that there are no adjustable parameters used to fit the model to each kiln. In the kiln survey T-212/10, the CO conversion activity of the catalyst has been considerably deactivated and a different frequency factor was used in this simulation. 

A maximum phenol conversion of 65% was reached, due to the fact that the consumption of benzoic acid was higher than that of phenol. Indeed, despite the 1/1 load ratio, the selectivity to those products the formation of which required two moles of benzoic acid per mole of phenol, made the conversion of benzoic acid approach the total one more quickly than phenol. A non-negligible effect of catalyst deactivation was present in fact, when the catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture by filtration, and was then re-loaded without any regeneration treatment, together with fresh reactants, a conversion of 52% was obtained after 2.5 h reaction time, lower than that one obtained with the fresh catalyst, i.e., 59% (Figure 1). The extraction, by means of CH2CI2, of those compounds that remained trapped inside the zeolite pores, evidenced that the latter were mainly constituted of phenol, benzoic acid and of reaction products, with very low amount of heavier compounds, possible precursors of coke formation. 

Catalyst deactivation is primarily caused by the blockage of active sites due to the coke formed from these olefinic intermediates. Higher hydrogen pressures suppress the diolefin formation, making the selectivity between olefinic intermediates and liquid products (in contrast to coke products) more favorable. However, higher pressures reduce selectivity to aromatics in the desired liquid product. Thus, a rigorous model must accurately predict not only the rates of product formation, but also the formation of coke precursors... 

In the process (Figure 8-12), the feedstock is vaporized upon contacting hot regenerated catalyst at the base of the riser and lifts the catalyst into the reactor vessel separation chamber where rapid disengagement of the hydrocarbon vapors from the catalyst is accomplished by both a special solids separator and cyclones. The bulk of the cracking reactions takes place at the moment of contact and continues as the catalyst and hydrocarbons travel up the riser. The reaction products, along with a minute amount of entrained catalyst, then flow to the fractionation column. The stripped spent catalyst, deactivated with coke, flows into the Number 1 regenerator. 

The catalyst and oil are in plug flow and the contact time is short so that secondary reactions are avoided and catalyst deactivation by coke formation is properly simulated. The resulting product selectivity, then, is similar to commercial units. Experimental results from a laboratory scale unit can thus be translated to commercial units. 

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