Fluid catalyst

Typical applications in the chemical field (Beaver, op. cit.) include detarring of manufactured gas, removal of acid mist and impurities in contact sulfuric acid plants, recovery of phosphoric acid mists, removal of dusts in gases from roasters, sintering machines, calciners, cement and lime Idlns, blast furnaces, carbon-black furnaces, regenerators on fluid-catalyst units, chemical-recoveiy furnaces in soda and sulfate pulp mills, and gypsum kettles. Figure 17-74 shows a vertical-flow steel-plate-type precipitator similar to a type used for catalyst-dust collection in certain fluid-catalyst plants. 

Figure 2.3.2 (Kraemer and deLasa 1988) shows this reactor. DeLasa suggested for Riser Simulator a Fluidized Recycle reactor that is essentially an upside down Berty reactor. Kraemer and DeLasa (1988) also described a method to simulate the riser of a fluid catalyst cracking unit in this reactor.

Fluid catalyst regenerator Fuel gas combustion Claus sulfur recovery TRS X Storage tanks... 

The vapors from a fluid catalyst unit carry a small amount of fine catalyst particles which might clog the narrow clearances of a conventional bubble cap plate. 

Dean, R. R., Hibble, P. W., and Brown, G. W., Crude Oil Upgrading Utilizing Residual Oil Fluid Catalyst Cracking, presented at Katalistiks 8th Annual FCC Symposium, Budapest, Hungary, June 1-, 1987. 

Fluidize. In general to convert to a liquid state but in recent technology the term refers to processes in which a finely divided solid is caused to behave like a fluid by bringing it into suspension in s moving or liquid. The solids so treated are frequently catalysts and hence the term "fluid catalysts . In such a case the fluidized catalyst is brought into intimate contact and causes a desired reaction in the suspending liquid or gas mixture. Local over-... 

Considerable development work has been and is now being carried out by many organizations to improve or replace the original catalyst as well as the component parts of the hydroforming unit itself. This paper describes a new and improved hydroforming process, which permits continuous operation through the use of a powdered or fluid catalyst. The new process is compared with thermal reforming and with the intermittent or cyclic fixed-bed process employed in the commercial plants mentioned above. 

Pilot plant data for fluid catalyst hydroforming of East Texas heavy naphtha are summarized in Table X, and are compared with fixed-bed hydroforming pilot plant data in Figure 6. Comparative data on the East Texas naphthas employed in the pilot plant comparison of Figure 6 are shown in the following tabulation ... 

A yield advantage on the order of 2 volume % is again shown for the fluid catalyst process. The yields of 10-pound Reid vapor pressure gasoline when blending with extra-... 

The fluid catalyst pilot plant has also been operated for the production of high aromatics yields to produce aromatic blending components for 115/145 grade aviation gasoline. A 200° to 300° F. (true boiling point) fraction from a mixed crude source was used as the feed stock. Inspections of this fraction are tabulated below ... 

Table VIII. Typical Pilot Plant Data on Fluid Catalyst Hydroforming...

The economics of the fluid catalyst process represent a considerable improvement over the conventional fixed-bed process. This is attributed to reduced investment and operating costs in addition to the improved yield picture. The investment cost now visualized is very nearly the same as that for the thermal reforming plus catalytic polymerization combination mentioned previously. Consequently, the pay-out times are now shorter than for that process in high or low fuel cost areas. 

Table XI. Fluid Catalyst Hydroforming for Aromatics or 115/145 Grade Aviation...

Table XII. Economic Balance Sheet for Fluid Catalyst Hydroforming of 204/373° F.

The general use of automotive engines now being marketed with compression ratios higher than 7 or 8 to 1 awaits the widespread production of motor fuels on the order of 95 CFRR octane clear (1). The fluid catalyst hydroforming process is capable of meeting this challenge. 

In 1944 a fluid catalyst pilot plant was erected and operated at the Olean laboratory. A schematic flow diagram of the unit is shown in Figure 1. The unit operated well from the beginning. The conversion of jeactants exceeded that achieved by the Germans even at space velocities 10 to 20 times those used in Europe. Also, iron catalysts were developed which gave oil yields comparable with those obtained by fixed-bed operations. Typical results from these early experiments are shown in Table I. A discussion of the conditions for the different runs is given in subsequent paragraphs. 

M.L. Occelli in "Fluid Catalyst Cracking Role in Modern Refining", ACS Symposium Series, vol 375,... 

Other Materials (solvents, scrubbing fluids, catalysts, etc.)... 

Two factors complicate the development of a fluid-bed MTG process. One is the need to ensure the complete conversion of methanol the other is to develop a fluid catalyst sufficiently rugged to withstand the abrasive forces inherent in fluid-bed operation. 

Designing a catalyst for effective removal of SOx (S02 + S03) in a fluid catalyst cracking unit regenerator is a challenging problem. One must come up with a particle having physical properties similar to FCC catalysts which will 1) oxidize S02 to S03, 2) chemisorb the S03/ and 3) be able to release it as H2S as it enters the reactor side of the unit. A cerium containing magnesium aluminate spinel was found to be very effective for this purpose (1). The preparation methods and characterization techniques utilized for this spinel catalyst and how the SOx abatement activity of this catalyst is related to the preparative route used are discussed in this paper. 

The production of gasoline from methanol is a parallel process to the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons from syngas (Section 4.7.2). A shape-selective zeolite (ZSM-5) was the catalyst of choice in the process put on stream in 1987 by Mobil in New Zealand however the plant was later closed. The zeolite was used at ca. 400°C in a fluid catalyst reactor, which allows prompt removal of the heat of reaction. 

In the fluid-catalyst process, finely divided catalyst powder is continuously circulated from reactor to regenerator and back again without mechanical means. The fluid process was originated by the Standard Oil Development Company, the research organization of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, in collaboration with The M. W. Kellogg Company and Standard Oil Company (Indiana). Other companies participating in the development were Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Ltd., Shell Oil Company, The Texas Company, and Universal Oil Products Company. This process was first announced in 1941 (48). 

Fluid catalysts sometimes exhibit a stickiness at room temperature, due apparently to electrostatic effects (56,196). This difficulty is less pronounced at higher temperatures and disappears entirely at cracking temperatures. Even at room temperature, electrostatic effects can be largely overcome by introduction of small amounts of water vapor or ammonia. 

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