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UPGRADER™ and UPGRADER R+

Improve your FCC unit’s residue feedstock processing and profitability. Unprecedented upgrading of residue in FCC. FCC units using conventional FCC catalysts are severely limited when diffusion constraints control conversion and bottoms upgrading, for example, in heavy-feed and/or short-contact-time operations. Even with high catalyst addition rates, bottoms conversion, catalyst activity and coke and gas selectivity suffer because of the inevitable mass transfer limitations. As a result, the total FCC product value and profitability are compromised.

Albemarle’s new UPGRADER family of premium residue FCC catalysts, which is designed specifically for heavy-feed and diffusion-limited operations, delivers significantly improved diffusion through unsurpassed accessibility, advanced matrix performance and more zeolite-based cracking, which all contribute to superior residue processing.

UPGRADER catalysts were developed through an innovative improvement to Albemarle’s TOPAZ™ manufacturing technology. One measure of UPGRADER’s unique performance is the proprietary Albemarle Accessibility Index (AAI), which directly measures the dynamic diffusion of high-molecular-weight molecules into an FCC catalyst particle and correlates with a catalyst’s ability to crack residue feedstocks. UPGRADER catalysts consistently record the highest AAI levels in the industry.

Albemarle’s latest residue catalyst, UPGRADER R+, takes advantage of the same technology as UPGRADER, but is further optimized for units requiring catalysts with even better coke selectivity characteristics through further adjustment of its metals resistance.

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  • PROvantage™

    Operate in higher propylene mode without changing your base catalyst. PROvantage olefin/octane enhancement additive provides refiners with the flexibility to operate in a high propylene mode without the activity dilution of the base catalyst inventory normally associated with high levels of traditional ...

  • UPGRADER™ and UPGRADER R+

    Improve your FCC unit’s residue feedstock processing and profitability. Unprecedented upgrading of residue in FCC. FCC units using conventional FCC catalysts are severely limited when diffusion constraints control conversion and bottoms upgrading, for example, in heavy-feed and/or short-contact-time ...

  • LRT FCC catalysts

    Albemarle’s low rare earth technology (LRT) products. Driven by its goal to provide customers with comprehensive, economic catalyst solutions and the surge in global rare earth prices, Albemarle has developed and commercialized a range of LRT products. The catalysts available for the VGO market ...

  • UPGRADER™ T and AMBER™ T - meeting the tight oil challenge

    North America’s oil production has been reenergized with the advent of sophisticated technologies to recover tight oil economically. Tight oil, defined as liquid hydrocarbons obtained by hydraulically fracturing shale formations, is flowing at ever increasing rates from fields such as Bakken, North ...

  • SMOOTHFLOW™ FCC additive

    SMOOTHFLOW from Albemarle offers a solution to FCC unit fluidization and circulation problems. Fluidization problems sometimes begin suddenly, often as the result of an unexpected process upset causing significant catalyst losses and possibly mechanical damage inside the unit. The finest catalyst particles ...

  • SOxMASTER-2™

    Optimal SOx reduction without rare earth for partial- and full-burn units. SOx reduction additives are designed to capture and remove the oxidized sulfur compounds present in the FCC unit regenerator and release them in the FCC riser. On release, the sulfur exits the FCC unit as hydrogen sulfide along ...

  • Quantifying FCC gasoline sulfur reduction

    Refiners everywhere have to comply with government-mandated fuel specifications, in particular dramatically lower gasoline sulfur levels. While post-treating remains an option, the associated octane loss creates additional constraints for refiners, particularly those who are hydrogen limited. Regardless ...

  • Quantifying FCC catalyst accessibility

    Accessibility is related to the mass-transfer characteristics of an FCC catalyst. Albemarle has developed a quantitative laboratory test that measures the accessibility of FCC catalyst particles: the first such measurement in the history of FCC. This test has dramatically altered the way refiners select ...

  • OptiFuel™ technology and Albemarle coker additives

    Reduced coke yield and increased operating flexibility. For many years, delayed coking units have played an important role in oil refineries as one of the most cost effective processes to convert vacuum residue into more valuable products. The delayed coking yields are the result of thermal reactions ...

  • DuraSOx™

    Highly attrition-resistant SOx reduction additive without performance compromise. DuraSOx SOx reduction additive is the culmination of intensive development work focusing on obtaining the most attrition-resistant Sox additive on the market without any performance compromises. It follows in the footsteps ...