Question
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Considering the growing interest in maximising renewable and biomass feeds (including Fischer-Tropsch liquids) through the FCC, what are the most noticeable options you see refiners adopting beyond 2030? To what extent can renewable feed pretreatment be simplified (if at all)?
Mar-2023
Answers
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Charles Brandl, Honeywell UOP, charles.brandl@honeywell.com
The most noticeable option for refiners adapting and maximising renewable and biomass feeds would be the increased availability of these feeds. As innovative technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), Fischer-Tropsch, and other pyrolysis oil technologies are developed and commercialised, these feeds will become more economically available. As refiners continue to drive for net zero targets, they can take advantage of the FCC unit as an ideal existing asset and a robust process to effectively co-process these non-fossil-based feeds at an increasingly higher amount, much beyond the typical 5 vol%. In FCC, pretreating the renewables feeds such that the physical properties (viscosity and temperature) are ideal for effective atomisation of the feeds within the riser is critical for complete conversion.
Mar-2023
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