Profitability maximisation of the RFCC unit by increasing the LCO yield

Background

A residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit is a device of upgrading heavy oil into gasoline base material, cracked gas oil (Light Cycle Oil = LCO) and derivates. An oil refinery considered to maximise the volume of LCO without changing the feed volume to meet the high demand for light oil in winter. LCO is one of the middle distillates and serves as a base material for light oil production.

Kurita DMax Technology was applied to increase the LCO production while keeping the risk of ammonium salt deposition low.

Objectives

• Increasing LCO production by lowering the cut temperature of gasoline base material
• Reduction of the FCC main fractionator temperature
• Stable process conditions without differential pressure increase or salt fouling