(254d) Kinetics & CFD Simulations for Industrial FCC Units

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is an important conversion process in modern refineries, as a major contributor to the gasoline market, and recently an increasingly favored process for producing propylene to feed downstream petrochemical complexes. Detailed analysis of the hydrodynamics in FCC systems has been playing a key role in the development and evolution of the reactor configuration, feeding systems, and riser separation systems, as well as troubleshooting of key process deviations and operational instabilities. Enhancements in computational capabilities have made hydrodynamics assessments using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools feasible and affordable for commercial large-scale FCC units with quite reasonable accuracies. This presentation will discuss the importance of generating reliable kinetics using pilot plant data, opportunities that enhancements in CFD computational capabilities will facilitate the development of innovative designs and improvements, while highlighting the role of CFD modeling in the technology development projects at Saudi Aramco.