Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Alvin U Chen

Christopher Gordon Smalley

Robert F Tammera

Arun K Sharma

Brian D Albert

Christopher S Gurciullo

Theodore Sideropoulos

Phillip A Deis

Edward Nicholas Jones

Jonathan Miller

Anastasios I Skoulidas

Berne K Stober

Bing Du

Clay R Sutton

Timothy M Healy

Rutton D Patel

Vikram Singh

Masaaki Sugita

Ronald Suryo

John T Wyatt, Jr

Robert Frank Tammera

Len Lampert

E Nicholas Jones

Norihiro Nakashima

Kentaro Kobayashi

Chris S Gurciullo

Edward N Jones

John Theodore Wyatt

Len F Lampert

A method of improving the uniformity of the contacting of a heavy oil feed with FCC cracking catalyst in the feed zone of an FCC cracking riser in which the heavy oil feed is injected into the catalyst in the riser by means of feed injectors located around the riser, the method comprising minimizing the differences in the temperature profile in the oil/catalyst mixture across the feed zone by varying the oil feed rate to the injectors.

Method for optimizing catalyst/oil mixing in an FCC reactor feed zone

The present invention is an improved design and operation of a short contact time Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Reactor wherein the upper internal riser and a lower internal riser are in fluid connection with one another and provide an improved disengaging zone for entraining the vapors from the dilute phase area of the FCC reactor. Detailed preferred embodiments include improvements over the prior art to the internal central riser, riser termination apparatus, cyclone separators, and a coke mitigation baffle system, as well as associated improved fluid catalytic cracking processes utilizing the novel reactor design.

FCC reactor and riser design for short contact-time catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons

The present invention relates to an improved design for use in fluid cracking processes, preferably used in either a fluid catalytic cracking ('FCC') process or a fluid coking process. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and process for improving the separation and distributing spent catalyst and gases in a spent catalyst riser associated with a fluid cracking process, and most preferably for use in a spent catalyst riser associated with an FCC regenerator vessel. A novel catalyst distributor design and associated processes are presented herein which significantly improve combustion in the dense-phase fluidized catalyst bed of a regenerator and results in improved regenerator dense bed combustion and lower migration of oxygen into the regenerator overhead region. As a result, afterburn is significantly reduced in the regenerator and higher catalyst bed temperatures are achieved with significantly more uniform bed temperatures due to the improved combustion characteristics in the dense-phase fluidized catalyst bed.

Spent catalyst riser distributor

A circulating fluid bed reactor such as that used in fluid coking processes has a circular dense bed reaction section above the reactor base where the fluidizing gas is injected and a plurality of frusto-conical baffles in the dense bed reaction section, each of which depends downwardly and radially inwards from the reactor wall to a lower, inner edge defining a central aperture. The baffles are preferably provided with downcomers which permit downward flow of solids and upward flow of gas through the baffles.

Circulating fluid bed reactor with improved circulation

A de-entrainment device separates entrained liquid from vapor in a fluid stream that flows through a chimney tray in a distillation tower. The separated liquid is collected and shielded from the fluid stream to prevent re-entrainment of the liquid in the vapor flowing upward into the tower. The chimney tray includes risers with hats that have gutters to guide liquid toward the tray deck, channels to collect and drain liquid from the top of the hats to the tray deck, and baffles extending from the risers to shield the liquid collected on the tray deck from the vapor flow.

De-entrainment tray for high capacity operation

An improved de-entrainment device for use in distillation towers, especially vacuum distillation towers used for fractionating petroleum atmospheric resids is in the form of a baffle which is to be located in the portion of the tower below the feed zone and at the top of the flash zone. The baffle is in the form of an apertured plate above the stripping zone and in its preferred form comprises number of radial fins or blades, resembling a static fan with openings between the fins to permit vapors from the lower portions of the tower to pass upwards through the baffle with a minimal pressure drop. The fins of the baffle are preferably oriented at an angle between 30&#xb0; and 60&#xb0; away from the incoming feed so that the incoming feed stream skims over the top edges of the fins.

Distillation tower baffle

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Reston, VA, United States of America

Alvin U Chen