Discrepancies in FCC catalyst evaluation of atmospheric residues

PETR 39

Sven-Ingvar Andersson, sianders@chalmers.se, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology/Applied Surface Chemistry, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, SE 41296, Sweden and Trond Myrstad, tmy@statoil.com, Oil and Gas Refining, Statoil, Trondheim, N-7005, Norway.
Processing of atmospheric residues in fluid catalytic crackers is a field of considerable interest. Statoil have initiated a test program related to fluid catalytic cracking of North Sea atmospheric residues. Catalysts and feeds are tested in a MAT reactor at Statoil and in a circulating Arco Pilot Unit at Chalmers.The catalysts are tested with the same atmospheric residue feed that is used in the commercial FCC unit at the Statoil Mongstad refinery in Norway. Catalysts in a commercial FCC unit have normally high metals content. This is simulated by testing catalysts impregnated by nickel and vanadium and deactivated by the CPS method. New catalysts are tested in both MAT and Pilot Unit reactors. Usually the catalysts show the same ranking in both reactors. However, if the matrix properties for two catalysts are different, the ranking of the two catalysts might be different in the MAT and Pilot Unit reactors.