Technology in Action

More efficient catalyst loading

A change in dense catalyst loading technology ena-

bled a major chemicals company to achieve a 10%
increase in production capacity in a fixed bed reac-
tor. Dense loading is a technology for improving
catalyst performance in fixed bed catalytic pro-
cess units. It is commonly used throughout the
petroleum, petrochemical and chemical indus-
tries and involves distributing the catalyst in such
a way as to uniformly increase its packed density.
Decades of research provide overwhelming evi-
dence that good dense loading can improve the Figure 1 JE dense loading technology
performance of the reactor through reducing void
fraction within the fixed catalyst bed. This can lead in density when catalyst particles are broken and
to improved liquid and gas distribution, higher loaded as a result of the dense loading system
throughput rates and improved bed stability. In itself. In summary, the JE delivers high surface
comparison, sock loading, which involves catalyst levelness control, high uniform density and low
being distributed from a length of sock attached to catalyst breakage, all vital to optimising reactor
a feed hopper, has a tendency to create void spaces operations.
more likely to result in flow maldistribution and
bed settling during run. Reduced throughput and Case study: AkzoNobel
increasing pressure drop across the reactor are a AkzoNobel is a Dutch multinational company
direct consequence. and is a major producer of specialty chemicals.
Its headquarters is located in Amsterdam and the
History of JE dense loading technology company employees approximately 45 000 peo-
Cat Tech has over 40 years’ experience as a spe- ple in over 80 countries. The business was look-
cialist catalyst handling and tower services com- ing to procure a high performance dense loading
pany and offers a high performance dense loading service that had a focus on repeatability, repro-
technology called the JE. This patented technol- ducibility and best practices in quality, health,
ogy has now been used to successfully load over safety and environment. Cat Tech started talking
79 million kg of material in over 25 countries. Its to AkzoNobel about its JE dense loading technol-
history began in the early 1990s in Japan with the ogy as a method to increase reactor capacity. In
development of a loading technology for maxim- early 2015 they elected to use the JE in a pilot
ising catalyst performance. The first commer- trial application and following its successful vali-
cial application was completed in 1996 and since dation it was again used in two further trials dur-
then the JE has undergone a programme of con- ing 2015/2016.
tinual development and optimisation. The JE is a A purification process that uses hydrogen and
non-abrasive mechanical loading device whereby a solid heterogeneous hydrogenation catalyst
catalyst spills from an oscillating, single axis, in a fixed bed reactor was chosen for the trial.
smooth surfaced, spheroid disc. A unique design Historically the catalyst has been loaded using
feature of the JE is minimisation of shear stress a conventional ‘dense’ loading method in order
on the catalyst particles during loading (see Figure to minimise flow maldistribution and improve
1). This allows for a true increase in density and the catalyst performance. However, the load-
uniformity as opposed to an undesirable increase ing was identified as one of the key process var-

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001368 May 2017 1

 Comparative production capacities 2.0
JE dense loading technology
Conventional old dense method loading
1.5
Catalyst loading method Daily production rate

Pressure drop, bar

Conventional dense loading method X tonnes 1.0
JE dense loading technology X tonnes + 10%
0.5
Table 1
0

iables and as such AkzoNobel were looking for −0.5

improved control in this area. Cat Tech mobi- Time

lised JE dense loading equipment and special-

ist operator to their production plant. A total Figure 2 Reactor pressure drop vs time
catalyst inventory of approximately 6 tons was
loaded into a 1m diameter reactor column using drop can eventually lead to a reduction in reactor
the JE technology. The reactor was started up throughput rates as unit operating parameters are
and its performance closely monitored and com- adjusted to ensure equipment delta P guidelines
pared with historic performance data. As seen are not breached.
in Table 1 a noticeable 10% increase in produc- As this example demonstrates, not all dense
tion capacity was achieved following applica- loading is the same. The results detailed here
tion of the JE. This can be attributed to more are typical of how the JE in comparison to other
catalyst and its efficient use through improved liq- conventional dense loading technologies can
uid gas distribution. improve catalyst utilisation and increase produc-
Figure 2 shows the comparative pressure drop tion throughput. It is clear that the wrong choice
over the reactor with time. The initial pressure of dense loading technology and service provider
drop after loading with the JE was around 0.9 can be a critical factor in catalyst management
bar which was somewhat higher than typical his- costs and reactor performance. The JE is a proven
toric levels of around 0.4 bar. This is in line with cost effective technology for increasing reactor
expectations and attributed to more catalyst and capacity performance and is now the method of
a higher loaded density being achieved. It should choice for AkzoNobel under a longer term frame-
be noted, however, that although the initial pres- work agreement.
sure drop was higher it remained almost con-
stant at 0.9 bar throughout the operating cycle. Ian Baxter is Technical Manager with Cat Tech International Ltd
This is a result of a high uniform loaded density
coupled with low catalyst breakage that can oth- Cat Tech International Ltd
erwise result in the production of dust and fines. For more information: ibaxter@cat-tech.com
In contrast, an initial reactor pressure drop of
around 0.4 bar increasing to over 1.7 bar with LINKS
time was seen following application of the old
conventional dense loading method. Catalyst bed More articles from: Cat Tech International
settling and the production of dust and fines dur- More articles from the following categories:
ing loading can all contribute to increasing reac- Catalysts and Additives
tor pressure drop during run. Increasing pressure

2 May 2017 www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001368