Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2021 - 53

Catalysts
catalystc
. In addition to being two times
more active than the proprietary transalkylation
catalyst, Cat 10 was selected for
further testing and qualification, since it
had the shortest lead time for commercial
manufacturing, which would enable faster
deployment to TDCC.
The selected catalyst from this lab testing
was designated as the next-generation,
higher-activity transalkylation catalystd
.
For detailed product yields, pilot plant
testing of the next-generation transalkylation
catalystd
and its predecessorc
were
conducted using a commercial PEB recycle
feed and conditions that would best
simulate TDCC conditions. Data obtained
showed the next-generation transalkylation
catalyst to be 15°C more active vs.
its predecessor under similar DEB conversion.
If operated at the same temperature,
the next-generation transalkylation catalyst
showed significantly higher DEB conversion
vs. its predecessor. The results of
the pilot plant testing are shown in TABLE 1.
The combination of lab and pilot plant
testing data showed that the next-generation
transalkylation catalyst could overcome
TDCC bottlenecks in the transalkylation
section.
High-activity transalkylation catalyst
deployment: Commercial experience.
TDCC technical and management teams
and the co-authors' company evaluated
the impact of the drop-in, next-generation
transalkylation catalyst upgrade on the
proprietary EB alkylation processa
unit's
performance and associated risks. Based
on lab and pilot plant data, risk matrix and
mitigation steps were developed. The new
catalyst was fully compatible with TDCC's
existing EB alkylation facilities. No issues
were identified with respect to operating
constraints or feed specifications.
TDCC eventually became the first
adopter of the novel, high-activity transalkylation
catalyst. Catalyst loading took
place in May 2017, and alignment between
technical teams on startup and initial operating
procedures was gained prior to
oil-in. The plots in FIG. 5 show the start of
cycle performance of the next-generation
transalkylation catalyst (2017 cycle) and
its predecessor (2013 cycle) under similar
PEB WHSV of 1.2 h-1
for both cycles.
The performance of the next-generation
catalyst for transalkylation to EB
showed significantly better performance
over the previously used catalyst under
similar conditions at TDCC. As shown in
FIG. 5, the next-generation transalkylation
catalyst had a 3°C lower reactor temperature
vs. the previously used catalyst. The
next-generation catalyst also had a higher
average DEB conversion of 67% vs. 62%.
At the start of cycle-fresh catalyst conditions,
TEB conversion averaged 67% for
the new catalyst vs. 51% for the previously
used one. This start-of-run benefit of lower
cycle temperature and higher conversion
is consistent with the pilot plant data
shown in TABLE 1, demonstrating the higher
activity of the next-generation transalkylation
catalyst. More importantly, with
the change in transalkylator catalyst to the
higher-activity catalyst, TDCC did not see
additional residue make from the plant.
TDCC's
primary objective was
to
increase plant capacity to capture the
booming styrene market. The higher activity
of the next-generation transalkylLIVE
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Hydrocarbon Processing
Hydrocarbon Processing | JUNE 2021 53
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Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2021

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