Pressure drop control | Crust formation
Crust formation at the top of a catalyst bed can occur when a reactor – especially one used to process feedstocks containing olefins and oxygenates (coker products, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) products and renewable feeds) – has been packed with catalyst having too high activity. When a crust does form, it can lead to excessive pressure drop, flow maldistribution, and difficulties during catalyst unloading.
Topsoe’s catalyst grading solutions prevent crust formation by gradually increasing the catalytic activity from low in the inert topping to higher, the further down the bed you go. The result is longer cycles, optimized reactor performance, and more profitable operation.
