Effects of Reaction Temperature and Catalyst Type on Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) of Crude Oil Feeds: A Microactivity Test Unit Study

This study investigates the effects of temperature and catalyst on fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) of crude oil feed using a Micro Activity Test (MAT) unit. The basic goal of the research was to explore the variations in reaction conditions that cause changes in resulting products’ distribution, specifically, gas, liquid, and coke yields of paraffinic feeds. A fixed-bed MAT setup featuring a precise setting of temperature and catalyst-to-oil ratio (CAT/OIL) was used. The method of experimentation included gas chromatography, simulated distillation, and carbon analysis to analyze the production of products, their composition, and yield. It was found that higher temperatures and CAT/OIL ratios led to the increase in overall conversion, also they fostered the formation of light olefins like ethylene and propylene. The results revealed the need to optimize FCC parameters to juggle without the loss of conversion efficiency, product selectivity, and catalyst longevity. This study is the impetus for improving FCC operation.