4, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FCC feedstocks contain sulfur and nitrogen impurities. These contaminants concentrate on spent, catalyst and emerge in regenerator flue gas as sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOs). Other flue gas emissions include carbon monoxide from incomplete combustion of coke, and particulates (mostly catalyst fines). The FCC unit also discharges sour water from the main fractionator overheads and gas-concentration plant, Sour water can be successfully treated by existing technology. Flue gas emission control, though commercially practiced, is not yet cost effective, In the United States, federal and state laws govern gaseous and particulate matter emissions. Federal government souree-performance standards (Federal Register, 1984) apply to the emission of particulates and carbon monoxide, and to the opacity of flue gases from FCC regeneratars and CO boilors. At present, no federal regulation specifically aims at FCC emissions. Local and state agencies in areas with acute pollution problems, however, impose stringent restrictions on FCC units, For example, in California's Los Angeles basin, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) limited existing FCC units to 130 kg of SOx emission per 1000 barrels of feed; on January 1, 1987, this limit was reduced to 60 kg of SOx per 1000 barrels of feed (South Coast Air Quality Management District, 1987), Table 4-1 lists current governmental requirements for FOC particulate and gaseous emissions, along with typical observed emissions under uncontrolled and controlled FCC operation (Bienstock, 1986). Some gaseous emissions from FCC units, including NOx, NH, HON, and hydrocarbons, are not yet subject to regulation, ‘McArthur (1980) describes a 50,000-bpd FCC unit that operates in a conventional (non-CO-promoted) regeneration mode, uses a conventional catalyst and nonhydrotreated feed with 1 wife sulfur content, and emits the amounts of pollutants shown in Table 4-2. Uncontrolled SOx emission from this FCC unit meets neither 1987 SCAQMD nor proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits, which are caleulated to be 9.3 and 3.9 tpd, respectively. Reducing the ‘unconirelled level by 71% would meet the 1987 SOx limit, Of all FCC emission components, sulfur receives the most attention, because expected federal and Jocal regulations are increasingly tough on such emissions. In the U.S., the major source of sulfur oxide emissions is power generation from fossil fuel combustion, Petroleum refineries are estimated to originate 6 to 7% of total $02 emission, and FCC alone accounts for 4.5 to 5.25% of total SOa emission (Slack, 1971; Research Education Association, 1978; Tamborski, 1985; Magnabosco, 1983; Powell, 1986), In locations with concentrated refining operations, as much as 12% of environmental SOx is from petroleum refining, and the bulk eames from FCC units (South Coast Air Quality ‘Management District, 1978). 215‘Table 4-1 ical Uncontrolled FCC Unit Emissions mmpared to the Current M ingent Regulations ‘Typical Datate) ‘Most Stringent Existing Source Emission Uncontrolled Controlled Regulations Federal) Particulate emissions Catalyst, grains/éry sof 02-06 010.4 0.0288 0.0388 Catalyst, mgNm 480-1,400 230-930 27 30 Opacity, % 20-60 20 30 Opacity, Ringelmann no, 1.0-3.0 10 15 ’ Gaseous e ws ‘$02, ppm 200-3,000 150-2006) s00@ co 10 < 0.10) 0.02 0.08 NE, ppm 200 <10 0 70 HON, ppm <200 <10 © © NOx, ppm <10 100-200 © © with CO boiler up to 3,000 with HIR@ ‘Hydrocarbon, ppm <500 <10 © © («) Uncontrolled, conventional flue gas without CO boiler; controlled, with CO boiler on HTR. (U.S. federal regulations pertain only to new or significantly modified emission sources; states can set standards for existing FCC units, which need not be equal to or more stringent than federal regulations. (Normally set by ground-level concentration; several states have source standards for FCC units, («Proposed Federal New Source Performance Standard. (@ Without HTR; with HTR, CO emission levels are < 500 ppm. (© Unregulated on an FCC unit at present. (Emission level depends on feed nitrogen, regenerator operating conditions, and promoter addition level. Reference: Bienstock, 1986. 276Table 4-2 : Conventional Regeneration Pollutants tod ea/1000 bbl 80 882.7 1160-230 NOx 0.33 6 NH 85 154, co. 580 10,600 CO. s10 16,600 Reference: McArthur, 1980. Existing technology (CO boilers, catalytically promoted combustion of CO in the regenerator, and high-temperature regeneration) can control carbon monoxide emission from FCC regenerators, (Details of the catalytic approach are provided later in this section.) Oxidation of nitrogen compounds in coke produces nitrogen oxides in the regenerator flue gas, The amount of NOx emissions depends on factors including nitrogen content in FCC feedstocks, regenerator conditions, and catalyst composition. Currently, no well-demonstrated technology controls NOx emissions from FCC units (Aitken, 1985), Research on FCC unit NOx emissions has remained low key because in 1984 the EPA decided to forego NOx regulation until 1988 (Aitken, 1985), Catalytic SOx and CO emission reduction technologies seem to increase NOx formation, which may soon come under tighter regulatory control, 4.1 SOx CONTROL 41.1 Physical Approach More than 90% of the sulfur contained in FCC feeds exit the reactor as HpS or sulfur in the liquid products, Less than 10% is carried into the regenerator with ecke on spent catalyst. For example, of the sulfur in a virgin gas oil fed to an FCC unit, roughly 50+ 10% converts to HS, 45 + 5% remains in the liquid products, and 7 + 3% ends up in the coke on the spent catalyst (Thiel, 1985b). Therefore, the SOx technology scrutinized here concerns removal of this relatively small fraction of the feed sulfur, 277