Effects Of Key Feed Properties
On FCC Unit Performance
B Y ROBERT J. C AMPAGNA, DENNIS C. K OWALCZYK & JACK R. WILCOX
REFINING PROCESS SERVICES, INC.
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
For almost every refining process unit, feed quality
is the most important factor in determining yields and
economics. In fluid catalytic cracking, feed quality is
especially critical since it impacts the heat balance and
the ultimate cracking severity in addition to the
fundamental effects on the inherent crack-ability of the
molecular structures.
This paper is focused on the following four aspects
of feed quality:
♦ The Effects of Hydrocarbon Type
♦ The Cracking Characteristics of Diesel Fractions
♦ The Impacts of Adding VTB
♦ How FCC Feed Hydrotreating Affects FCC Yields &
Economics
Significant conclusions from this study include:
♦ For 680 –1000°F virgin gas oil feeds, the feed
hydrogen content is an excellent predictor of FCC
performance. As feed hydrogen content increases,
conversion, gasoline yield and LPG yields increase
while C2 minus yields decline. These effects are
quantified in this study.
♦ When blended with VGO, virgin heavy diesel (620 -
680°F) and virgin light diesel (520 - 620°F)
fractions both crack very efficiently in the FCC unit,
giving effective conversions and gasoline yields
that are higher than seen with the corresponding
1
VGO. This is due to the low delta coke that is
obtained with these feeds which results in the
FCCU running at lower regenerator temperatures
and higher catalyst to oil ratios. Nevertheless, with
typical product prices, the FCC margins that can be
achieved with these diesel fractions are lower than
obtained with VGO’s due to the fact that the diesel
fractions have a high value in the diesel pool.
Cracking of diesel fractions will only make
economic sense when the supply of diesel is
greater than demand or when diesel prices are
abnormally low relative to gasoline.
♦ The economics of cracking resids (VTB’s) are very
complex, but in general, with paraffinic resids (i.e.
Minas, North Sea, etc.), cracking margins are better
than seen with the corresponding gas oil, provided
that the FCC unit is capable of operating at higher
regenerator temperatures and air rates. Margins
with more aromatic resids (i.e. ANS) are lower than
with paraffinic resids, mainly due to the higher
levels of metals and higher carbon residue. Most
existing FCC units would not be able to process
significant quantities of aromatic resids without
substantial revamps.
♦ Hydrotreating of FCC feed can increase FCC
conversion by 8 to 12 volume percent and provides
substantial economic benefits. With most feeds, it
will be possible to reduce FCC gasoline sulfur to
levels low enough to meet the future low sulfur
gasoline pool specifications. The overall
economics appear to be superior to gasoline
treating options for meeting the low sulfur gasoline
targets, but the capital investment for FCC feed
 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

hydrotreating is substantially higher. An illustrative undergoing certain cracking reactions, they can poison
example comparing FCC feed hydrotreating with the acidic FCC catalyst resulting in lower FCC
gasoline hydrotreating is presented in this paper. conversions.

Effects of Hydrocarbon Type It is clear from the chemistry that more aromatic
feeds will give poorer FCC yields. A contributing factor
Depending on the crude source, virgin vacuum gas is that as the number of ring structures in the feed
oils (680 - 1000°F) can vary greatly in hydrogen increases, there is an increased chance that
content, from under 12.0 weight percent for aromatic dehydrogenation from contaminant metals will cause
feeds to over 14.0 for paraffinic gas oils. In the FCC multi-ring aromatics to form, leading to condensation
process, cracking of paraffins occurs rather easily, while and coking of the catalyst. This manifests itself on the
cracking of aromatic rings does not occur at all. Thus, it unit in the form of higher regenerator temperatures and
is obvious why hydrogen content is a relatively good lower catalyst to oil ratios, further reducing conversion.
predictor of cracking performance.
Table 2 shows that if the four feeds in Table 1 are
run at a constant riser temperature and a constant feed
Table 1 presents feed properties for four common
temperature, the regenerator temperature increases
vacuum gas oils, arranged in order from the most
and the catalyst to oil ratio declines as the feed
paraffinic (Minas) in the first column to the most
hydrogen content decreases.
aromatic (ANS) in the fourth column. Since the boiling
range is fixed, the changes in API gravity, aniline point,
TABLE 2
K factor and hydrogen content are all related to the
FCC Operating Conditions for Various Feeds
differences in hydrocarbon type.
U.S.
TABLE 1 MID- MIXED
MINAS CONTINENT VENEZUELAN ANS
Feed Properties For 680 - 1000°F VGO’s
Reactor 980 980 980 980
T, °F
U.S. Feed T, 500 500 500 500
MID- MIXED °F
MINAS CONTINENT VENEZUELAN ANS
Regen. T, 1327 1332 1351 1378
API 31.7 25.0 22.5 19.8
°F
Aniline 228 199 189 176
Cat/Oil, 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.2
Pt., °F W/W
Sulfur, 0.09 0.59 0.90 1.20
W%
Nitrogen, 0.06 0.10 0.12 0.17 The FCC yields that result from cracking these four
W% feeds are contained in Table 3. The highest hydrogen
K Factor 12.54 12.05 11.86 11.67
H 14.20 12.90 12.55 12.00
content feed (Minas) gives a conversion of over 85
Content, volume percent and a gasoline yield of over 65 volume
W% percent, with a total LPG yield of about 33 volume
percent. As the hydrogen content of the feed declines,
Since aromatics are more dense and contain less the conversion levels drop, as do the yields of gasoline
hydrogen than paraffins, the API gravity of the oil must and LPG. The lowest hydrogen content feed (ANS)
decrease along with the hydrogen content. The aniline gives a conversion level of 70 volume percent, a
point measures the temperature at which the oil gasoline yield of about 55 volume percent and a total
becomes miscible with aniline. Since aniline is an LPG yield of slightly over 23 volume percent. C2 minus
aromatic structure, more aromatic oils are able to mix yields increase significantly as the hydrogen content of
with aniline at a lower temperature. Finally, a high the feed declines, while coke yields increase slightly.
percentage of the nitrogen compounds in oils are found
in ring structures, so that aromatic gas oils tend to have
higher nitrogen contents. Since these nitrogen
compounds are basic (or can become basic after

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 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

TABLE 3 The product values in Table 4 are based on the

FCC Yields for Various Feeds prices listed in Table 5.
U.S. TABLE 5
MID- MIXED
MINAS CONTINENT VENEZUELAN ANS Prices Used for Economics
Conversion, 85.6 78.2 75.5 70.0
V% COMPONENT PRICE, $/BBL
C2 Minus, 2.8 3.0 3.1 3.3 C2 Minus (FOE) 18.50
W% Propane 13.50
LPG, V% 33.4 28.1 26.4 23.3 Propylene 27.75
Gasoline, 65.4 61.7 59.7 55.4 NC4 16.00
V% IC4 18.50
LCO/Bottom 1.66 1.25 1.15 1.01 C4 Olefins 28.30
s, V/V Gasoline 28.25
Coke, W% 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.8 Gasoline Octane 0.30/(R+M/2)
LPG 55.5 55.7 56.0 56.8 LCO 25.00
Olefinicity, Bottoms 18.50
V% Coke (FOE) 18.50
No. 2 Diesel 25.90
Another interesting effect of declining feed Kerosene 26.75
hydrogen content is the reduction in the ratio of LCO to FCC Feed – Minas VGO 24.50
FCC Feed – ANS VGO 22.50
bottoms. This is due to the fact that as the percentage Minas VTB 15.00
of aromatics in the feed increases, there is a significant ANS VTB 13.80
rise in the number of molecules (or molecular Fresh FCC Catalyst $1600/Ton
fragments) that simply cannot be cracked.
Selected data from Tables 2 through 4 have been
Table 4 presents the product properties and plotted in Figures 1 through 4. The plots illustrate how
product values that result from cracking these four smoothly the results correlate with feed hydrogen
feeds. As might be expected, the API gravities of the content. Obviously, more sophisticated correlations
products decrease as the feed hydrogen content would be required to predict results for changing feed
declines, indicating higher aromatic concentrations in boiling ranges or to model feeds from sources other
the LCO and bottoms materials. The gasoline products than virgin VGO’s. Nevertheless, the plots are useful as
also become more aromatic as evidenced by the higher an indicator of the profound effects feed hydrocarbon
gasoline octane levels produced by the more aromatic type has on FCC unit performance.
feeds.
The Cracking Characteristics of Diesel
TABLE 4 Fractions
FCC Product Properties and Product Values
for Various Feeds A common misconception is that virgin diesel
fractions are more difficult to crack than the VGO from
U.S.
MID- MIXED
the same crude oil. In some cases, this perception is
MINAS CONTINENT VENEZUELAN ANS based on laboratory data at constant operating
LCO API 22.8 17.0 15.5 14.7 conditions showing that the lighter feeds give slightly
Bottoms 9.4 2.2 0.2 -1.2
API
lower conversion levels. In reality, diesel fractions
Gasoline 88.5 90.0 90.4 90.8 boiling in the range of 520 - 680°F convert at roughly
RON equal rates when compared with the corresponding
Gasoline 78.6 79.6 79.7 80.0
MON
VGO processed at the same conditions. In a heat
balanced commercial unit, however, the addition of
Product 30.15 29.62 29.24 28.59 these lighter fractions causes a significant reduction in
Value,
$/bbl
delta coke, resulting in lower regenerator temperatures
and higher catalyst to oil ratios.

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 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

The net result is that the effective conversion levels

obtained from virgin diesel fractions are often higher TABLE 8
than achieved with the base VGO feed. To illustrate FCC Yields for VGO/Diesel Blends
this point, a case study was done with ANS VGO and
80% ANS VGO
two ANS diesel fractions, a 620 - 680°F heavy diesel FEED 100% ANS VGO 90% ANS VGO 10% 620-680°F
cut and a 520 - 620°F light diesel material. Table 6 BLEND (680-1000°F) 10% 620-680°F 10% 520-620°F
presents inspections of the ANS VGO and two blends of Conversion, V% 70.00 70.31 70.57
the VGO and diesel fractions. C2 Minus, W% 3.31 3.22 3.11
LPG, V% 23.30 23.58 23.92
LPG Olefinicity, 56.8 55.9 54.7
TABLE 6 V%
Properties of ANS VGO/Diesel Blends Gasoline, V% 55.40 55.53 55.68
LCO, V% 15.05 15.81 16.70
Bottoms, V% 14.95 13.88 12.73
100% ANS 80% ANS VGO
FEED VGO 90% ANS VGO Coke, W% 4.79 4.77 4.74
10% 620-680°F
BLEND (680-1000°F) 10% 620-680°F 10% 520-620°F
API 19.8 20.4 21.4 Table 9 shows that while the LCO API increases as
Aniline Pt., 175.6 174.0 171.3 the lighter components are added to the feed, the
°F
Sulfur, W% 1.20 1.18 1.12 bottoms API is slightly reduced due to the higher
Nitrogen, 0.17 0.16 0.14 conversion and the lower yield of bottoms. Gasoline
W% octanes are not significantly affected by the addition of
Con. 0.27 0.24 0.22
Carbon,
diesel. The tendency of the lighter components to make
W% lower gasoline octanes is offset by the higher catalyst to
K Factor 11.67 11.67 11.67 oil ratio, which tends to increase octane numbers.
H Content, 12.00 12.10 12.20
W%
Overall, the total product value is shown to increase as
VABP, °F 843 824 800 the diesel components are added to the FCC feed.

Table 7 shows the effects of adding the diesel TABLE 9

fractions on the heat balance of a commercial operation. Product Properties and Product Values for
Adding 10% of the heavy diesel cut reduces the VGO/Diesel Blends
regenerator temperature by 11°F, increasing the 100% ANS 80% ANS VGO
catalyst to oil ratio by about 4%. An additional 10% of FEED VGO 90% ANS VGO 10% 620-680°F
light diesel reduces the regenerator temperature by BLEND (680-1000°F) 10% 620-680°F 10% 520-620°F
another 19°F further increasing the catalyst to oil ratio. LCO API 14.7 14.9 15.4
Bottoms API -1.2 -1.4 -1.5
Gasoline RON 90.8 90.8 90.8
TABLE 7 Gasoline MON 80.0 80.0 80.1
FCC Operating Conditions for VGO/Diesel Blends
Prod. Value, 28.59 28.65 28.72
$/bbl
100% ANS 80% ANS VGO
FEED VGO 90% ANS VGO 10% 620-680°F
BLEND (680-1000°F) 10% 620-680°F 10% 520-620°F The above results do not mean than refiners should
Reactor T, 980 980 980 routinely include diesel-boiling fractions in FCC feed.
°F The diesel fractions have high values in the diesel pool
Feed T, °F 500 500 500
1378 1367 1348
and even though they give higher product values in the
Regen. T, °F
Cat/Oil, W/W 5.2 5.4 5.7 FCC than the VGO, the high “cost” of these feed
components results in lower FCC margins. This point is
The yields from these three feeds are presented in illustrated in Table 10, which shows the effective yields
Table 8. As more and lighter diesel material is added to and economics for the diesel fractions, compared with
the FCC feed, the conversion increases due to the the results on the VGO.
higher catalyst to oil ratio, while the yields of gasoline,
LPG and LCO rise. The diesel addition causes the
yields of dry gas, coke and bottoms to decrease.

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 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

TABLE 10 contaminant metals levels (nickel, vanadium and

Effective FCC Yields and Economics for sodium) as well as the increased delta coke that
ANS Diesel Fractions originates from the VTB leading to higher regenerator
temperatures. The heat balance adjustments that the
100% ANS
FEED VGO ANS 620- ANS 520-
refiner is forced to make to keep the regenerator
BLEND (680-1000°F) 680°F CUT 620°F CUT temperature under control when processing VTB will
Conversion, 70.00 73.10 72.91 ultimately lead to substantial increases in the coke yield
V%
and the air requirement.
C2 Minus, 3.31 2.41 2.12
W%
LPG, V% 23.30 26.10 27.00 To illustrate the benefits and problems associated
LPG 56.8 47.8 43.9
Olefinicity,
with cracking VTB, a case study was undertaken to
V% examine the yields and economics that would result
Gasoline, 55.40 56.70 57.03 from processing a paraffinic (Minas) and an aromatic
V%
LCO, V% 15.05 22.65 24.71
(ANS) VTB. Table 11 shows the properties of these to
Bottoms, V% 14.95 4.25 2.38 residual oil fractions.
Coke, W% 4.79 4.59 4.47
TABLE 11
Product 28.59 29.19 29.35
Value, $/bbl VTB (1000°F+) Properties
Feed Value, 22.50 25.90 26.75
$/bbl RESID SOURCE MINAS ANS
Margin, $/bbl 6.09 3.29 2.60 API 17.7 7.0
Sulfur, Wt% 0.17 2.80
Table 10 shows clearly that compared with the Nitrogen, Wt% 0.35 0.62
VGO, the diesel fractions give higher conversion levels, CCR, Wt% 12.1 19.1
Nickel, PPM 37 50
higher yields of gasoline, LPG and LCO, with Vanadium, PPM 0.5 123
significantly lower yields of coke, dry gas and bottoms.
Nevertheless, even though the product values from the Not surprisingly, the Minas resid contains less
diesel fractions are higher than that obtained with the carbon residue, less sulfur and nitrogen, lower levels of
VGO, the margins are substantially lower, due to the metals and a much higher ratio of nickel to vanadium.
high values of the diesel feeds. All of these trends are typical of the comparison of
paraffinic and aromatic residual oils.
The conclusion is that while diesel oils give
relatively good FCC yields, they should not be included The case study compares the results that are
in the FCC feed as long as reasonably priced VGO is obtained when 5 volume percent of each of these VTB’s
available. In situations where the refinery is long on is added to the corresponding base gas oil. The Minas
diesel blend stock or where the price of diesel is base feed is the same material as shown in column 1 of
abnormally low relative to gasoline, then cracking of Table 1. The ANS base feed is the blend of ANS VGO
diesel oils may be more attractive. Another potential and diesel components from column 3 of Table 6.
benefit to cracking diesel oils is that it may allow the Table 12 presents the properties of the feed blends
refiner to process some additional amount of heavy feed used in the case study.
(VTB) since the diesel’s beneficial effect on delta coke
will offset some of the higher delta coke making
tendency of the VTB.

The Impacts of Adding VTB

Cracking even modest amounts of VTB in the FCC

unit can be difficult and creates numerous challenges.
The difficulty and the economics are strongly related to
VTB quality. The problems are mostly related to high

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 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

TABLE 12 TABLE 13
Properties of Base Feeds and Resid Blends FCC Operating Conditions for Resid Blends

ANS MINAS MINAS + ANS BASE ANS BASE

MINAS MINAS + 5% ANS BASE + BASE 5% VTB + 5% VTB
BASE VTB BASE 5% VTB Reactor T, 980 980 980 980
API 31.7 30.9 21.4 20.6 °F
Sulfur, W% 0.09 0.094 1.12 1.21 Feed T, °F 500 350 500 350
Nitrogen, 0.06 0.077 0.14 0.17 Regen. T, 1327 1370 1348 1400
W% °F
Nickel, PPM 0.4 2.4 0.1 2.9 Cat/Oil, 6.1 6.0 5.6 5.5
Vanadium, <0.1 <0.1 0.2 6.8 W/W
PPM Cat. Use, 0.20 0.35 0.20 0.50
CCR, Wt% 0.20 0.85 0.27 1.26 LB/bbl
ECAT Ni, 600 2090 162 1890
To simulate the performance that would be PPM
ECAT V, <100 <100 325 4440
obtained with the resid containing feeds in a commercial PPM
FCC unit, the base commercial data on the gas oil feeds Disp. Stm., 2.0 4.0 2.0 4.0
W%
was input into the RPS FCC Simulation Program.
Optimized model runs were then generated for the VTB
containing feeds. The following adjustments were made Table 13 indicates that even with the adjustments
with the resid feeds to optimize the performance: outlined above, adding VTB results in significant
increases in regenerator temperatures and ECAT
♦ Feed temperature was minimized at 350°F. This metals levels. Table 14 presents the resulting yields
and economics for these cases.
adjustment would only be made if sufficient air were
available to handle the resulting increase in coke
yield. TABLE 14
FCC Yields & Economics for Resid Blends
♦ The rate of dispersion steam was increased to 4
wt% of the fresh feed. This adjustment is made to
both minimize the regenerator temperature ANS
MINAS MINAS + ANS BASE BASE +
increase and to better atomize and vaporize the BASE 5% VTB 5% VTB
resid feed. Conversion, V% 85.6 85.0 70.6 69.3
C2 Minus, W% 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.3
♦ The fresh catalyst addition rate was increased as LPG, V% 33.4 32.0 23.9 22.0
needed to maintain a constant ECAT activity level. Gasoline, V% 65.4 64.9 55.7 54.2
LCO, V% 9.0 9.2 16.7 17.6
♦ Antimony was added for nickel passivation. Bottoms, V% 5.4 5.8 12.7 13.1
♦ MVP (an Ondeo-Nalco additive) was used for Coke, W% 4.7 5.7 4.7 5.7
LPG Olefinicity, 55.5 55.9 54.7 65.4
vanadium passivation. V%

Gasoline RON 88.5 89.0 90.8 91.6

Table 13 presents key operating conditions for the
Gasoline MON 78.6 78.6 80.1 80.0
4 feeds from Table 12. LCO API 22.8 22.3 15.4 14.8
Bottoms API 9.4 8.8 -1.5 -1.5

Net Prod. Val., 30.15 29.76 28.72 28.30

$/bbl

Adding 5% of the Minas VTB results in relatively

small changes to the yields and product properties.
Conversion declines by 0.6 volume percent and the
yields of gasoline and LPG decrease by moderate
amounts, while the yields of LCO and bottoms increase
slightly. Even with this paraffinic resid, however, the

6
 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

coke yield rises substantially due to the adjustments
that were necessary in the feed temperature and the
dispersion steam rate to keep the regenerator
temperature rise to a manageable level. The net
product value calculations for the resid cases include
deductions for the cost of the additional steam, the cost
of the incremental catalyst addition and the costs of the
metals passivators.
As one would expect, the yield shifts seen when
adding the ANS VTB are greater than observed with the
Minas VTB. The loss of conversion is larger as is the
loss of gasoline yield. The increase in olefinicities of the
products is also greater due to the larger increase in the
metals levels on the ECAT and the bigger drop in the
catalyst to oil ratio. The olefinicity increase actually
helps the economics because the LPG olefins are
priced higher than the LPG saturates. In addition, the
increase in the gasoline olefinicity helps to improve the
gasoline octane by a greater amount in the ANS VTB
case.
The effective yields and economics obtained from
cracking these two VTB’s are shown in Table 15.
if charge rate must be reduced to allow incorporating
the ANS VTB into the feed, then it would not make
economic sense to crack the ANS resid.
This simplified example was meant to illustrate an
important point that is generally true. If the FCCU has
sufficient flexibility, the economics of cracking paraffinic
VTB streams are usually positive and are most often
superior to the economics of cracking aromatic VTB’s.
The main reason for this is the high vanadium levels
that are most often present in aromatic residual oils.
How FCC Feed Hydrotreating Affects FCC
Yields And Economics
There have been numerous articles on the effects
of FCC feed hydrotreating and all have shown similar
trends. The following paragraphs show an example of
the effects of hydrotreating ANS VGO and the impacts
of hydrotreating on a typical FCC operation. The focus
of the discussion, however, will be to compare FCC
feed hydrotreating with FCC product treating as
competing options for meeting the future targets for low
sulfur gasoline and diesel fuels.

TABLE 15 Table 16 presents the properties of virgin ANS

Effective FCC Yields & Economics for VGO and compares them with the properties of the
Minas & ANS Resids VGO after severe hydrotreating (95% desulfurization).
VTB SOURCE MINAS ANS
Hydrotreating increases the API gravity of the VGO by
Conversion, V% 73.6 44.6 about 5.5 numbers, increases the aniline point by 10°F,
C2 Minus, W% 2.9 7.1 lowers the nitrogen level by about 50%, increases the
Gasoline, V% 55.4 25.7 hydrogen content by 0.95 wt% and lowers the VABP by
LCO, V% 13.0 34.7
Bottoms, V% 13.4 20.7 24°F. The VABP reduction is the result of a small
Coke, W% 22.9 23.9 amount of hydrocracking that occurs in the hydrotreater.
Net Product Value, 22.35 20.32
$/bbl VTB
TABLE 16
Margin On VTB, $/bbl 7.35 6.52 Impact Of Hydrotreating on ANS VGO Properties
Margin On VGO, $/bbl 5.65 6.22
FEED ANS VGO HT ANS VGO
API 19.8 25.4
The effective yields from the Minas VTB are quite 175.6 185.6
Aniline Pt., °F
attractive, and the margin on the VTB is significantly Sulfur, W% 1.20 0.06
higher than obtained on the Minas VGO. Thus, it is Nitrogen, W% 0.17 0.08
most likely profitable to crack Minas VTB even if the Con. Carbon, 0.27 0.09
W%
refiner is forced to reduce total charge rate slightly to K Factor 11.67 12.02
stay within unit limits. H Content, W% 12.00 12.95
VABP, °F 843 819
With ANS VTB, the effective yields are less
attractive, although the margin on the VTB is still Table 17 summarizes the effects of hydrotreating
comparable to that seen with ANS VGO. Nevertheless, the feed on the FCC operation. These results were

7
 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

generated from the RPS FCC Simulation Program and Table 17 also points out that the LCO sulfur from
were done assuming that the FCC unit was air rate the hydrotreated feed operation is substantially lower
limited. than the LCO sulfur in the base case. This will
significantly reduce the cost of producing ultra low sulfur
The results in Table 17 are consistent with other diesel.
studies showing that FCC feed hydrotreating can
increase conversion by 8 to 12 volume percent while Finally, Table 17 shows that FCC feed
decreasing the yield of dry gas and substantially hydrotreating greatly reduces the level of SOx from the
lowering delta coke. In this example, FCC conversion is FCC regenerator, eliminating the need for the use of
increased by 10.2 volume percent and dry gas yield is SOx reduction agents or the installation of a flue gas
reduced from 3.3 wt% to 2.9 wt%. Because of the scrubber.
improvement in delta coke, the riser temperature could
be increased and the feed temperature could be With all of the advantages shown above for FCC
decreased slightly without increasing the coke yield or feed hydrotreating, it might appear that this would
the air rate. These adjustments helped to increase the obviously be the best choice for refiners when deciding
gasoline octane number so that the (R+M)/2 was how to meet the future low sulfur gasoline and diesel
improved by 0.65 numbers over the base case. regulations. Many refiners, however, are opting for
product treating options over FCC feed hydrotreating,
It is important to note that in this example, the FCC primarily due to the lower capital cost for product
gasoline sulfur was reduced to 46 ppm, a level low treating. While this is understandable, it may not always
enough so that it could be successfully blended with be the best choice based on long term economics.
other lower sulfur gasoline components into a gasoline
pool that requires a maximum of 30 ppm sulfur. Table 18 compares a base case which includes
gasoline and diesel treating as a means to meet future
TABLE 17 ultra low sulfur product specifications with FCC feed
Hydrotreating Effects on FCC Performance hydrotreating for ANS VGO. Using the yields from
with ANS VGO Table 17, the feed hydrotreating case shows a $1.61/bbl
advantage in FCC product value.
FEED ANS VGO HT ANS VGO
Reactor T, °F 980 995 TABLE 18
Feed T, °F 500 465
Economics of Hydrotreating ANS VGO
Regen. T, °F 1378 1300
Cat/Oil, W/W 5.2 7.0
Air Rate BASE BASE FEED ANS VGO HT ANS VGO
FCC Product Value, $/bbl 28.59 30.20
Conversion, V% 70.0 80.2
C2 Minus, W% 3.3 2.9 HT Operating Costs, $/bbl - (1.70)
LPG, V% 23.3 28.5 HT Product Value, $/bbl - 1.20
Gasoline, V% 55.4 63.9
LCO, V% 15.05 12.8 Cost To Reduce Gasoline (0.87) -
Sulfur, $/bbl FCC Feed
Bottoms, V% 14.95 7.0
Coke, W% 4.79 4.79 Cost To Reduce LCO Sulfur, (0.30) (0.17)
$/bbl FCC Feed
LPG Olefinicity, 56.8 54.9
Cost To Reduce SOx (0.07) -
V%

Gasoline RON 90.8 91.4 Net Product Value, $/bbl FCC 27.35 29.53
Feed
Gasoline MON 80.0 80.7
∆ Product Value, $/bbl Base +2.18
LCO API 14.7 15.5
Bottoms API -1.2 -1.6
HT Benefit, $MM/yr. - 47.7
Gasoline Sulfur, 1299 46
PPM (60 MBPD FCCU)
Est. Capital Investment, $MM 105.0 270.0
LCO Sulfur, 1.3 0.2
W%
Regenerator 1192 60 ∆ Investment For Feed HT, - 165.0
SOx, VPPM $MM
Payback For Feed HT, Years - 3.5

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 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar
From these base FCC product values, however,
several deductions must be made. For the base case
(unhydrotreated feed), the cost to treat the gasoline
must be subtracted. This cost includes the cost to
operate the gasoline treater as well as the costs of
losses in yield and octane of the gasoline. In addition,
the cost of treating the LCO must be deducted along
with the cost of reducing SOx emissions.
For the FCC feed hydrotreating case, the cost of
operating the hydrotreater must be factored in, although
the value of some small amount of light products
generated in the hydrotreater are credited against the
operating costs. The cost of further treating the LCO
must also be included. It should be noted that this cost
is significantly lower than seen in the unhydrotreated
feed case.
With all of the costs included, the net benefit for
FCC feed hydrotreating in this example is $2.18/bbl of
FCC feed. For a 60,000 BPD FCC unit, this amounts to
approximately $47.7 MM/year.
The reason that more FCC feed hydrotreaters are
not being planned is the high capital cost. Using a
typical value of $2750/BPD of capacity for a moderate
to high pressure FCC feed hydrotreater, the capital cost
would be about $165 MM for a 60,000 BPD unit.
However, assuming that a hydrogen plant would be
required and including the offsites, a TIC for the entire
hydrotreater complex of $250 MM would not be
unreasonable. Adding a $20 MM upgrade of the diesel
hydrotreater to produce ultra low sulfur diesel fuel would
bring the total investment for this case to $270 MM.
For the product treating case, the investments
include a 33,000 bpd gasoline treater, with an estimated
TIC (including offsites) of $55 MM, a flue gas scrubber
with an estimated TIC of $20 MM and an upgrade of the
diesel hydrotreater with an estimated TIC of $30 MM.
The total investment for this case is $105 MM.
The ultimate bottom line is that in this example, the
benefits for FCC hydrotreating are about $48 MM/year
on an incremental investment of approximately $165
MM. This brings the payout period for the hydrotreater
to about 3.5 years. Obviously, the economics for feed
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hydrotreating are better if a hydrogen plant is not
required and improve as the cost of hydrogen declines.
The above example shows the difficult choice
facing refiners. They can either spend a large amount
of capital for product treating units that offer a negative
economic return (due to loss of either yield or octane),
or they can spend a substantially larger amount of
capital for a feed hydrotreater that offers a modest
positive return. While the choice is not obvious or easy,
in the long run, refiners will profit economically from
installing FCC feed hydrotreaters, but they will have to
risk a lot of capital to harvest the benefits.
The following lists summarize some of the major
advantages and disadvantages of both feed
hydrotreating and product treating options.
Advantages/Factors Favoring Feed Hydrotreating:
♦ Better FCC yields and FCC gasoline octanes.
♦ Lower LCO sulfur levels & higher LCO cetane
numbers.
♦ No need for flue gas scrubbing.
♦ Lower yields of dry gas.
♦ Positive economic return.
♦ Economics improve if:
♦ Cost of hydrogen is low.
♦ Cost of capital is low.
♦ Values of octane and cetane are high.
Disadvantages/Factors Against Feed
Hydrotreating:
♦ Feed flexibility may be limited by hydrotreater
design (i.e. ability to run VTB or other poor quality
streams could be limited).
♦ Unit upsets would seriously impair the refiner’s
ability to produce saleable products.
♦ Capital cost is very high.
♦ FCC conversion could be limited in units that are
constrained by wet gas compressor capacity due to
high LPG yields. This could mean higher capital
costs are required (for gas plant expansions) to
achieve the potential yield improvements.
 Effects of Key Feed Properties on FCC Unit Performance
Thirteen Refining Seminar

ultra low sulfur gasoline and diesel fuels. The

Advantages/Factors Favoring Product Treating economics are superior to product treating options, but
Options: the high capital costs will push many refiners to choose
the product-treating route.
♦ Lower capital costs.
♦ Lower hydrogen consumption.
♦ Less incremental sulfur plant capacity is required.
♦ Capital cost advantage is greater if the FCC feed
contains VTB, coker gas oils or other poor quality
stocks.
♦ May be able to achieve lower gasoline sulfur levels
than currently required thereby enhancing flexibility
in gasoline blending (especially for RFG).

Disadvantages/Factors Against Product Treating

Options:

♦ Lower yields of gasoline and lower gasoline

octanes than seen with the current FCC operation
or than would be seen with feed treating. (Note:
Some treating options offer the ability to regain
octane at the expense of additional yield loss).
♦ If gasoline treater operation is not properly
optimized, octane loss can be greater than design.
♦ Some type of regenerator SOx control may be
required on the FCCU as future emissions
regulations are enforced.
♦ The diesel hydrotreater will have to be upgraded to
a more significant extent than would be required for
a feed hydrotreating case.

CONCLUSIONS

Far more than any other single variable, FCC feed

properties profoundly impact FCC performance. For
straight run VGO streams, hydrogen content is an
excellent indicator of the conversion and yields that can
be expected from the FCCU. Light and heavy diesel
fractions crack very efficiently in the FCCU, but cracking
margins on these components are typically lower than
achieved with VGO, due to the high value of the diesel
streams. Cracking margins on paraffinic residual oils
(VTB) tend to be higher than those on aromatic VTB
and are generally higher than can be achieved on the
corresponding VGO, provided that the FCCU has
sufficient operating flexibility. Finally, hydrotreating FCC
feed is a viable option for refiners looking to product

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