Hydrocarbon Processing - December 2021 - 24

Catalysts
tana. The refinery processes a severely
hydrotreated vacuum gasoil feed and
operates in full burn. The site previously
used a preblended palladium-based promoterc
for
NOx
control. The proprietary
promoter replaced the palladium promoter
at a preblended 12.5% lower addition
rate to achieve similar CO oxidation
activity, while staying within the desired
NOx
Takeaway. Modern platinum-based CO
promoters have a price advantage over
palladium-based promoters due to PGM
pricing. However, NOx
limits can inhibit
the adoption of platinum promoters. The
next-generation, proprietary platinumbased
CO promotera
generates less than
10% more NOx vs. palladium promoters.
limits. The afterburn decreased by
half-from 6.67°C (44°F) to -5.56°C
(22°F)-at a lower regenerator bed
temperature (a shift to a lighter feed reduced
bed temperature) (TABLE 2). Most
importantly, the overall promoter cost
($/d) decreased-a desired benefit in
the COVID-19 economic environment.
The technology's custom-tuned PGMsupport
significantly reduces sintering
for enhanced CO promotion durability.
With this next-generation promoter, the
choice between palladium or platinum
promoters is no longer driven by NOx
emissions constraints but rather by pricing
and performance.
In the first commercial trial at the
TABLE 2. CHS Laurel regenerator performance for the palladium-based CO promoterb
and the novel platinum-based promotera
Promoter
Palladium-based
CO promoterb
Platinum-based
CO promotera
CO, mol%
NOx, ppm
vol
0.005 ± 0.002 35.1 ± 7.3
Catalyst bed
temperature, °F
1,310 ± 6.2
0.006 ± 0.002 40.3 ± 8.2 1,300 ± 4.9
Dilute phase
temperature, °F
Afterburn,
°F
1,354 ± 8.1 43.9 ± 6.7
ALEXIS SHACKLEFORD is an Executive Account
Manager for BASF.
1,322 ± 5.2
21.9 ± 6.7
ALEKSEI VJUNOV is the Global Product Manager
for BASF Refining Catalysts.
CHS Laurel refinery, the proprietary
platinum-based CO promoter replaced
a palladium-based promoter. The new
platinum-based CO promoter yielded
similar CO emissions, easily stayed within
NOx
constraints and reduced afterburn
by 22°F, all at 12.5% lower addition
rate. The proprietary platinum-based
CO promoter enables refiners previously
limited to high-priced palladium
promoters to reduce operating expenses
and improve performance.
NOTES
a BASF's ENABLE™ CO promoter
b BASF'S CONQUERNOX®
DARIN FOOTE is an Operations Superintendent at
CHS Inc.'s Laurel refinery in Montana. While at CHS,
he has held roles in refinery LP modeling, process
engineering and turnaround management. Mr. Foote
has been working 21 yr in the areas of crude/vacuum,
FCCU, solvent extraction and fired heaters. Prior
to joining CHS, he worked for Flint Hills Resources
and John Zink Company in various roles. Mr. Foote
earned a BS degree in chemical engineering from
Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
24 DECEMBER 2021 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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Hydrocarbon Processing - December 2021

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