Dense air injection for fluid catalytic cracking
Seasonal production demands – are you prepared?
Main air blower (MAB) constraints can be a headache for even the most equipped refiner. It’s responsible for ensuring optimal product output is generated from the FCC unit, and fundamental to a successful yield production. When an MAB is not able to cope with its surroundings it can be a financial headache.
If the air mass flow rate is reduced, the severity of the cracking must be reduced, consistent with the ability to burn off the accumulated coke. This is usually accomplished by reducing the amount of feed charged to the unit. When this occurs, the only real short-term solution to increase FCC feedrate is to decrease air inlet temperature to increase the mass of the volume of air.
That’s why Aggreko’s solution for air blower constraints have an unbelievable payback – in just days or weeks. There’s no reason why any FCC should be air blower constrained during the warmer temperatures, since Aggreko has a practical, high return on investment (ROI) solution to this common problem. We deploy fast expertise into the mix, cooling inlet air to the MAB. By chilling inlet air from around 105F down to 60F – denser air is pushed into the regenerator allowing for a more efficient coke burn off and granting optimal catalytic activity in the reactor.