Vocational training report

Hydrocracker Unit
IOCL

By
Vismay Patel
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering
MSU Baroda.
OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Why Hydrocracker required?
• Feed & Products
• Catalyst
• Hydrocracker reaction mechanism
• Hydrocrcker configuration
• Major sections
• Process variable
What is Hydrocracking?
• The process of converting higher molecular weight hydrocarbons
into more valuable lower molecular weight hydrocarbons.

• In presence of Hydrogen
• At high temperatures(365 – 441oC) & high pressures (170 Kg/cm2g)
• In presence of catalyst
Other Units
• Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)
• Visbreaking
• Delayed coking

• Poor product quality with respect to stability & sulphur content

• Have to be blended with other straight run products to be able to market them.
• Product treatment would be necessary.
Why Hydrocracker?
• Eco friendly Products containing mostly saturated hydrocarbons & low to ultra
low sulfur. So the technology is gaining greater and greater importance.
• Very high flexibility in terms of feed and products generated and very high
selectivity for products.
• Middle distillate yield is 80% as compared to 45% in FCCU.
• The products are clean, saturated & high in value.
• No coke or by products.
FEED: Vaccum Gas Oil(VGO) from FPU and Hydrogen.

PRODUCTS:
(1) L.P.G
(2) Stabilized Light Naphtha
(3) Heavy Naphtha
(4) Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF)/Superior Kerosene(SK)
(5) High Speed Diesel(HSD)
Catalyst
• Bifunctional Catalyst
• Metal function (for Hydrogenation) :
•Platinum
•sulfided metals of Nickel , Molybdenum , Tungsten as Base Metal
• Acidic function (for cracking) :
•Amorphous silica‐alumina, zeolites
Hydrocracking Reaction Mechanism
HYDROCRACKING REACTIONS
• Hydrocracking = catalytic cracking + hydrogenation
• Catalytic cracking is the scission of a carbon–carbon single bond, and
hydrogenation is the addition of hydrogen to a carbon–carbon double bond.
Hydrocracker Configuration
• Major Sections
(1) Reactor section
(2) Fractionation section
(3) Light Ends Recovery Section

• Feed Filter (>25 micron size are retained to avoid plugging of catalyst in the
reactor top bed)
• VGO heated in exchangers and brought to the pressure of 185 kg/cm2
by feed booster pumps.
• Mixed with recycle H2 and Pure H2 from make up gas compressors.
Reactor section
• Fixed Bed Reactor containing 3 bed
• High Temperature for the catalyst to hydrocrack the feed.
• High Temp. => increase the catalyst activity.
• Cracking reaction => requires heat
• Hydrogenation => generates heat
• Overall Exothermic process
• Quenching zone
• 1st bed => not active catalyst but functions as rust/particulate
arrestor and prevents early deterioration of catalyst.
• Nitrogen compounds => NH3
• Sulfur compounds => H2S
• Oxygen compounds => H2O
• Two Stage Hydrocracking configuration
Fractionation section
• Overhead products = off-gases , light naphtha
• Off gas are washed with amine to remove H2S and sent to fuel gas system.
• Heavy naphtha (146oc)
• ATF (188oc)
• HSD (286oc)
• Bottom Product => Vacuum Column
• Bottom of Vacuum column => second stage reactor
Light Ends Recovery Section
• Light unstabilized naphtha form fractionator => De-ethanizer
• Gases (ethane,H2S,water)(at Top) => Amine Absorber(To remove H2S)
• H2S free fuel gas => Fuel Gas System
• Rich Amine with dissolved H2S => Amine Regeneration Unit
• Bottom of De-ethanizer => De-butanizer , for recovery of LPG (at Top)
• LPG => Caustic wash (To remove H2S)
Water wash (To remove caustic traces)
Demister pad & coalesce pad (To remove entrained water)
• Bottom of De-butanizer(stabilized Naphtha) => Hydrogen Unit for for
H2 production
Process variables
(1)Reactor Temperature
• primary means of conversion control.
• 10°C increase in temperature almost doubles the reaction rate, but does not affect
the conversion
• necessary to raise the average temperature about 0.1 to 0.2°F per day to
compensate for the loss in catalyst activity.
• Catalyst has to be replaced or regenerated when avg. temperature reaches a value
close to design max.
(2)Reactor Pressure
• The primary effect of reactor pressure is in its effects on the partial pressures of
hydrogen and ammonia.
• An increase in total pressure increases the partial pressures of both hydrogen and
ammonia.
• Conversion increases with increasing hydrogen partial pressure and decreases with
increasing ammonia partial pressure.
(3)Space Velocity
• The volumetric space velocity is the ratio of liquid flow rate, in barrels per hour, to
catalyst volume, in barrels.
• The catalyst volume is constant, therefore the space velocity varies directly with
feed rate.
• As the feed rate increases, the time of catalyst contact for each barrel of feed is
decreased and conversion is lowered.
(4)Nitrogen Content
• The organic nitrogen content of the feed is of great importance as the
hydrocracking catalyst is deactivated by contact with organic nitrogen compounds.
• An increase in organic nitrogen content of the feed causes a decrease in
conversion.
(5) Hydrogen sulfide
Thank you