Modeling and Evaluating Zeolite and Amorphous Based Catalysts in Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking Process
-
Davood Faraji
and
Hossein Mazaheri
Abstract
Hydrocracking is a significant process in a refinery which is commonly used for converting heavy fractions such as vacuum gas oil (VGO) to the valuable products such as naphtha and diesel. In this research, VGO hydrocracking process was studied in a pilot scale plant in the presence of a zeolite and two amorphous based commercial catalysts called RK-NiY, RK-MNi and KF-101, respectively. In order to study the effect of support on the yield of the process, a discrete 4-lump kinetic model, including feed (vacuum gas oil and unconverted materials), distillate (diesel and kerosene), naphtha and gas was proposed for each catalyst. At first, each network had six reaction paths and twelve kinetic coefficients, and then by using the model reduction methodology, only four main routes for RK-MNi and RK-NiY, and three ones for KF-101 were designated. Results showed that the absolute average deviation (AAD%) of reduced models decreased from 5.11 %, 10.1 % and 21.8 % to 4.54 %, 8.9 % and 19.67 % for RK-MNi, KF-101 and RK-NiY, respectively. Moreover, it was confirmed that amorphous and zeolite catalysts could be selected for producing middle distillate and naphtha products, respectively.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank to Imam Khomeini Shazand Refinery (Arak, Iran) for supporting this project.
NOMENCLATURE
- AAD
Absolute average deviation, (%)
- AAE
Absolute average error, (%)
- C
Mass concentration, (kg m−3)
- D
Distillate
- E
Apparent activation energy, (kcal. mol−1)
- F
Hydrocracking feed
- Fm
Stream mass flow rate, (kg.h−1)
- G
Gas
- k
Reaction rate constant, (m3.h−1.m3 cat−1)
- k0
Frequency factor, (m3.h−1.m3 cat−1)
- LHSV
Liquid hourly space velocity, (h−1)
- N
Naphtha
- Nl
Number of mixed cells (200)
- Nt
Number of experiments
- P
Pressure, (bar)
- R
Ideal gas constant, 1.987 (kcal.kmol−1.K−1)
- Rj
Reaction rate of lump j, (kg.h−1.m3 cat−1)
- T
Temperature, (K)
- V
Volume of catalyst, (m3)
- ε
Catalyst void fraction
- η
Effectiveness factor
- ν
Volume flow rate, (m3.h−1)
- ρ
Density, (kg.m−1)
- Subscripts
- DG
Distillate to gas
- DN
Distillate to naphtha
- FD
Feed to distillate
- FG
Feed to gas
- FN
Feed to naphtha
- NG
Naphtha to gas
- j
Distillate, naphtha and gas lumps
- j’
Naphtha and gas lumps
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Articles in the same Issue
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- Research Articles
- Experimental Study of Batch Reactor Performance for Ethyl Acetate Saponification
- Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Thin Films: Kinetic and Efficiency Study
- Experimental and Modeling Assessment of Sulfate and Arsenic Removal from Mining Wastewater by Nanofiltration
- CFD-DEM Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Heat Transfer and Two-Component Flow in Fluidized Bed
- Numerical and Experimental Study on a Microfluidic Concentration Gradient Generator for Arbitrary Approximate Linear and Quadratic Concentration Curve Output
- Zn2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, H+ Ion-exchanged and Raw Clinoptilolite Zeolite Catalytic Performance in the Propane-SCR-NOx Process: A Comparative Study
- Adsorption of Congo Red Dye from Aqueous Solutions by Montmorillonite as a Low-cost Adsorbent
- Modeling and Evaluating Zeolite and Amorphous Based Catalysts in Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking Process
- Short Communication
- The Possibility of Hybrid-Bioreactor Heating by the Microwave Radiation
Articles in the same Issue
- Review
- Role of Different Feedstocks on the Butanol Production Through Microbial and Catalytic Routes
- Research Articles
- Experimental Study of Batch Reactor Performance for Ethyl Acetate Saponification
- Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Thin Films: Kinetic and Efficiency Study
- Experimental and Modeling Assessment of Sulfate and Arsenic Removal from Mining Wastewater by Nanofiltration
- CFD-DEM Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Heat Transfer and Two-Component Flow in Fluidized Bed
- Numerical and Experimental Study on a Microfluidic Concentration Gradient Generator for Arbitrary Approximate Linear and Quadratic Concentration Curve Output
- Zn2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, H+ Ion-exchanged and Raw Clinoptilolite Zeolite Catalytic Performance in the Propane-SCR-NOx Process: A Comparative Study
- Adsorption of Congo Red Dye from Aqueous Solutions by Montmorillonite as a Low-cost Adsorbent
- Modeling and Evaluating Zeolite and Amorphous Based Catalysts in Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking Process
- Short Communication
- The Possibility of Hybrid-Bioreactor Heating by the Microwave Radiation
