Capture value by processing resid in the FCC
Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) conversion technology is scaling up, providing more options for competing against a confluence of market and regulatory forces. Many of the options under consideration involve increasing resid conversion through the FCC unit. Historic demand destruction in 2020 has lowered FCCU operating rates. These turndowns change the traditional constraints on the FCC, especially unit heat balance, that can be restored by processing resid.
Against this backdrop, high-margin opportunities are emerging in the petrochemical feedstock market. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated market expansion of chemical building blocks such as propylene. This suggests opportunities for upgrading resid to petrochemicals and marketable fuel components such as high octane alkylate.
Simultaneously maximising LPG at constant gasoline production is a key objective that can be met with technology that leverages state-of-the-art process and hardware in parallel with catalyst technology, enabling increased resid processing with high propylene yields. More flexibility therefore becomes available for processing a wide range of feedstock from heavy resid to VGO.