Removal of catalyst particles in the fluid catalytic cracking slurry oil by chemical settling in a rotating packed bed

Abstract

Removal of catalyst particles from the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) slurry oil is of crucial significance for its efficient utilization. In this work, the removal of catalyst particles from FCC slurry oil was performed in a stirring tank reactor (STR) and the optimal operating conditions in STR were obtained. Under the optimal operating conditions (900 rpm, 30 min, 95 °C, 24 h, 500 μg/g settling agent), the ash content in the FCC slurry oil treated by the chemical settling can be reduced from 5620 μg/g to 320 μg/g. These results showed that stirring speed, dosage of the settling agent, and mixing time are important to improve the removal efficiency of catalyst particles. Moreover, a rotating packed bed (RPB), as an intensified micromixing device, was employed to intensify the removal of catalyst particles from FCC slurry oil. The ash content in the FCC slurry oil treated by the chemical settling can be reduced from 5620 μg/g to 270 μg/g in RPB under the optimal operating conditions. The removal efficiency of the ash in RPB was increased by 15.6 % with respect to those obtained in STR. This work could provide relevant guidelines to rationally design efficient route for the removal of catalyst particles from FCC slurry oil.