COKING

Application: The Bechtel ThruPlus delayed coking process is a thermalcracking

process used to upgrade petroleum residuum to liquid and gas streams yielding solid
petroleum coke. The unit can handle a wide variety of feedstocks, including vacuum
tower bottoms, bitumen, solvent deasphalter pitch, slurry oil, thermal and pyrolysis
tar, and hydrocracker bottoms. The process can also process waste streams from
the refinery such as tank bottoms or API separator sludge.

Description: Fresh feed to the unit is sent to the fractionator (1) bottom where it is
combined with natural recycle to comprise the feed to the coker furnace (2). The
coker furnace heats the combined stream to cracking temperatures (900 F950 F).
Residence time in the furnace tubes is limited, and coking of the feed is thereby
delayed until it reaches the online coke drum (3), where the reactions are
completed. Coke accumulates in the coke drum and hot gases exit the top of the
drum and flow to the fractionator, where they are separated into heavy and light
coker gasoils, while lighter gases leave the top of the fractionator. These gases are
partially condensed in the fractionator overhead system (4), before being sent to the
gas plant, (5) which separates the overhead into naphtha, LPG and offgas.
Delayed coking is a batch-continuous process, with flow through the furnace
continuous, and when the online coke drum is filled with coke to a predetermined
level, it is switched into an empty, pre-warmed coke drum. The full coke drum is
cooled and decoked using high-pressure water, and then pre-warmed again. A
closed blowdown system is available to recover all water and hydrocarbon liquid and
vapor from the offline drum during these operating steps.

Competitive advantages:
Distillate recycle technology to maximize light coker gasoil (diesel)
production
Demonstrated best coke-drum life in the industry
Cost-effective furnace design with maximum furnace run lengths
Demonstrated seven-year unit run between turnarounds.

Economics:
Utilities, typical per bbl feed:
Fuel, (absorbed) 103 Btu 120
Electricity, KWh 3.4
Steam Export, lb 5
Water, cooling, (25F rise) gal 50

Installations: Since 1981, 42 grassroots and revamp unit licenses have been sold.

Licensor: Bechtel Hydrocarbon Technology Solutions, Inc.

 COKING

Application: The coking process involves cracking of heavy residual oils into more
valuable gasoil, distillate, naphtha and LPG products. Coke is also produced. Normal
feeds include vacuum bottoms, atmospheric bottoms, asphaltenes from ROSE and
other types of solvent deasphalting units, bitumen and other heavy oils, thermal and
pyrolsis tars, decant oils, visbreaker and thermal tars.

Description: Delayed coking is a semi-batch thermal cracking process. The process

is comprised of coker heaters, coke drums, fractionation, vapor recovery unit,
hydraulic decoking, coke handling and blowdown systems. Feed is normally routed
via coker fractionator to remove light fractions. Feed plus recycle from the
fractionator are brought to coking temperature in a specially designed heater and
then sent to the coke drum. The feed cracks into lighter fractions and coke in the
coke drum. Cracked material exiting from the overhead is quenched and sent to the
fractionator.
After the coke level in the drum has reached the maximum accepted level, the feed
is directed to the second drum. The drum with coke is cooled, then cut with high-
pressure water jets and removed to coke handling area. The drum is then heated
and put back in service when the second drum fills up with coke.

Process applications: The solution to obtaining anode-grade coke from traditional

crudes lies in alternative low-sulfur, low-metals content feed options to the coker unit.
The resin product from the three product ROSE process is a relatively low-metal,
low-sulfur residuum that is high in asphaltene free CCR. Due to these characteris-
tics, resin is very good for producing higher-quality coke, and an excel- lent feedstock
for the production of anode-grade coke. Clarified slurry oil (CSO) from the FCCU
may not have the superior quality required for producing high-value distillate
products; it can still be blended with the ROSE resin to be used as feedstock for
anode-grade coke production. An optimum feed to the delayed coker to produce
anode-grade coke would be a blend of the resin from the ROSE process, the CSO
from the FCCU and the required amount of vacuum residue to compensate for any
quality giveaway. This provides the refiner with the ability to insulate the coke grade
from fluctuations in the feed and always produce anode coke, irrespective of the
crude quality.
KBR has designed and delivered significant pilotplant work on coking of asphaltenes
obtained from bitumen and other heavy oils.

Comparison of coke produced from vacuum resid and asphaltenes:

Basis: Refinery Feed: 200,000 bpsd

Arab Heavy Maya

VTB Asphaltene VTB Asphaltene
Coker Feed
Mbpsd 49.7 26.5 63.6 49.1
wt. % CCR 23.8 38 31.2 38
Coke make, Mtd 2.7 2.1 4.4 4
Process development: KBR operates a large one bpd coker pilot plant at its
Technology Center in Houston. The pilot plant is used for process development and
for running coker pilot tests for clients.

Experience: KBR has provided process technology for more than 15 cokers. The
most recent design is for a bitumen vacuum resid coker.

Licensor: KBR
 COKING

Application: Conversion of atmospheric and vacuum residues, hydro- treated and

hydrocracked resids, asphalt, pyrolysis tar, decant oil, visbro- ken or coal tar pitch,
solvent-refined and Athabasca bitumen.

Description: Feedstock is introduced (after heat exchange) to the bottom of the

coker fractionator (1) where it mixes with condensed recycle. The mixture is pumped
to one of two coke drums (3) through the coker heater (2) where the desired coking
temperature is achieved. Steam or boiler feedwater is injected into the heater tubes
to prevent coking in the furnace tubes. Coke drum overhead vapors flow to the
fractionator (1) where they are separated into an overhead stream containing the
wet gas, LPG and naphtha and two gasoil sidestreams.
The overhead stream is sent to a vapor recovery unit (4) where the individual light
product streams are separated. The coke that forms in one of at least two (parallel
connected) drums is then removed using high-pressure water. The plant also
includes a blow-down system for recovery of all vent gas and slop streams, coke
handling and a water recovery system.

Operating conditions:
Heater outlet temperature, F 900950
Coke drum pressure, psig 1590
Recycle ratio, vol/vol feed, % 0100

Yields:
Vacuum residue
Middle East Athabasca
Feedstock of hydrotreated
vac. residue bitumen
bottoms
Gravity, API 7.4 1.3 2.5
Sulfur, wt% 4.2 2.3 5.7
Conradson
20.0 27.6 23.0
carbon, wt%
Vacuum residue
Middle East Athabasca
Products, wt% of hydrotreated
vac. residue bitumen
bottoms
Gas + LPG 7.9 9.0 9.2
Naphtha 12.6 11.1 12.5
Gas oils 50.8 44.0 46.0
Coke 28.7 35.9 32.5

Economics:
Investment (basis: 20,000 bpsd straight-run vacuum residue feed, US Gulf Coast
2008, fuel-grade coke, includes vapor recovery), US$ per bpsd (typical) 8,000.
Utilities, typical/bbl of feed:
Fuel, 103 Btu 123
Electricity, kWh 3.6
Steam (exported), lb 1
Water, cooling, gal 58
Boiler feedwater, lbs 38
Condensate (exported), lbs 24

Installation: More than 60 units.

Licensor: Lummus Technology, a CB&I Company

 COKING

Application: Upgrade residues to lighter hydrocarbon fractions using the Selective

Yield Delayed Coking (SYDEC) process.

Description: Charge is fed directly to the fractionator (1) where it combines with
recycle and is pumped to the coker heater. The mixture is heated to coking
temperature, causing partial vaporization and mild cracking.
The vapor-liquid mix enters a coke drum (2 or 3) for further cracking.
Drum overhead enters the fractionator (1) to be separated into gas, naphtha, and
light and heavy gas oils. Gas and naphtha enter the vapor recovery unit (VRU) (4).
There are at least two coking drums, one coking while the other is decoked using
high-pressure water jets. The coking unit also includes a coke handling, coke cutting,
water recovery and blowdown system. Vent gas from the blowdown system is
recovered in the VRU.

Operating conditions:
Typical ranges are:
Heater outlet temperature, F 900950
Coke drum pressure, psig 15100
Recycle ratio, equiv. fresh feed 01.0
Increased coking temperature decreases coke production; increases liquid yield and
gas oil end point. Increasing pressure and/or recycle ratio increases gas and coke
make, decreases liquid yield and gas oil end point.

Yields:
Operation:
Products Max dist. Anode coke Needle coke
Gas, wt% 8.7 8.4 9.8
Naphtha, wt% 14.0 21.6 8.4
Gas oil, wt% 48.3 43.8 41.6
Coke, wt% 29.3 26.2 40.2

Economics:
Investment (basis 65,00010,000 bpsd) 2Q 2005 US Gulf), US$ per bpsd 6,700-
13,600.
Utilities, typical per bbl feed:
Fuel, 103 Btu 120
Electricity, KWh 3
Steam (exported), lb 35
Water, cooling, gal 36

Installations: Currently, 52 delayed cokers are installed worldwide with a total

installed capacity over 2.5 million bpsd.

Licensor: UOP, A Honeywell Company/Foster Wheeler USA Corp

 DELAYED COKING

Application: Upgrade residues to lighter hydrocarbon fractions using the Selective

Yield Delayed Coking (SYDEC) process.

Description: Charge is fed directly to the fractionator (1) where it combines with
recycle and is pumped to the coker heater. The mixture is heated to coking
temperature, causing partial vaporization and mild cracking.
The vapor-liquid mix enters a coke drum (2 or 3) for further cracking.
Drum overhead enters the fractionator (1) to be separated into gas, naphtha, and
light and heavy gas oils. Gas and naphtha enter the vapor recovery unit (VRU) (4).
There are at least two coking drums, one coking while the other is decoked using
high-pressure water jets. The coking unit also includes a coke handling, coke cutting,
water recovery and blowdown system. Vent gas from the blowdown system is
recovered in the VRU.

Operating conditions:
Typical ranges are:
Heater outlet temperature, F 900950
Coke drum pressure, psig 15100
Recycle ratio, equiv. fresh feed 01.0
Increased coking temperature decreases coke production; increases liquid yield and
gas oil end point. Increasing pressure and/or recycle ratio increases gas and coke
make, decreases liquid yield and gas oil end point.

Yields:
Operation:
Products Max dist. Anode coke Needle coke
Gas, wt% 8.7 8.4 9.8
Naphtha, wt% 14.0 21.6 8.4
Gas oil, wt% 48.3 43.8 41.6
Coke, wt% 29.3 26.2 40.2

Economics:
Investment (basis 120,00010,000 bpsd Coking and VRU) 1Q 2011 US Gulf), US$
per bpsd 5,80012,000
Utilities, typical per bbl feed:
Fuel, 103 Btu 120
Electricity, KWh 3
Steam (exported), lb 35
Water, cooling, gal 36

Installations: Currently, 67 delayed cokers are installed worldwide with

a total installed capacity over 2.5 million bpsd.

Licensor: Foster Wheeler USA Corp./UOP, A Honeywell Company

 PETROLEUM COKE, NAPHTHA, GASOIL AND GAS

Application: The delayed coking technology is a thermal-cracking process to upgrade and

convert petroleum residue, asphalt, or slop oil into gas, naphtha, gasoil and petroleum coke.
It mainly consists of heater (furnace), coking drums, fractionating section and gas-recovering
section.

Description: Key points for the delayed coking technology include:

Premium petroleum coke (needle coke) can be produced.
Double-fired, multi-point steam (or water) injection, online spalling, bi-direction steam/air
decoking and other techniques enable a three-year run length for the heater and 5% savings.
The automation and safety interlock design techniques for steam stripping, water quench,
coke cooling, hydraulic decoking and oil/gas preheating operations of the coke drums not
only reduce work intensity and ensure safe operation, but also crate conditions to reduce
the drum-cycle time to 1618 hours.
The quench oil injection and anti-foaming agent injection with proper position and volume
control prevent foaming of the coke drum and fines carry-over into the fractionator.
During the process from steam stripping to water quench, the oil vapor and steam enter a
blowdown system, which treats the vapor and steam in closed mode by stages. The
blowdown system can not only recover oil and water and reduce environmental pollution,
but it also can process the similar oil and wastewater of the whole refinery.
The oil/gas preheating process of coke drum with no-coke parking valve improves the
oil/gas preheating flow scheme, reduces deformation of the coke drum during oil/gas
preheating and shortens preheating time for the oil/gas.
Equipment improvements of the coke drum include an overhead elliptical head instead of
a spherical head, thus increasing the effective volume of the coke drum. The transition
section between the skirt and shell connection uses a forged piece structure instead of
overlay structure, thereby extending fatigue life. Alloy Steel and cladding are used instead
of carbon steel, thus improving corrosion resistance.
The high-efficiency internals improve separation accuracy andenable operation flexibility;
coke fine carry-over is reduced.
The fractionator recycle oil upper circulation washing and lower spraying washing
techniques lower coke fine carry-over in HCGO and other products, thus improving the feed
properties for downstream units. The low recycle-ratio operation and flexible recycle ratio
adjustment are achieved as well.
The coke cooling water and coke cutting water are treated separately in closed systems
and recycled for reuse. All the treated coke cooling water is recycled for reuse to protect the
environment.
Due to large-scale unit engineering techniques, a single-unit capacity can reach 1.4 metric
tpy to 1.6 metric tpy.

Commercial plants: SINOPEC has independently designed and erected more than 50 units
with a total processing capacity of 36 million metric tpy over the last 50 years. Thirty-three
units have been designed (including revamped units) and constructed in the last 10 years.
There are four units with a total processing capacity exceeding 1.6 million metric tpy and are
in operation. A 5.2 million metric tpy delayed coking unit is under design and construction.

Licensor: China Petrochemical Technology Co., Ltd.