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Outline Introduction
• Hydrocracking Chemistry
• Hydrogen consumption
• Hydrocracking process
• Conclusion
Introduction
• A process similar to catalytic cracking in
its industrial purpose but effected under
hydrogen pressure and on a catalyst
• > Purpose: process gas oil to break
carbon- carbon bonds of large aromatic
compounds
• » Hydrogenation (addition of hydrogen)
» Cracking (aromatic bonds
 INRODUCTION
Hydrocracking does a better job of
processing aromatic rings without coking
than catalytic cracking Hydrogen used to
hydrogenate aromatics Hydrocracking not as
attractive as delayed coking for resids high in
resins, asphaltenes poison hydroprocessing
catalysts
 Feeds require large amounts of hydrogen
 Hydrocracker Feeds

Typical feeds Cat cracker "cycle oil“

1. *Highly aromatic with sulfur, small ring, catalyst fines
2. *Hydrocracked to form high yields of jet fuel, kerosene,
diesel,

 Gas oil from visbreaker

1. * Aromatic Gas oil from the delayed coker
2. *Aromatic, olefinic, with sulfur Usually more
economical to route atmospheric 8 vacuum gas oils
to the cat cracker to produce primarily gasoline &
some diesel
Hydrocracker Products

 Products Hydrocracking primarily to make

distillates Intent is to minimize the production of
heavy fuel oil
 Light ends are approximately 5% of the feed.
 Middle distillates (kerosene, jet fuel, diesel)
Hydrocracking Chemistry
Cracking reactions
 Saturated paraffins cracked to
form lower molecular weight olefins
& paraffins
 Side chains cracked off small ring
aromatics & cycloparaffins
(naphthenes)
 Hydrocracking Chemistry

 Hydrogenation reactions
 Exothermic giving heat
 Hydrogen inserted to saturate newly formed
molecule from aromatic cracking
 Olefins are saturated to form light hydrocarbons
especially butane (naphthenes)
 Aromatic rings hydrogenated to cycloparaffins
 Carbon-carbon bonds cleaved to open aromatic
&cycloparaffins (naphthenes) rings
Hydrocracker Products

 Products Hydrocracking primarily to make

distillates Intent is to minimize the production of
heavy fuel oil
 Light ends are approximately 5% of the feed.
 Middle distillates (kerosene, jet fuel, diesel)
 Hydrocracking Catalysts
Hydrocracking catalysts generally a
crystalline silica alumina base
Catalysts susceptible to sulfur poisoning if
hydrogen sulfide is present in large
quantities
• Catalysts not affected by ammonia
• Sometimes necessary to remove moisture
to protect the catalyst
Catalyst Deactivation & Regeneration
Catalysts deactivate & coke does form
even with hydrogen present
» Hydrocrackers require periodic
regeneration of the fixed bed catalyst
systems
Effect of Process Variables on
Hydrocracking
 Severity
• Mild operation for diesel or fuel oil
from heavy gas oll
• Severe operation for kerosene or
naphtha from a light gas oil
 Temperature
• Temperature not used to increase
severity >> Temperature adjusted to
offset decline in catalyst
• activity >> Consider 650°F to 750°F
as a descriptor of mild operations &
750°F to 850°F for severe operations
 Effect of Process Variables on Hydrocracking

 Pressure & Hydrogen Consumption

• Lower operating pressure: 1,200 psig:
hydrogenconsumption 1,000 - 2,000 scf/bbl
• More severe operations to destroy heavier components
& open rings: 2,000 psig: 2,000 to 3,000 scf/bbl or more
 These hydrogen consumptions primarily
for the hydrocracking reactions with low sulfur removal &
olefin/aromatic saturation
• Mild or severe hydrocracking with extensive
desulfurization or olefin/aromatic saturation willincrease
hydrogen consumption, possibly by 25%
Hydrocracking Process Description
 Single stage or two stage processes
• Severity of the operation
• Products desired
• Nature of the feedstock
• feed pretreating for contaminant removal

 Two extremes
• Mild one stage hydrocracking system
• Severe two stage operation
Catalytic hydrocracking process
Conclusion

 The process involves two

reactions(cracking +
hydrogenation)
 It consumes a lot of hydrogen to
saturate aromatic
> Produce products in Kerosene
range (larger) than gasoline.