Jan-2019

A new generation of catalyst is born: TK-6001 HySwell (ERTC)

There have been tremendous improvements in catalyst technology over the past 20-30 years to comply with ultra-low sulphur fuel legislation and to maximise production of high-value hydrocracking products.

Per Zeuthen
Haldor Topsoe A/S

Article Summary

However, jet and diesel refiners are still looking for the absolute top tier NiMo catalyst for their ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) and hydrocracker pretreat reactors.

Topsoe’s newly launched catalyst, TK-6001 HySwell™, commences a completely new era within alumina-supported hydrotreating catalysts by maximising activity for nitrogen removal and consequently achieving higher volume swell.

Higher activity, same stability
When applying TK-6001 HySwell in either ULSD or hydrocracker pretreatment service, the improved activity can be utilised to treat more severe feeds or obtain longer cycle lengths. In the case of a hydrocracker, the additional activity can also be used to lower the nitrogen slip from the pretreat section to the cracking section, resulting in higher conversion and better yields. The catalyst will also increase volume swell due to better hydrogenation functionality, thereby creating a significant economic driver for many refineries by producing more valuable barrels.

Case study
The pretreatment stage in a hydrocracker is a fixed bed catalytic process implemented with the primary objective of reducing the feed organic nitrogen compounds from typical levels of 500-2000 wtppm nitrogen down to 10-30 wtppm nitrogen in the reactor effluent. Nitrogen compounds have a significantly negative influence on the cracking functionality of the acidic hydrocracking catalysts and consequently on the performance of the hydrocracker. Also, aromatic compounds are very difficult to convert over the zeolitic hydrocracking catalyst. Lowering both feed nitrogen and feed aromatic content has a significant impact on the feed reactivity and, consequently, on the hydrocracker’s overall performance. 

When applying TK-6001 HySwell to a vacuum gas oil (VGO) at hydrocracker pretreatment conditions, the nitrogen slip from the test unit with TK-611 HyBRIM™ is 32 wtppm, while TK-6001 HySwell is able to lower the feed nitrogen to as little as 5 wtppm. Such a substantial difference represents a step-out improvement for any hydrocracker pretreat unit.

Conclusion
TK-6001 HySwell technology offers a hydrotreating catalyst solution to refiners with high-pressure ULSD units and hydrocracker pretreaters. The higher activity of this catalyst compared to the second generation TK-611 HyBRIM catalyst unlocks additional flexibility to obtain longer catalyst cycles, more throughput, better product qualities, and the possibility of processing more severe feedstocks.

The activity boost can be translated into significantly lowering the reactor temperature in hydrocracker pretreating units and ULSD units, while simultaneously obtaining the same conversion of sulphur and nitrogen.

The enhanced hydrogenation ability from TK-6001 HySwell will provide refiners with higher volume swell at similar conditions and increased flexibility from the hydrocracker, resulting in substantially greater profitability for the refinery asset. - D-waxTM, HySwellTM and HyBRIMTM are all trademarks of Haldor Topsoe.

Did You know Haldor Topsoe’s tk-6001 HySwell can provide you with higher volume swell?

This short article originally appeared in the 2018 ERTC Newspaper, produced by PTQ / DigitalRefining.

For more information contact:: pz@topsoe.com