FCC Main Fractionator Coking

One common cause for coking is poor vapor distribution. Packing selection in the Slurry P/A section is critical to ensure good distribution and reliable performance. Mellagrid™ combines the performance of Mellapak™ with the robustness of traditional grid. Resists coking and fouling due to its smooth surface and geometrical. Better de-entrainment and separation efficiency than traditional grid. Efficient dissipation of temperature. Excellent mechanical strength.

Fractional crystallization

Why crystallization? Why Sulzer? Driven by the need to reduce energy consumption and to cope with new feedstocks, the chemical industry is striving to more and more improve process efficiency. Whether it’s oil-based, bio-based or from recycling streams, Sulzer develops the right purification solutions to address the market requirements. Why use crystallization? - It makes the purification of close boilers possible when other technologies fail — therefore allowing ultra-high ...

Gain 5-10% efficiency with this simple 4-pass tray revamp

The design of 4-pass trays can be complex. It not only requires a close evaluation of the mechanical design but also the process response to that design at various flow rates. The balancing of the fluid flows across the tray can have a substantial effect on the tray performance, namely efficiency. Many existing columns are operating with older 4-pass designs. While some of these are well designed, others could use some improvement. Since 4-pass trays always involve a fairly ...

Gas/Liquid separation technology

Sulzer is a major player in the field of gas/liquid and liquid/liquid separation technology, offering a full range of innovative products and related services. Our commitment to development of technology, combined with application knowhow and consistent fabrication standards ensures that a well-engineered solution is available for most separation problems. Our expertise gained from hundreds of successful installations in a broad spectrum of applications ensures that the best ...

Green design practices: focus on efficiency

Green design is more than recycling scrap materials or calculating carbon footprints. It minimizes negative environmental impact through skillful design and operating practices to produce efficient, better-functioning processes. Because green practices reduce resource requirements, in many cases, they can also improve the profitability of the entire process. One of the most effective ways to make a process greener is to focus on column efficiency. Distillation is an energy ...

Important tray design features that improve column operating reliability

How often does Maintenance personnel open a column during a shutdown and find tray panels fallen without any obvious damage? How about tray valves stuck in the bottoms pump suction? While the initial reaction may be to blame faulty installation where the hardware was not properly tightened, the answer often lies in the design of the tray. Reliable column designs need to produce on-spec products at the design capacity, while operating with energy usage at a minimum. For this to ...

Improve fouling resistance in your wastewater benzene stripper

Benzene stripper columns, built so that refineries can meet the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), operate with several unique conditions – low vapor rates, high liquid loads, and a high tendency toward fouling make designing well-balanced, effective internals difficult. The Problem: Two Refinery Case Studies Sulzer was contacted by two separate refiners who noted a continued fouling problem and short run lengths on their wastewater strippers. ...

Improve separation in your column by increasing the number of trays

Refiners often face revamp challenges when trying to improve separation within an existing column. Improving diesel recovery from gas oil, splitting benzene precursors from naphtha reformer charge, or simply minimizing product overlaps after capacity creep can all be difficult when limited by a fi xed existing tower height. For these cases, revamp solutions that increase the number of theoretical stages by adding trays to an existing column or a section of a column pay large dividends. ...

Improved technology for carbon capture & storage saves capital cost

Total man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world today amount to approximately 30 Gigatons per year, with fossil fuel-based power stations contributing in excess of 30% of this total. Carbon Capture is an energy intensive process, buy Sulzer’s specialized technology allows the operator to minimize capital expenditures and at the same time, minimize power output losses that can result from poor designs. High Efficiency Mass Transfer Products Reduce Capital Costs ...

Increase capacity in your column with a tray design revamp

When trying to increase column capacity beyond design rates, an operator may notice loss in separation efficiency or high pressure drop, indicative of either vapor phase or liquid phase hydraulic limitations. An optimized tray design can eliminate hydraulic constraints to provide better column capacity and performance. Common Vapor Constraints to Raising Throughput In systems limited by higher vapor rates (typically lower pressure systems), jet flooding may constrain the column. ...

Lube Oil Vacuum Tower revamp

Pressure drop is a critical operating parameter for Vacuum Towers. A Lube Oil Vacuum Tower with dislodged floating valves was revamped with Sulzer’s high performance MVG™ fixed valves, reducing column pressure drop 15%. V-Grid™ trays offer reliable performance with substantial energy savings and increased run length. V-Grid tray technology: - Lower pressure drop - High efficiency over a wide operating range - Superior mechanical strength - Excellent fouling resis ...

Maximizing diesel recovery in your columns

Increased demand for automotive diesel is challenging refiners to adjust operating strategies to maximize middle distillate production. While some refiners choose to alter catalyst formulations or build new cracking units to increase diesel yields, optimizing the separation between gas oil and distillate in existing columns can be an excellent opportunity with little or no investment. Areas of Opportunity to Optimize Diesel Cuts Diesel streams are drawn from the primary fractionators ...

Maximizing light cycle oil recovery in the FCC main fractionator

Refiners operating FCCU's have adjusted their operating strategies to maximize light cycle oil production to meet the increased demand for automotive diesel. Catalyst formulations and reactor conditions can alter yields, but the refinery cannot take full advantage of the increased LCO recovery without an optimized Main Fractionator operation and design. Sulzer offers several methods of optimizing the separation between light cycle oil and less valuable HCO or slurry with little ...