Catalysts for Converting Coker Pitch to Liquid Transportation Fuels

DOE is seeking to improve manufacturing efficiency of U.S. refineries. The delayed coking process is one of the few chemical conversions within refinery processes that does not currently use catalysts. The proposed project will utilize the patented OptiFuel Technology, which has shown the first effective use of catalyst in the delayed coking process, and demonstrate the advancement of performance over previously examined catalysts for this application. Statement of How this Problem or Situation is Being Addressed In Phase I, novel catalysts will be examined in a bench-scale delayed coker. The test set-up will simulate the patented Optifuel process. The testing will be used to down-select catalysts for pilot-scale and commercial demonstration testing in Phase II. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits The proposed project will be adopted by U.S. oil refineries to increase the yield of valuable hydrocarbons, and reduce the yield of less valuable coke, per barrel of oil. The technology will be particularly useful for heavier feeds that traditionally lead to higher coke production. Additional benefits include improvements in (1) energy efficiency, (2) environmental impacts, (3) safety, (4) refinery crude oil input flexibility, (5) increased delayed coker & refinery processing capacities, and (6) lower fuel prices to consumers. Key Words –Delayed coker, catalytic cracking, catalyst, coke