Exceptional Stability through High Performance Hydroprocessing Catalysts

Catalyst technology has developed by leaps and bounds in the last two decades driven by switch to ULSD in the mid-2000s, increases in required FCCPT performance due to Tier 2 and now Tier 3, and in HCPT/HC with the increasing demand for distillate yield. Criterion has accelerated its R&D effort in this same period leading to the introduction of a new family of catalysts every 4 – 5 years, moving from CENTINEL™ to CENTINEL GOLD™ then to current the ASCENT™ and CENTERA™ generations. Each of these steps resulted in significant improvement in HDS, HDN, and hydrogenation activity over the previous generation. In addition to the activity gains, substantial progress has also been made in increased tolerance against metals and coking deactivation. Unplanned downtime is the single most critical factor impacting refinery profitability and increased stability minimizes the risk of an early outage. Refiners can take advantage of the increased stability and activity by processing heavier, more value-add feedstocks or increasing unit severity without significant cycle life debit. Commercial examples highlighting the benefits of increased stability and activity will be presented including processing heavier ULSD feed, increased operating severity for FCC benefit in a CFH and higher saturation in hydrocracker pre-treat.