Improved low-NOx CO combustion promoters for FCC regenerators

PETR 12

Darrell R. Rainer, Darrell.Rainer@Albemarle.com, Lin Luo, and Jorge A. Gonzalez, Jorge.Gonzalez@albemarle.com. FCC Research and Development, Albemarle Catalysts LLC, 13000 Bay Park Rd., Pasadena, TX 77507
Refiners commonly employ CO combustion promoter additives in their FCC units. These have typically been Pt based, due to the effectiveness of that metal in catalyzing the CO oxidation reaction. However, an undesirable side effect of employing such promoters is an increase of NOx emissions from the regenerator. Because of this, there is a continuing interest in improved non-Pt CO combustion promoters, designed to provide comparable CO combustion activity but at a lower NOx penalty relative to Pt. Several developmental additives are studied here, investigating the effects of metal(s) choices and oxide support. Lab results indicate that these new additives can significantly lower the amount of NOx increase at comparable or even better CO oxidation levels compared to Pt additives. Preliminary commercial trials corroborate these results on the industrial scale.