C A U S E S O F D E A C T I V A T I O N

MOST CATALYSTS CAN BE REGENERATED

AND USED AGAIN

How to Manage Your Catalyst Budget ...

... Before It’s All Eaten Up?

EURECAT FRANCE - 07800 La Voulte sur Rhône - France tel: +33 4 75 62 04 02 - email: sales@eurecat.fr www.eurecat.fr

Process Catalyst Coke deposit Sintering Contamination

Hydrodesulfurisation CoMo / NiMo +++ ++ +

Resid hydrotreating NiMo / CoMo +++ + +++

VGO Hydrocracking NiMo / NiW +++ + +

Naphtha Reforming PtRe-Cl +++ ++ +

Selective hydrogenation Pd / Ni ++ + ++

Aromatics/Olefins Alkylation Zeolite +++ - +

Process Coke removal Redisperson Contaminants removal

Predominant regeneration practice

Hydrodesulfurisation Yes Yes No Ex situ

Resid hydrotreating Yes Yes No Almost none

VGO Hydrocracking Yes Yes Yes: basic N Ex situ

Naphtha Reforming Yes Yes (oxychl.) Yes: sulfur In situ

Selective hydrogenation Yes No Some (Pd) In situ / Ex situ

Aromatics/Olefins Alkylation Yes - Yes: basic N Ex situ

A C T I V I T Y R E C O V E R Y B Y R E G E N E R A T I O N

There are 3 causes of refinery catalyst deactiva-

tion as shown in table 1, the main one being coke

deposit., which covers the catalyst’s active sites

and can also block its porosity. Regeneration

can restore the activity in most cases. In an

oxidative atmosphere at around 500°C, the coke

deposits are combusted and the active sites are

liberated. In some cases, regeneration can also

eliminate other causes of deactivation, if neces-

sary by means of a pre- or post-treatment.

Ex situ regeneration has become the industry

standard and is preferred to in situ regeneration

for many reasons. Ex situ regeneration eliminates

corrosion and safety issues and allows you to

reduce the shutdown duration to the minimum.

The activity recovery of ex situ regeneration

is generally 90-100% versus 40-70% in situ.

EX SITU REGENERATION GIVES SUPERIOR ACTIVITY

EURECAT INDIA Catalyst Services Pvt Ltd tel: +91 932 312 6032 - email: jahar.saha@eurecat.com Plot No. 1, GIDC, Jhagadia, Bharuch District - Gujarat

Tools

REG ENERABILITY ST UDY

Feel free to send Eurecat a representative sam-

ple of your spent catalyst for a regenerability

study. The study gives you a precise indication

of the current condition of the catalyst, and its

condition after a lab regeneration.

ACT IV IT Y T ESTING

The Eurecat lab has 22 pilot plant reactors to

measure the actual HDS and HDN activities of

CoMo and NiMo catalysts at ULSD conditions.

Test formats can be customised to your particu-

lar operation. The activity measured can be

converted to a delta WABT versus fresh cat, as

you will observe it in your reactor at start of run.

PRESSURE DRO P T ESTING

Eurecat’s delta P testing facility allows you to

determine the expected refinery reactor delta P

after loading your regenerated catalyst.

SAM PL E / ANAL YSE / SEG REGATE

(SAS)

Eurecat’s SAS services provides you with an

analysis profile across the reactor height and

allows a separation between regenerable and

any contaminated catalyst. Maximum catalyst

reutilisation means minimum refinery expense.

CAT ALYST RESAL E

Why buy fresh catalysts when regenerated

catalysts with “like-fresh” activity are available?

Eurecat stocks a full line of activity-tested

regenerated catalysts available at strongly dis-

counted prices compared to fresh catalyst. We

can also buy back regenerable catalyst.

Case S

tudy Refinery X uses a latest generation CoMo catalyst in their Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel unit (EURO-5). The catalyst has a run length of 12 months. The quantity is 100 metric tons.

BASE SCENARIO The refinery purchases 100 tons fresh catalyst every 12 months. At the end of the cata-lyst life cycle, there is a minor return from the local metals recovery company. (IMU = Imaginary Monetary Unit)

Catalyst purchase : 100 000 kg * 150 IMU/kg = 15 000 000 IMU Catalyst delivery : 5 containers * 30 000 IMU/container = 600 000 IMU (12 months of operation) Metals recovery : 100 000 kg * -3 IMU/kg = - 300 000 IMU _+ Balance of one catalyst cycle : 15 300 000 IMU Balance after two catalyst cycles : 30 600 000 IMU

Exasperated by the yearly catalyst expense, the Operations manager asks Process Engineering to explore options to get his budget back under control. Process Engineering contacts Eurecat and sends a sample of the spent catalyst. The catalyst is in excellent condition, contaminant levels are very low and a standard lab regeneration eliminates the carbon and sulfur on the catalyst to sufficiently low levels. The HDS activity of the catalyst is tested and found to be 95% versus fresh, which cor-responds to a delta WABT at start of run of only +1.4°C. The deactivation rate of a rege-nerated catalyst being equivalent to fresh, reusing the regenerated catalyst in the same service would not have a significant impact on the run length duration. For the next catalyst cycle, the refinery management team decides to keep the catalyst purchase money in their pockets. Instead, they decide to go for regeneration.

REG ENERATIO N SCENARIO At the end of the first cycle, the catalyst is carefully unloaded in nitrogen atmosphere by a well-trained and well-equipped catalyst handling team, in order to preserve the catalyst. The catalyst is packed in UN-Y certified drums, on ISPM-15 (fumigated) pallets, suitable for transport to Eurecat as hazardous goods. There is some cost associated with these requirements, but it has a neglegible impact on the bottom line economics :

Catalyst purchase : 100 000 kg * 150 IMU/kg = 15 000 000 IMU Catalyst delivery : 5 cont. * 30 000 IMU/cont. = 600 000 IMU (12 months of operation) Inert unloading additional cost : 100 000 IMU Packaging in UN drums : 1000 * 300 IMU/drum = 300 000 IMU Transport to Eurecat: 5 cont. * 30 000 IMU/cont. = 600 000 IMU Regeneration : 100 000 kg * 30 IMU/kg = 3 000 000 IMU Return transport to refinery : 5 cont. * 30 000 IMU/cont. = 600 000 IMU (12 months of operation) Metals recovery : 100 000 kg * -3 IMU/kg = - 300 000 IMU _+ Balance after two catalyst cycles : 19 900 000 IMU Saving achieved by regeneration versus base scenario : 10 700 000 IMU (35%)

The regenerated catalyst is loaded back into the reactor and performs as expected. The remaining Operations budget is well spent on a debottlenecking project !

EURECAT FRANCE - 07800 La Voulte sur Rhône - France tel: +33 4 75 62 04 02 - email: sales@eurecat.fr www.eurecat.fr

EURECAT INDIA Catalyst Services Pvt Ltd tel: +91 932 312 6032 - email: jahar.saha@eurecat.com Plot No. 1, GIDC, Jhagadia, Bharuch District - Gujarat

BHARAT I I I , IV AND BEYO ND. . .

The increasingly stringent sulfur specs for automotive petrol and diesel in different parts of the world have not discouraged refineries from regenerating their catalysts. On the contrary: as the refinery catalyst consumption grows with each new emission standard, there is more and more focus on the need to keep the catalyst budget under control. Regeneration is an excellent means to achieve enormous cost reductions. Eurecat is aware that the changing refining environment requires careful decision-taking on a sound scientific basis. We will gladly deploy all our available tools to facilitate this and help you achieve your objectives. Please contact us to discuss different options in more detail.

Eurecat has been the leading catalyst regeneration company worldwide since 1980. Our Rotolouvre regeneration process has been qualified by all major refiners, catalyst manufacturers and licensors. A high degree of homogeneity and excellent temperature control are achieved from the contact between hot air, passing through the spaces between the louvres, and the thin layer of cata-lyst rotating slowly inside the conical inner shell. Fines generated during the regeneration process are guaranteed less than 1 wt%.