Refiners are under pressure to produce more middle distillate products from heavy or renewable feedstocks. As an increasing number of countries move towards requirements for low and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) with a high cetane number, the refining industry faces a double-edged challenge in terms of meeting the ever stringent specifications for diesel fuel, while simultaneously producing more diesel product from lower quality feedstocks.
Topsoe has been at the forefront of the hydroprocessing catalyst technology for many years, and today, we are the market leader within the field of catalysts, licensed technology, and reactor internals for the production of ULSD.
Our hydrotreating solutions offer you the opportunity to meet all legislative requirements when producing clean fuels, either from conventional crude oil, or from alternative feeds such as coal tar, shale oil, Fischer-Tropsch wax, or renewable material, regardless whether the goal is to produce ULSD, bunker fuel (marine diesel) or other.
Using our extensive knowledge of hydroprocessing, we are able to optimize operating conditions and catalyst loadings, thereby minimizing investment costs and utility consumption.
Our solutions within diesel hydrotreating can help you achieve:
- ULSD production
- Topsoe’s diesel hydrodesulfurization technology, BRIM® and HyBRIM™ catalysts are used for production of ULSD, containing less than 10 wt ppm of sulfur. Feedstocks can include straight-run or cracked feedstocks such as light cycle oil (LCO), coker gas oil (CGO) and visbreaker gas oil (VBGO) or alternative feedstocks. Topsoe’s catalysts and unique process design capabilities allow cost-efficient revamps, converting low-pressure diesel hydrotreating units to ULSD production.
- Cold-flow properties improvement
- Meeting cold flow properties is often a challenge, especially in colder climates where stricter winter specifications for ULSD are in place. Our high-performance hydrotreating and dewaxing catalysts and technologies are your best option for maximizing the value of feedstocks, while also meeting tough requirements for cold-flow properties.
- Color removal
- During a typical reactor cycle, the operating temperature is increased to meet hydrodesulfurization (HDS) specifications, which has an adverse effect on aromatic saturation. Failure to saturate aromatics can result in discoloration of the product and a shorter catalyst cycle length. Topsoe offers the Polyshift™ licensed technology with catalysts that ensures full color control, allowing refiners to meet the most stringent specifications and ensuring a long cycle length.
- Balanced hydrogen consumption
- Topsoe’s low-pressure hydrotreating units are market leaders in terms of minimizing hydrogen consumption. Topsoe’s unique catalyst portfolio allows for tailoring of optimal solutions, balancing hydrogen consumption, cycle length, and activity.
- Cetane improvement
- The cetane index is often the limiting parameter when producing EURO V diesel from heavy and cracked feedstocks. Topsoe offers catalyst and technology solutions that ensure the diesel product specifications are met and the highest possible yield of on-spec product can be achieved.
- Back-end shift
- Often refiners find that the end-boiling point of their hydrotreated diesel product is higher than allowable for the diesel pool. The back-end shift (BES) process is designed for end-point reduction and cold-flow improvement of heavy feeds at low to moderate pressures to produce ULSD.
- Saturation of aromatics
- Aromatic saturation is essential when a higher cetane number, low aromatic content or high volume swell is desired. Topsoe has developed HyBRIM™ catalysts especially suitable for aromatic saturation in high-pressure units.
- Furthermore, Topsoe’s dedicated hydrodearomatization (HDA) technology and catalysts are especially suited for the treatment of heavy feedstocks and for large cetane lift. Several technologies are available, depending on the degree of aromatics saturation required. Topsoe’s HDS/HDA technology is suitable for deep HDA applications. Topsoe’s Polyshift™ is suitable when it is the color, and thereby the aromatic saturation at end-of-run (EOR), that is limiting the cycle length.
The processes in which Topsoe’s catalysts and technology are applied can be designed to maximize the cycle length and meet the required specifications, depending on the customer requirements; or the process can be designed to achieve a perfect balance between all performance parameters. Whatever the case, the overall goal is to optimize performance in accordance with the needs of the individual refinery.
