Haldor Topsoe - Catalysts and Technologies for the Refining Industry

For more than 30 years, Haldor Topsoe A/S has been involved in the development and production of hydrotreating catalysts.

HYDROPROCESSING CATALYSTS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Based on the fundamental work and understanding of the reaction pattern on the atomic level, Topsoe is able to supply a whole range of hydroprocessing catalysts and technologies.

For the petroleum industry, Topsoe has developed a series of hydroprocessing catalysts, denominated TK-series. These catalysts are used for reduction of sulphur, nitrogen, metals and aromatics in petroleum fractions. Topsoe's strong R&D commitment ensures a continual improvement of the TK-catalyst portfolio, enabling refiners to competitively supply fuels which meet increasingly severe specifications. As grading material, Topsoe catalysts are available as rings. They have proved efficiently in delaying pressure drop build-up, which is a frequent problem in many hydroprocessing units.

The most important hydroprocessing catalysts and services Topsoe offers to the petroleum industry cover the following applications:

• Kerosene and naphtha hydroprocessing
• Diesel production
• Diesel dearomatisation
• FCC feed pretreatment
• Hydrocracker feed pretreatment
• Hydrocracking
• Mild hydrocracking
• Resid hydroprocessing
• Pressure drop control

ULTRA LOW SULPHUR DIESEL PRODUCTION

Over the last couple of years, Topsoe has spent considerable efforts in establishing the reactivity of sulphur components and investigating the catalysts and operating conditions to reduce the sulphur content of diesel to less than 10ppm, thus helping refiners to comply with new regulations:

• CoMo and NiMo catalysts for sulphur and nitrogen removal
• NiMo catalyst for density and polyaromatic reduction
• Dearomatisation catalysts for total aromatic reduction
• Back-end shift catalysts for density reduction, cetane improvement and lowering of final boiling point
• Grading catalyst materials for pressure drop control
• Distributor tray design for efficient distribution of reactants

New high activity catalysts are a prerequisite to meet future, more stringent specifications for diesel fuel. TK-575 BRIM™ and TK-576 BRIM™ are the latest of the new generation catalysts based on Topsoe BRIM™ Technology. The unique combination of improved Type II and brim reaction sites makes these catalysts ideal for ultra low sulphur diesel applications.

HYDROCRACKING

Within the last decade, Topsoe has also had an extensive program for the development of hydrocracking catalysts and technology and today, Topsoe's hydrocracking technology comprises:

• Maximum middle distillate hydrocracking catalysts
• Very high HDN activity hydrocracking feed pretreatment catalysts
• Unique catalyst bed grading technology for pressure drop control
• State-of-the-art "Performance Focused" reactor internals
• Clever hydrocracking process designs meeting every need of the refiner

The Topsoe hydrocracking process uses a clever combination of process conditions and superior hydrotreating and hydrocracking catalysts to meet the required conversion as well as required product quality specifications from every unique hydrocracker feed stock blend. It also features an industry leader catalyst, graded-bed design for reactor pressure-drop control as well as state-of-the-art reactor internals specifically designed for hydrocracking service.

TOPSOE HIGH PERFORMANCE REACTOR INTERNALS

Even the best catalysts can only provide optimum performance in reactors of proper design. At an early stage, Topsoe recognised the importance of having uniform flow distribution in hydroprocessing reactors.

Topsoe's extensive research and development into new and more efficient liquid distributor trays and quench mixing assemblies has resulted in the technical and commercial success of several new and innovative solutions for hydroprocessing reactors. In some commercial applications, the installation of Topsoe reactor internals more than doubled the catalyst activity and cycle length. Today more than 150 Topsoe High Performance Reactor Internals have been sold worldwide for a wide range of hydroprocessing services.