Catalyst Handbook - 2020 - 127

2020 CATALYST HANDBOOK
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Water Gas Shift Catalysts (cont.)
Economics: The HTS converter plays a key role in ammonia and H2 plants, producing
10%-15% of the H2 formed in these units. At the same time, it generates heat due to
the exothermic nature of the reaction, which is typically recovered in boiler feedwater
or steam systems (0.5 MW for a 1,000-tpd ammonia plant or a 75-MMsft3d H2 plant).
KATALCO 71 series HTS catalysts consistently achieve some of the longest lives in
operating plants, reducing the HTS catalysts purchased over the lifecycle of the plant.
KATALCO 71 series HTS catalysts are promoted for high activity and operation at low
S/C ratios without byproduct hydrocarbon formation.
Some plant operators have realized annual savings of more than $300,000 by
installing KATALCO 71 series HTS catalysts through a combination of reduced catalyst
volumes, longer catalyst lives and reduced S/C operation. Boiler leaks on some plants
can limit the catalyst life due to solids buildup and wetting/drying cycles, leading to
a loss of pellet integrity and increased pressure drop. For these applications, Johnson
Matthey has introduced KATALCO 71-6 HTS catalysts, offering customers unmatched
in-service strength. Savings of more than $1 MM in catalyst, turnaround and lost
production costs can be achieved by avoiding a catalyst change due to a boiler leak.
KATALCO 71-6M HTS catalyst is also the preferred product for radial flow reactors
due to its exceptionally high activity, small particle size, and virtually zero shrinkage,
stabilizing the radial flow bed and maximizing the CO conversion across the shorter
radial flow bed compared to traditional axial flow HTS bed configurations.
Many plants look to lower operational costs by reducing the pressure drop across
the plant. Savings of up to $90,000/year can be achieved with STREAMLINE from
KATALCO PERFORMANCE. This is a unique pressure drop reduction system that
is suitable for installation in many shift converters. In addition to this, the standard
Johnson Matthey HTS catalyst (nominal size 9 mm × 5 mm) provides lower pressure
drop than standard catalysts (nominal size 6 mm × 6 mm) available elsewhere. This is
typically worth $50,000 throughout the life of a catalyst charge.
Some ammonia plants have achieved exceptionally long lives from KATALCO 83-3
LTS catalysts, in excess of two four-year turnaround cycles. KATALCO 83-3 was installed
in a large European ammonia plant. After six and a half years online, the temperature
profile was sharp, approximately halfway down the bed and reaching equilibrium. The
charge is expected to give a nine-year life with consistent, predictable operation.
An ammonia plant operator saved more than $700,000 in replacement
catalyst costs by installing KATALCO 83-3 series LTS catalysts. The site operates two
similar Kellogg ammonia plants. KATALCO 83-3K was installed in one plant, and a
competitor's catalyst was installed in the other. Both charges were expected to last for
four years. The competitive charge lasted for only 29 months before being replaced

due to high CO slip. After three years online, the KATALCO 83-3K charge is operating
very well. By installing KATALCO 83-3K, the operator saved more than $700,000 in
replacement catalyst costs, compared to the competitive charge.
A small Kellogg ammonia plant in North America has demonstrated the benefit
of the superior poison resistance of KATALCO 83-3X LTS catalyst, which also allowed
the operator to reduce methanol byproduct make. This plant has a known chloride
poisoning problem. Previous charges of competitive catalysts had average lives of
only two years, with the longest life achieved in the last decade being two and a half
years. KATALCO 83-3X was installed and has now been online for more than three
years. This represents a saving of nearly $500,000 in replacement catalyst costs.
A refinery in North America has a long history of chloride poisoning issues that
have caused significant problems in recent years for the LTS unit in this H2 plant.
The plant had a competitive LTS catalyst and guard material installed, and these had
to be changed every year due to poisoning problems. The plant then changed to
KATALCO 83-3X LTS catalysts. This charge lasted for more than three years and was
only changed when a power outage at the refinery caused damage to the catalyst.
The superior performance of KATALCO 83-3X has saved the customer more than
$600,000 in replacement catalyst cost alone.

Development: Johnson Matthey has produced KATALCO 71 series products for
several decades. The KATALCO 71-5 and KATALCO 71-6 ranges of catalysts are the
latest in the KATALCO 71 series of products and include all the benefits of their
predecessors. The latest product in the KATALCO 71- series HTS catalysts is KATALCO
71-5F, the first patented-shaped HTS catalyst in the marketplace improving hightemperature diffusion limitations, particularly in ammonia plant flowsheets. This
shaped form maximizes pellet utilization with a high GSA per unit volume while
achieving an improved bed voidage to lower bed pressure drop.
The KATALCO 83 series of LTS catalysts has been developed over many years
to offer a reliable, simple and sustainable option for this duty. Only one catalyst is
required in the lower-temperature water gas shift bed as the formulation provides
self-guarding capability and maximizes sulfur retention. The product is also available
in a range of sizes to allow optimization of pressure drop and catalyst activity. MTS
has been available in the market for several years, but the utilization of MTS in H2
flowsheets has doubled in the past five years. KATALCO 83 series MTS catalysts allow
an 80% reduction in the bed size while offering lives twice as long as competitive
MTS catalysts. ITS is a unique water gas shift unit technology that takes advantage of
Continued 
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Catalyst Handbook - 2020

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