hydrocraking

Hydrocracking
is
a
catalytic
hydrogenation process in which high
molecular weight feedstocks are
converted and hydrogenated to lower
molecular weight products.

Role of Hydrocracking in the

Refinery
It is mainly used to produce
middle distillates of low sulphur
content such as kerosene and
diesel. If mild hydrocracking is
used, a LSFO can be
produced. More recently, it has
been used to remove wax by
catalytic dewaxing and for
aromatic removal by hydrogen
saturation.

Feeds and Products

VGO is the main feed for hydrocrakers, however a variety of
feeds can be used. The feedstock type has an important
influence on the final products.
Feddstock
Kerosene

Products
Naphtha

Straight-run diesel

Naphtha and/or jet fuel

Atmospheric gas oil

Naphtha, jet fuel, and/or

diesel

Vacuum gas oil

Naphtha, jet fuel, diesel,

lube oil

FCC LCO

Naphtha

FCC HCO

Naphtha and/or distillates

Coker LCO

Naphtha and/or distillates

Coker HCO

Naphtha and/or distillates

Hydrocracking Chemistry

Hydrocracking Correlations
The yield correlations in conventional hydrocracking
depend on feed properties, hydrogen severity and mode of
operation.
There are three modes of operation:
maximum gasoline mode
maximum ATK mode (jet fuel)
maximum diesel fuel.

Maximum ATK Correlations

The
ATK mode yield correlations are given here as an
example. These correlations are developed from plant data.
The following is the calculation procedure for ATK yields:
Hydrocracking severity H where
For maximum ATK, assume H = 3 wt%, In this case
And is related to hydrocracking severity as

 Calculate

liquid volume% (LV%) of

gasoline

Where
Butanes
Heavy Naphtha (NH) (180-380 F)
The following equation is used to convert
LV% to wt% of hydrocarbon products