Development of a Novel Refinery

Process: From Laboratory Experiments

to Commercial Applications
Authors: Mohammad H. Al-Tayyar, Allan B. Fox, Christopher F. Dean, Yuichiro Fujiyama,
Toshiaki Okuhara, Dr. Abdullah M. Aitani and Mian Rahat Saeed

ABSTRACT polypropylene (PP) improves refinery margins and increases

revenues because of the high value of PP1, 2.
High-severity fluid catalytic cracking (HS-FCC) is an emerging
Increasing the yield of the valuable light olefins, especially
process for the conversion of heavy oils into lighter
propylene and butylene, remains a major challenge for many
hydrocarbon products and light olefins. The HS-FCC project
refiners. As global petrochemical demand for propylene
is a partnership in technology innovation from conception to
continues to grow, opportunities for improved production
full scale commercialization with Saudi Aramco, King Fahd
routes will emerge. Propylene is used as a feedstock for a wide
University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Nippon Oil
range of polymers, product intermediates and chemicals.
Corporation and Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum. This
Major propylene derivatives include polypropylene,
technology combines mechanical modifications with
acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, oxo-alcohols and cumene, and
conventional fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), including changes
account for almost 90% of global propylene demand. The
in operating conditions and catalyst formulations. The process
processing of propylene to polypropylene improves refinery
reaction scheme consists of a down-flow (downer) reactor and
margins and increases revenues because of the high value of
regenerator. Other features include a high reaction
polypropylene. Obviously, a need for an economical propylene
temperature, short contact time and high catalyst-to-oil ratio.
generating process is required to meet these demands for light
The HS-FCC process has been successfully demonstrated in a
olefins (C3 through C5).
30 barrel per day (BPD) plant at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura
Conventional FCC units typically produce about 3 wt% -
refinery and in a 500 BPD cold-flow model at Nippon Oil’s
6 wt% propylene depending on feed type, operating
Yokohama refinery. Experimental runs were conducted using
conditions, and type of catalyst. Despite the options available
various catalysts, additives and feed oils. Pilot plant results
to increase propylene yields and yields of other light olefins,
demonstrated the advantage of the downer in suppressing
intense research activity in this field is still being conducted.
back mixing, thus increasing the yield of light olefins and
These options include the use of high-selective FCC catalysts,
reducing dry gas and coke formation. Using paraffinic crude
ZSM-5 olefin boosting catalyst additives, high-severity
base vacuum gas oil (VGO), a propylene yield of 25 wt% was
operation (higher reaction temperature), reprocessing (recycle)
obtained under HS-FCC reaction conditions.
of FCC naphtha, and emerging propylene-oriented FCC
processes. ZSM-5 additives can increase propylene to about 8
INTRODUCTION
wt% while improvements in FCC catalysts, process design,
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) continues to be the dominant hardware and operation severity can boost propylene yield
conversion process for gasoline and light olefins production from 5% to 25% or higher. Increasing the yield of the
with a global capacity of 14.2 million BPD. The growing valuable light olefins, especially propylene and butylenes
demand for naphtha and propylene is just one of the reasons remain a major challenge for many refiners worldwide. This
why worldwide capacity continues to increase. While refiners need for increased propylene production from FCC processes
are under pressure to process heavier crude, the FCC product is key to future refinery development.
slate is increasingly shifting towards light olefins production
(mainly propylene). Currently, FCC supplies 30% of the Down-Flow Short High Catalyst/
Reactor Contact Time Oil Ratio
world’s propylene, and the remaining is co-produced from
ethylene steam cracking of naphtha or other feedstocks. Other Minimizes Reduces thermal Compensates
sources of propylene in the refinery arise primarily from back-mixing cracking reduced conversion
visbreaking and coking.
Reduces undesirable Reduces undesirable Enhances catalytic
Increasing the yield of the valuable light olefins, especially
byproducts successive reactions cracking
propylene and butylenes remain a major challenge for many
refiners worldwide. The processing of propylene to Table 1. Features of the HS-FCC process

2 SPRING 2008 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY

HIGH SEVERITY FLUID CATALYTIC CRACKING (HS-FCC) The HS-FCC unit is operated under considerably higher
PROCESS FEATURES reaction temperatures (550 °C to 650 °C) than conventional
FCC units. Under these reaction temperatures, thermal
The main features of the new process take into consideration
cracking of hydrocarbons also takes place concurrently with
the operations of conventional FCC to maximize the
catalytic cracking, resulting in increased undesirable products,
production of petrochemical feedstock as presented in Table 1.
especially dry gas and coke.
The main features comprise of a down-flow reactor (downer),
high reaction temperature (550 °C to 650 °C), short reaction Short Contact Time
contact time, and high catalyst/oil ratio. A down-flow reactor
The time-temperature relationship for the conventional FCC
system has been adopted for the HS-FCC process to minimize
suggests there is an optimum operating window. If the
back mixing, and to reduce undesirable byproducts.
residence time is too low, the bottom cracking suffers while
The process scheme of the HS-FCC process consists of
high reactor temperatures and long residence times promote
several steps such as reaction, stripping, regeneration and
dry gas production. The short residence time of feed and
separation3-7. Oil feedstock is dispersed with steam and fed to
product hydrocarbons in the down-flow reactor should be
the system, then contacted with the hot regenerated catalyst in
favorable to minimize thermal cracking. Additional
a downer reactor and is catalytically cracked. Coke deposited
undesirable successive reactions such as hydrogen transfer
on the catalyst is stripped with steam and transferred to the
reactions, which consume olefins, are being suppressed. In
regenerator where air is introduced and coke on the catalyst is
order to attain the short residence time, the catalyst and the
removed by combustion. The hot regenerated catalyst is
products have to be separated immediately at the reactor
returned to the reactor via a catalyst hopper at a controlled
outlet. For this purpose, a high efficiency product separator
circulation rate to achieve heat balance of the system.
has been developed capable of suppressing side reactions
Down-Flow Reactor (oligomerization and hydrogenation of light olefins) and coke
formation accelerated by condensation.
A down-flow reactor system has been adopted for the HS-FCC
process. The catalyst and the feed flow downward with High Catalyst/Oil Ratio
gravity to minimize back mixing in the reactor and results in a
In order to compensate for the decrease in feed conversion due
narrow distribution of reaction residence time. The selection
to the short contact time, the HS-FCC process has to be
of an optimum residence time allows the maximization of
operated at high catalyst to oil ratios (C/O), in the range of 15
intermediate products such as gasoline and light olefins. The
to 40. As previously mentioned, the other advantage of
down-flow reactor permits higher catalyst/oil ratio because the
operation at high C/O is the enhanced contribution of
lifting of catalyst by vaporized feed is not required as in
catalytic cracking over thermal cracking. Catalytic and
conventional FCC units.
thermal cracking proceed simultaneously in FCC reactions. It
As with most reactor designs involving competing reactions
is well-known that the ethylene yield is lower and isobutylene
and secondary product degradation, there is a concern over
yield is higher in catalytic cracking compared to thermal
catalyst-feed contacting, back mixing and control of the
cracking at the same conversion. By increasing the C/O ratio,
reaction time and temperature. The down-flow reaction would
the effects of operating at a high reaction temperature
ensure plug flow without back mixing. Since the FCC process
(thermal cracking) are minimized. High C/O increases
involves successive reactions, the desired products such as
conversion levels and decreases temperature drop during the
olefins and gasoline are considered intermediate products. A
endothermic cracking reactions. Therefore, high C/O
suppression of back mixing is the key to achieve maximum
maintains heat balance and helps minimize thermal cracking,
yield of these intermediates.
over-cracking, and hydrogen transfer reactions.
High-Reaction Temperature
Optimized Catalyst
Conventional FCC units are typically operated at low to
From the point of view of the cracking catalyst, the most
moderate severity (510 °C to 530 °C riser outlet temperature)
common way of reducing the hydrogen transfer (HT) reaction
with flexibility to swing between maximum gasoline and
is to reduce the framework alumina content in the zeolite
distillate modes. Attempts to operate the FCC units at high
component in the catalyst particle. This tends to reduce the
severity to produce more light olefins are not economically
acid site density or the reduction of the zeolite adsorption
attractive because incremental light olefins will come at the
(especially for olefins), resulting in increased selectivity to
expense of secondary cracking (overcracking) of gasoline. The
olefins in the C3 to C5 product fraction. Another common
secondary cracking of gasoline will result in excessive dry gas
method is to add ZSM-5 olefin boosting catalyst additives to
(C2 and lighter) yields. While the FCC unit has the capability
the cracking catalyst. In general, ZSM-5 cracks the olefins
of running at very high reactor temperatures, this approach
before they undergo the hydrogen transfer reaction. ZSM-5
was first considered to improve the conventional FCC process.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY SPRING 2008 3

 Parameters Riser Pilot Plant Downer Pilot Plant Demo Plant Plant Cold Flow Model
Capacity, BPD 0.1 0.1 30 3,000 30 500
Location Yokohama Dhahran Ras Tanura Mizushima Yokohama
Engineering Contractor Xytel Xytel Chiyoda NA Chiyoda
Test Completed 1999 2001 2005 Ongoing 2000 2006
Davison’s Tested various Tested fluidization, feed
Modified DCR with
Remarks Circulating Riser feeds, catalysts Design Stage injection and catalyst-
catalyst hopper
(DCR) and additives product separation

Table 2. Stages of HS-FCC process development

also is used to increase gasoline octane by enhancing the

isomerization of olefins (normally when the ZSM-5 cracking
activity drops). Catalyst
Hopper
Oil Feed

EXPERIMENTAL Flue Gas

Stages of Process Development

Dispersion
Fresh Steam Down Flow
The HS-FCC process has successfully passed several phases of Catalyst Reactor
testing at various feed capacities at the pilot plant level (0.1
BPD), demonstration plant level (30 BPD), and cold flow Gas
Product
models (30 BPD and 500 BPD). The chronology of various
testing stages and units used are presented in Table 2. The
conceptual process and preliminary feasibility study of the HS-
FCC process started in the mid 1990s. The current phase is the Regenerator Stripper Product
planning stage for a 3,000 BPD plant to be constructed at the Stabilizer
Regeneration
Mizushima refinery in Japan. For a 40,000 BPD conceptual Air
unit and depending on the operating mode, the HS-FCC Stripping
Steam Liquid
doubles the amount of light olefins. At high-olefins mode, the Product

unit provides three times more light olefins accompanied with

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of 0.1 BPD Downer pilot plant.
a minimum loss in gasoline. The production of propylene is
two to four times higher than the conventional FCC process. containing hydrogen exchanged ultrastable Y type zeolite
(H-USY) with low acid site density. In some experiments, the
Pilot Plant
catalyst was blended with 10 wt% commercial ZSM-5
Experiments were conducted in a 0.1 BPD downer pilot plant additive (supplied by Grace, USA). The base catalyst and
and a similar conventional riser type pilot plant. Both pilot additive were deactivated with 100% steam at 810 °C for 6
plants were operated at similar conditions, catalyst and hours before evaluation in a fluid-bed steamer.
hydrotreated vacuum gas oil (VGO). Typical operating Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the downer pilot
conditions of the two pilot plants are presented in Table 3. plant consisting of a downer reactor, stripper, regenerator and
The base catalyst was a low cracking activity catalyst catalyst hopper. Feed oil is charged into the upper part of the
downer reactor together with dispersion steam. Regenerated
Type of Reactor catalyst is also charged to the top of the reactor from the
Parameters
Downer Riser catalyst hopper. At the outlet of the downer, product
Reactor Outlet Temperature °C 600 600 hydrocarbons are separated immediately from catalyst in the
Pressure (Stripper Top) kPa 98 98 stripper, where heavy oil adsorbed on the spent catalyst is
stripped by steam, and then spent catalyst is sent to the
Feed Rate kg/h 0.4-1.2 0.7-1.0 regenerator where it mixes with air to combust the coke
Feed Preheat °C 280 280 produced in the reactions. The catalyst circulation rate was
Catalyst Inventory L 8 2 calculated from the delta coke and coke yield.
Steam Pretreatment for 6 hours °C 810 810
Feedstock Oil and Product Analysis
Circulation Rate kg/h 13-40 13-18
Cat/Oil Ratio kg/kg 13-40 13-30 Vacuum gas oil and atmospheric residue (AR), both
unhydrotreated (virgin) and hydrotreated, were evaluated.
Table 3. Operating conditions of Downer and Riser pilot plants
Table 4 presents typical properties of the various feed oils. The

4 SPRING 2008 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY

 Arabian Light Crude* Low-Sulfur Crude East Asia
Property
VGO* AR VGO AR
Density @ 15 °C, g/cc 0.897 0.914 0.862 0.877
Viscosity @ 100 °C, mm²/sec 8.31 15.91 5.22 9.56
Conradson Carbon, wt% 0.15 2.74 0.18 4.73
C wt% 85.9 86.5 85.9 86.2
Composition H wt% 14.0 13.4 14.0 13.6
H/C ratio 1.94 1.85 1.94 1.88
Basic Nitrogen, ppm 18 160 170 400

Table 4. Typical properties of various feed oils *Hydrotreated vacuum gas oil (VGO) and atmospheric residue (AR)

Demonstration Plant

Based on the results of the pilot plant, the technology was

scaled to a 30 BPD demonstration plant, Fig. 2. The plant was
operated for a period of about 18 months including several
planned shut downs for inspection and modification. The
main purpose of the operation was to confirm the operability
of the feed nozzle and injection systems. The first stage
product-catalyst separator was also a new design, different
from the conventional cyclone separator. The operation of the
demonstration plant was very successful and the obtained
results were very close to those of the 0.1 BPD pilot plant.
The demonstration plant consists of the following sections:
• Feed oil and catalyst mixer
• Reaction section (downer reactor)
• Product and catalyst separator
• Stripper
• Regenerator with a riser-type lift line
• Catalyst hopper

Demo Plant Description

Figure 2 includes a simplified schematic diagram of the

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram (Top) and overview (Bottom) of 30 BPD HS-FCC
demonstration plant at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery.
gaseous product containing C1 to C4, and some of the C5
hydrocarbons, hydrogen and nitrogen was analyzed by Thermal
Conductivity Detector (TCD) and Flame Ionization Detector
(FID) gas chromatography. The liquid product was analyzed by
simulated distillation chromatography to determine the
percentage of gasoline, light cycle oil (LCO) and heavy cycle oil
(HCO) fractions. Coke deposited on spent catalysts was
determined by burning the coke in the presence of oxygen and
analyzing the combustion gas by infrared analyzer.
Demonstration Plant. Feed oil is charged to the mixing zone
where it is mixed with the hot regenerated catalyst from the
catalyst hopper. High-pressure steam disperses the oil and the
mixture moves downward through the reaction zone, where
the liquid feed vaporizes and cracking reactions take place.
The mixture of spent catalyst and hydrocarbon products,
from the reaction zone, enters the gas-solid separation zone.
The spent catalyst is separated from the gas by centrifugal
forces and the catalyst flows to the upper portion of the
stripping zone.
Hydrocarbon gases from the main separator feed a secondary
separator, where the rest of the spent catalyst is separated from
the product gas. Hydrocarbon gases then feed a product-
recovery section. Catalyst separated in the secondary separator
is directed to the stripping zone where heavy hydrocarbons
adsorbed on the catalyst are removed using high-pressure
stripping steam. Vapors of heavy products and un-reacted feed
oil stripped from the spent catalyst are withdrawn from the top
of the stripping zone and sent to the recovery section after

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY SPRING 2008 5

 Arabian Light Crude Low-Sulfur Crude East Asia
Yields
VGO AR VGO AR
C2 4.3 3.8 5.4 5.1
Light Olefins C3 20.7 19.2 25.0 23.8
(wt% feed basis)
C4 17.4 16.6 19.5 18.5
Total 42.4 39.5 49.9 47.4
Dry gas 6.5 6.2 7.8 7.9
LPG 42.4 39.7 49.8 46.7
Others
(wt% feed basis) Gasoline 33.6 35.1 29.0 29.2
LCO+ 14.5 14.6 11.0 11.9
Coke 2.9 4.5 2.3 4.3

Table 5. Effect of feed oil type on product yields in a 0.1 BPD Downer pilot plant

passing through a cyclone. The spent catalyst is transferred to is calculated from the delta coke and coke yield.
the regenerator from the bottom of the stripper.
Regenerator combustion gases lift the regenerated catalyst in EVALUATION RESULTS
the upper portion of the turbulent-phase fluidized bed to the
cone-shaped acceleration zone and then to a riser-type lift line. Pilot Plant Results
The regenerated catalyst is then carried to the catalyst hopper
Experiments were conducted in a 0.1 BPD pilot plant using
located at the end of the lift line. The catalyst circulation rate
various catalysts and hydrotreated VGO and unhydrotreated
9
VGO feedstocks.
The product yields from the downer pilot plant were
Riser compared with a similar conventional riser type pilot plant.
Both pilot plants were operated at similar conditions, catalyst
Dry Gas, (wt%)

7 (low-activity USY) and a hydrotreated VGO. The results are

compared in Fig. 3. Dry gas formation was suppressed due to
the elimination of back-mixing in the downer and the total
Downer
yield of useful products is higher at all conversion levels as
5
compared to the riser. The advantage of downer operation
over riser is clearly shown in Fig. 4. The downer, operated at
HS-FCC conditions, offers more gasoline at the same yield of
3 light olefins compared to the riser. At the same gasoline yield,
70 75 80 85
the downer offers higher light olefins yield. Several studies
Conversion
were conducted with different feed oils, catalysts and olefin
75
60
Downer
More gasoline at
Light Olefins+Gasoline, (wt%)

Downer
50 Same light olefins

70
Gasoline (wt%)

40
Riser

30
Riser
65 20

More light olefins at

10
s ame gas oline

60 0
70 75 80 85 0 10 20 30 40

Conversion (wt%) Light Olefins (wt%)

Fig. 3. Comparison of product yields from Riser and Downer pilot plants. Fig. 4. Advantage of Downer vs. Riser for light olefins yields.

6 SPRING 2008 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY

boosting additive combinations. propylene which showed a 72% increase. The yield of light
The quality of feed also has an impact on the cracking olefins for the base catalyst (with and without ZSM-5)
activity and yield structure. Aromatic base feeds are difficult to increased with increasing conversion. The rise in light olefins
crack and produce more coke, whereas paraffinic base feeds are was accompanied with a drop in gasoline yield since the
easily cracked and can produce more light olefins. A set of addition of ZSM-5 accelerates the cracking of gasoline to
experiments were conducted using different feed oils of various lighter products8.
origins. Vacuum gas oil and AR obtained from paraffinic low-
Demonstration Plant vs. Pilot Plant
sulfur crude of East Asia showed high reactivity. The results are
presented in Table 5. Hydrotreated feed oils gave high propylene The two plants were operated using conventional FCC
and gasoline yield even when hydrotreated AR was used. At low catalyst and untreated VGO. At a C/O ratio of 30, the
C/O ratios, the performance of Arabian Light VGO was better, conversion in both plants was high, about 80 wt%. Gasoline
whereas at higher C/O ratios, the conversion of paraffinic VGO yields were similar in both plants; and a small decrease in the
was higher. In terms of light olefins yield, paraffinic VGO gave yield of light olefins occurred in the demonstration plant.
the best performance. At a C/O ratio of 40, paraffinic VGO Coke was also higher in the demonstration plant. The analysis
yielded 50 wt% light olefins (25 wt% propylene). The gasoline of gasoline from the demonstration plant showed an octane
yield was found higher for hydrotreated VGO compared to number of 99 RON and 71% aromatics, 14% olefins, 5%
paraffinic VGO. A similar trend was also observed for the two n-paraffins and 4% naphthenes. These results confirm that the
atmospheric residue feed oils. pilot plant and demonstration plant performed similarly. It
The addition of 10 wt% ZSM-5 additive was studied at also confirmed that scaling up the process was successful.
600 °C and a C/O ratio of 40. The base catalyst was a low The experimental results using a catalyst (a blend of E-cat,
activity USY FCC catalyst. Typical results are presented in developed catalyst and ZSM-5 based additive) and feed oil
Table 6. The base catalyst yielded about 29 wt% light olefins (obtained from the bottom of the first stage of hydrocracker)
and 45 wt% gasoline. In case of ZSM-5 addition, the yield of are shown in Table 7. This feedstock type will be optimal for
light olefins increased to more than 37%, particularly future HS-FCC units. The propylene yield increased to 20
mass%. The increase in light olefin yield occurred with a drop
in gasoline yield in both plants. This drop was likely due to
Base +10 wt%
Product Yields wt% Base Catalyst ZSM-5 accelerating the cracking of gasoline to lighter products.
ZSM-5
Increased propylene yields are envisioned due to more optimal
Dry Gas 4.6 5.5 catalyst formulations than was used in this study.
Propylene 10.7 18.4
Butylenes 16.1 17.8 PROCESS SCALE-UP AND COMMERCIALIZATION
Total C3-C4 Olefins 28.7 39.3 Prior to process scale-up and commercialization, a 500 BPD
LPG 30.9 40.5 cold flow model of the HS-FCC was operated at the Nippon
Gasoline 45.4 34.0 Oil Yokohama refinery. The 35 meter high model consists of a
catalyst hopper, downer reactor, feed injector and catalyst/
Light Cycle Oil (LCO) 9.4 9.3
product separator. The model studied the hydrodynamics of
Heavy Cycle Oil (HCO) 6.6 7.1 feed dispersion, product separation and catalyst pattern in a
Coke 3.1 3.5 larger scale downer reactor. A relatively new electric
capacitance tomography (ECT) technology was used to study
Table 6. Comparison of ZSM-5 addition in a 0.1 BPD Downer pilot plant
the gas-solid mixing patterns in the feed injector and reactor
sections.
Feed Oil Hydrocracker Bottom The current project phase is in the design, construction and
Proprietary 32% operation of the 3,000 BPD semi-commercial unit in Japan. A
Catalyst Conventional 60% commercial size 40,000 BPD design is also being developed at
this time. In addition, evaluations for utilizing the HS-FCC
Additive 8%
down-flow reactor on existing FCC units are being conducted.
H2-C2 10.4
LPG (Propylene) 46.0 (20.4) CONCLUSION
Product Yields,
Gasoline 35.7
wt% With proper design and operation, the HS-FCC process is in
LCO + 5.5 the best position to produce light olefins for petrochemicals
Coke 2.3 usage. Catalytic cracking under high severity in a downer-type
reactor boosts overall conversion and enhances the production
Table 7. Performance of HS-FCC with hydrotreated feed in demo plan
of gasoline and light olefins. Based on the intrinsic features of

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY SPRING 2008 7

HS-FCC, maximum propylene yield can be obtained by the
combination of an optimized catalyst system and operating
conditions. To continue demonstrating for further advancing
this technology innovation development towards full scale
commercialization, a 3,000 BPD HS-FCC plant is well under
design and will be under construction in 2009 at Nippon Oil’s
Mizushima refinery in Japan. The HS-FCC process will help
many refiners worldwide to meet the expected challenges for
producing increased valuable yields of propylene, butylenes
and other light olefins.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the support of King Fahd University
of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Nippon Oil Corp., Saudi
Aramco and the Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP)
in publishing this article.
REFERENCES
1. Fujiyama, Y., Dean, C., Aitani, A., Redhwi, H. and Saeed,
R.: “Development of High-Severity FCC Process: An
Overview,” Studies in Surface Science & Catalysis, Vol.
166, pp. 4-24, 2007.
2. Fujiyama, Y., Redhwi, H., Aitani, A., Saeed, R. and Dean,
C.: “Demonstration Plant for New FCC Technology Yields
Increased Propylene,” Oil & Gas Journal, September 26,
2005, pp. 62-67.
3. Fujiyama, Y.: “Process for Fluid Catalytic Cracking of
Oils,” U.S. Patent 5,904,837, May 18, 1999.
4. Ino, T. and Ikeda, S.: “Process for Fluid Catalytic Cracking
of Heavy Fraction Oil,” U.S. Patent 5,951,850, September
14, 1999.
5. Fujiyama, Y., et al.: “Process for Fluid Catalytic Cracking
of Heavy Fraction Oils,” U.S. Patent 6,045,690, April 4,
2000.
6. Nishida, S. and Fujiyama, Y.: “Separation Device,” U.S.
Patent 6,146,597, November 14, 2000.
7. Ino, T., Okuhahra, T., Abul-Hamayel, M., Aitani, A. and
Maghrabi, A.: “Fluid Catalytic Cracking Process for Heavy
Oil,” U.S. Patent No. 6,656,346, December 2, 2003.
8. Okuhara, T., Ino, T., Abul-Hamayel, M., Maghrabi, A. and
Aitani, A.: “Effect ZSM-5 Addition on Product
Distribution in a High Severity FCC Mode,” Petroleum
Science and Technology, Vol. 19, pp. 685-695, 2001.
8 SPRING 2008 SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY
BIOGRAPHIES
Mohammad H. Al-Tayyar is a Process
Engineer with 5 years of experience in
Saudi Aramco. He has had various
assignments in engineering, research and
technology and is currently part of the
Research and Development Center’s
(R&DC) Downstream and Strategic
Research Program. Mohammad started his career in the
Process and Controls System Department where he provided
engineering support for various Saudi Aramco refining units.
He later joined the R&DC in 2004 and worked on various
corporate strategic technology initiatives, one of which was
the High-Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC). He has
been involved in the development of the HS-FCC technology
project for more than 4 years. Mohammad has been actively
working on the design, engineering, marketing and commer-
cialization of the HS-FCC unit planned for the Mizushima
Refinery in Tokyo, Japan. In 2003 he received a Bachelor of
Engineering degree with honors in Chemical Engineering and
a Minor in Management of Technology from Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN.
Allan B. Fox is a Senior Scientist with 34
years experience in various research and
development areas, of which 25 have
been with Saudi Aramco. Currently he is
the Project Leader for the Oil to
Chemicals Projects of the Downstream
Research & Development Program
within the Research & Development Center (R&DC), which
includes the successful High-Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking
(HS-FCC) activity. Allan’s experience and responsibilities
have ranged from field chemist at various Saudi Aramco
laboratories to project proponent for the new R&DC
complex and most recently has been involved with the King
Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
project. Allan is a 1974 graduate from University of
Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST)
with a B.Sc. in Chemistry. He is a Charted Scientist and
Chartered Chemist.
 Christopher F. Dean is a Research
Science Consultant from the
Downstream Research & Development
(R&D) Program within the Research &
Development Center (R&DC) with over
30 years experience in the refining
business, 12 of which have been with
Saudi Aramco. He has been involved with the High-Severity
Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) project since joining
Saudi Aramco from the initial pilot plant testing at King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), the
Demonstration Plant operation at Ras Tanura Refinery and
commercialization of the HS-FCC process. Most recently
Chris has been involved with the design basis for the first
3,000 BPD semi-commercial unit with Nippon Oil. He has
published over 25 papers and articles in technical journals
and been issued one patent on Fluid Catalytic Cracking
(FCC) gasoline desulphurization. In addition, Chris has
applied for three other process patents. He holds a B.S.
degree in Chemical Engineering from West Virginia
University, WV and has completed graduate course work in
Business Management, Finance and Marketing.
Yuichiro Fujiyama is the Manager of the
Chemical Refinery Integration Group at
Nippon Oil Corp’s Fuel Research
Laboratory, Yokohama, Japan. His main
research interests are in the area of Fluid
Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process
technology. Yuichiro lived in Saudi
Arabia from 2003 – 2005 while operating the High-Severity
Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) demonstration plant in
the Ras Tanura refinery. He holds a M.S. degree in Applied
Chemistry from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan.
Dr. Abdullah M. Aitani is a Research
Scientist at the Center for Refining and
Petrochemicals of King Fahd University
of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Saudi Arabia. He has 20 years of R&D
experience in refining catalysis and
processes. Abdullah holds a B.S. in
Applied Chemical Engineering from KFUPM and a Ph.D. in
Industrial Chemistry from City University, London, UK. He is
a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
Mian Rahat Saeed is a Research
Engineer at the Center for Refining and
Petrochemicals, King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He has worked
on the High-Severity Fluid Catalytic
Cracking (HS-FCC) process development
for the last 10 years and participated in the operation of the
pilot and demonstration plant. Mian has conducted several
studies to screen Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalysts
and feeds, and provides services to local refineries. He
received a M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from
KFUPM.

Toshiaki Okuhara is a Senior Researcher

of the Chemical Refinery Integration
Group at Nippon Oil Corp’s Fuel
Research Laboratory, Yokohama, Japan.
His main research interests are in the
area of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)
process and catalyst technology. Toshiaki
has lived in Saudi Arabia twice for the joint research project
of High-Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) process
development. During his first stay in-Kingdom, he worked
for King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
(KFUPM) as a visiting researcher from 1999 to 2001.
Toshiaki’s main objective was to evaluate the performance of
the novel “down flow reactor system,” of which he could
successfully optimize the catalyst and reaction conditions for
it. For his second visit, he participated in the operation of the
HS-FCC demonstration plant at the Ras Tanura refinery
from 2003 to 2005. Toshiaki holds a M.S. degree in Applied
Chemistry from Waseda University, Japan.

SAUDI ARAMCO JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY SPRING 2008 9