Residue Hydroprocessing

Residue hydroprocessing, or hydrotreating, technology was originally developed to reduce the sulfur content of atmospheric residues to produce low sulfur residual fuel oil to meet specification.

Changes in crude oil quality and product demand, however, have shifted the commercial importance of this technology to include pre-treating of downstream conversion unit feedstocks to minimize catalyst replacement costs. Pre-treatment of coker feedstocks improves the quality and reduces the yield of by product coke, and increases yield and quality of the more valuable light fuels which are used after treatment for blending into final products.

Although residue hydrotreaters are capable of processing feedstocks having a wide range of contaminants, the feedstock's organometallic and asphaltene components typically determine its processibility.

Seasonal changes to the gasoline/diesel ratio may be accommodated as residue hydrotreatment can be designed for maximum conversion to middle distillate.

The majority of refinery projects include some form of hydrotreatment within the overall processing scheme. As a result Foster Wheeler works continuously with hydrotreating process licensors and catalyst suppliers in specifying feedstocks, developing and engineering designs, and integrating hydrotreaters into processing schemes.