Fluidized catalytic cracking process

Abstract

A fluidized catalytic cracking process for catalytically cracking a feed to lighter products includes introducing a heated catalyst and the feed into a bottom riser of a fluidized catalytic cracking apparatus and allowing the heated catalyst and the feed to preaccelerate upwardly within the bottom riser as a mixture; flowing the mixture upwardly from the bottom riser through a plurality of microriser tubes disposed within a regenerator under conditions effective to cause a cracking reaction of the hydrocarbons and result in a mixture including coked catalyst and hydrocarbon vapors; passing the mixture from the microriser tubes through a catalyst separator for separating the coked catalyst from the hydrocarbon vapors; collecting coked catalyst in a stripper for stripping out hydrocarbon vapors carried along with the coked catalyst and introducing the coked catalyst collected into a regenerator; simultaneous with flowing the mixture, combusting the coked catalyst within the regenerator under conditions effective to cause regeneration of the catalyst so that hot regenerated catalyst is produced and heat transferred to the microriser tubes; introducing the hot regenerated catalyst from the regenerator into the bottom riser for facilitating continuous operation; and directing hydrocarbon vapors from the catalyst separator and from the stripper to a fractionator for separation of products.