Rocky Mountain Salvage and Equipment
FCC Tool Kit
Module #1
FCCU Regenerator Heat Balance Calculations
Heat balance calculations are the only means of determining many important aspects of
the FCCU operation. There are no meters on an FCCU that will directly measure:
Coke yield
Hydrogen on Coke (stripper efficiency)
Coke heat of combustion
Catalyst circulation rate and CAT/OIL ratio
Delta coke
Coke Yield
Coke is the fuel that drives the FCC process. It is produced during the cracking of
feed/recycle streams in the FCC riser. It is the primary source of energy to satisfy the
demands of both the reactor and regenerator side of the process (Figure 1).
On the reactor side, it provides the energy for:
Vaporizing the incoming feed/recycle streams and increasing temperature from
inlet conditions to the final reactor temperature.
Heat of Cracking of the feed/recycle (Endothermic reaction)
Raising steam inputs (nozzle, lift and stripping) to reactor temperature
Vessel heat losses
On the regenerator side, it provides the energy for:
Increasing incoming compressor combustion air and supplement O2 to flue gas
temperature
Increasing the temperature of reactor spent catalyst to a regenerated status.
Satisfying catalyst cooler duty
Vessel heat losses
Figure 1
Calculating coke yield is a relatively straightforward procedure. It requires:
Air compressor flow rate
Ambient air conditions (temperature and humidity)
Any supplemental O2 injections
Flue gas analysis (dry basis)
Flue gas composition is a critical component in the heat balance calculations. Any errors
in composition will directly affect results of the reactor/regenerator heat balance
calculations.
The steps required for calculating coke yield are:
v Determine the regenerator dry air rate (mols/hr). The attached spreadsheet will
correct a wet air to a dry air rate basis if the ambient compressor inlet temperature
and humidity are known. If the dry air rate is known, this value should be entered
into the wet air rate cell along with a 0% humidity value.
v Calculating the dry flue gas rate (mols/hr). Since N2 in the combustion air is not
consumed during the coke burn, this will be used to determine the dry flue gas rate.
Flue Gas (F.G.) rate (mols/hr) = (moles of dry air/hr x input air N2 content)/ F.G.
N2 content
Note the input air N2 content will be affected if supplemental O2 is utilized.
Once the dry flue rate is determined, the molar flow rates of the flue gas
components can be determined.
O2 out = F.G dry rate x O2 in flue gas
CO2 out = F.G. dry rate x CO2 in flue gas
CO out = F.G. dry rate x CO in flue gas
SO2 out = F.G. dry rate x SO2 in flue gas
N2 out = F.G. Dry rate x N2 in flue gas
v An oxygen balance is performed to calculate H2O formed during the combustion of
coke. The O2 leaving the regenerator is the sum of:
mols O2 out of regenerator = F.G mols O2 + mols CO2 + mols CO + mols
SO2
mols O2 into regenerator = mols dry air x inlet air O2 content.
Note the input air O2 content will be affected if supplemental O2 is utilized.
v The amount of water formed during the coke combustion is equal to
H2O formed = 2 x (Mols O2 out Mols O2 in).
The mols of H2 burned in the regenerator is equal to the mols of H20 formed.
v Coke yield (lbs/hr) is the sum of:
(Mols CO2 + CO) x 12 lbs/mol + Mols H2 X 2 lbs/mol + Mols S x 32 lbs/mol
v The H2 content of the coke is the ratio of:
H2 lbs/hr/Coke lbs hr
The H2/coke ratio is important, as it is an indicator of the efficiency of the reactor stripper.
Coke Heat of Combustion
Since the composition of the coke is now known, its gross heating content can now be
calculated. It is equal to the sum of the Heats of Combustion (HOC) for the CO2, CO,
H2 and SO2 components.
CO2 BTU/hr = mols CO2 x 44 lbs/mol x 14150 btu/lb
CO BTU/hr = mols CO x 28 lbs/mol x 3960 btu/lb
H2 BTU/hr = mols H2 x 2 lbs/mol x 51630 btu/lb
S BTU/hr = mols S x 32 lbs/mol x 3940 btu/lb
The importance of stripper efficiency is reflected in the heat of combustion for H2. As
efficiency declines (higher H2/coke), the gross heating content of the coke increases.
This will result in a higher regenerator temperature and will slow down catalyst
circulation rate to satisfy the reactor side energy requirements. This will affect unit
performance (conversion will be reduced along with increased non selective cracking
products).
It is important to note the HOC differences for CO2 and CO. Some FCCU's will
operate in a partial CO burn mode intentionally to reduce the coke heat release in the
regenerator. This will result in a lower regenerator temperature and will increase catalyst
circulation rate and unit conversion. The lower regenerator temperature can also be
taken advantage of by processing poorer quality feeds.
Catalyst Circulation Rate
The Catalyst Circulation Rate (CCR) and CAT/OIL (C/O) ratio are calculated from a
heat balance around the regenerator. The coke burned in the regenerator (Qcoke Gross)
must supply the energy to:
Increase the temperature of the incoming combustion air from blower discharge
to regenerator dense bed temperature. (QAir)
Increase the temperature of coke on spent catalyst to regenerator dense bed
temperature. (Qspent Coke)
Increase flue gas products from dense bed to flue gas temperature. (Qflue Gas)
Satisfy any catalyst cooler duty. (Qcat Cooler)
Satisfy regenerator vessel heat loss. (Qvessel heat loss)
Increase the temperature of the catalyst circulation rate from spent to dense bed
conditions. (QCatalyst)
The energy required to heat the catalyst circulation rate is equal to:
(Qcatalyst) = (Qcoke Gross) (Qair) - (Qspent Coke) - (Qflue Gas) - (Qcat Cooler) - (Qvessel heat loss)
The circulation rate can now be determined from:
(Qcatalyst) = (Catalyst Circulation Rate (CCR)) x Cp x (Tregenerator dense bed Tspent catalyst)
Catalyst heat capacity is assumed to be 0.28 BTU/Lb F.
The Cat/Oil ratio can be calculated by:
(Catalyst Circulation Rate lb/min)/(Oil Rate lb/min)