Improve energy efficiency of your

hydrocracking unit
Reduced fuel firing in HCU product fractionators enables higher diesel yields and
improved product properties while reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions

Kiran Ladkat, Jan De Ren and Kiran Kashibhatla

Honeywell UOP

R
efinery Scope 1 and 2 emissions represent 3% of the product properties. Together, this delivers improved refinery
global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, which equates economics and reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions. These are
to 1,124 million tonnes annually.1 For a typical refin- solutions that can be applied to new and existing HCUs.
ery configuration that has hydrocracking and delayed coking The fractionation section of an HCU is designed to sep-
units, 9%² of these emissions originate from hydroprocess- arate the net reactor effluent from the reactor section into
ing units, where the major contributor for an individual unit is the desired products: LPG, naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and
the hydrocracking unit (HCU) because of the higher operat- unconverted oil. A simplified flow diagram of a single strip-
ing severity as compared to hydrotreating units. per first HCU fractionation section is shown in Figure 2. The
Figure 1 provides an overview of the three GHG protocol fractionation section typically includes a stripper, a product
scopes (1, 2, and 3) and categories for each of the scope fractionator with two or more side cuts, side-cut strippers, a
emissions. Improving energy efficiency and reducing CO₂ debutaniser, a naphtha splitter, and other columns, depend-
emissions from existing HCUs is a key focus area for improv- ing on the required product recovery.
ing refinery profitability and reducing emissions. Within the
HCU, the main contributors to carbon emissions are fired Dual stripper flow scheme for existing HCUs
heaters and rotating equipment. Several new HCUs have been designed by Honeywell UOP
Against this backdrop, Honeywell UOP’s dual stripper and with the dual stripper flow scheme and put into operation,
dual fractionator solutions for HCUs have demonstrated making this a commercially proven solution (see Figure 3).
reduced fuel firing in the product fractionator feed heater by By implementing this flow scheme, refiners will be able to
~50-55%, enabling higher diesel yield and improved diesel reduce the product fractionator feed heater duty by 20-40%

CO2 CH4 N2O HFCs PFCs SF6

Scope 2 Scope 1
Indirect Direct

Scope 3 Scope 3
Indirect Indirect
Purchased goods Transportation
and services and distribution

Purchased electricity,
steam, heating & Investments
Capital goods cooling for own use Leased assets Company
facilities Processing of
Fuel and energy sold products
related activities Employee commuting Franchises

Company vehicles
Transportation
and distribution Business travel Use of Leased assets
sold products
Waste generated End of life treatment
in operations of sold products

Upstream activities Reporting company Downstream activities

Figure 1 Overview of greenhouse gases (GHG) protocol scopes and emissions across the value chain³

www.digitalrefining.com PTQ Q3 2023 13

 Off-gas

Unstabilised
naphtha Naphtha

Stripper Product Kerosene

fractionator
Cold flash
drum MP steam
liquid
Diesel
Hot flash
drum
liquid
Product
fractionator
feed heater LP steam

Unconverted oil

Figure 2 Process flow scheme for single stripper first Figure 3 Shandong Super Energy two-stage HCU in China
fractionation section of an HCU employing the dual stripper flow scheme

compared to a conventional single stripper flow scheme, In the dual stripper design, the hot and cold flash drum
depending upon HCU conversion. liquid streams from the reactor section are fed into separate
Apart from new HCUs, the dual stripper flow scheme strippers: a hot stripper and a cold stripper. Both columns
provides an excellent revamp solution to reduce energy con- are steam stripped. The overhead vapour from the hot strip-
sumption in an existing HCU. The novel flow scheme (see per is routed to the cold stripper, whereas the liquid from the
Figure 4) was developed to reduce product fractionator feed hot stripper is sent to the product fractionator feed heater
heater duty and deliver a reduction in operating costs and and subsequently to the flash zone of product fractionator.
furnace stack emissions. For reactor section flow schemes In this arrangement, only liquid from the hot stripper bottom
incorporating a hot separator, it is noted that the composi- is being sent to a product fractionator feed heater, unlike in a
tion of the cold separator hydrocarbon stream, and therefore single stripper arrangement where all the liquid is sent to the
the cold flash drum hydrocarbon stream, is much lighter than product fractionator feed heater, thereby demanding higher
that of the hot flash drum liquid. This makes it possible to energy input and creating higher resultant flue gas emissions.
heat the cold flash drum hydrocarbon stream using low-end The cold stripper bottoms liquid is preheated with availa-
process heat, available in the fractionation section, without ble process heat in the fractionation section to reach a certain
passing through the product fractionator feed heater, thereby vaporisation and then fed directly to the product fractiona-
avoiding a mixing of the hot and cold flash drum liquid. This tor between the flash zone and diesel product draw stage.
has the potential to save on fired duty, thus making the HCU Apart from being applicable to new HCUs, the dual stripper
more energy efficient while reducing carbon emissions. flow scheme is a good revamp solution to reduce the existing

Off gas
Off-gas
Debutaniser

Unstabilised
naphtha
Naphtha
LPG Naphtha
Cold
stripper Product
fractionator Kerosene
Product
Cold flash fractionator Kerosene
drum MP steam
liquid Debutaniser
Cold flash reboiler
Diesel drum
liquid
Diesel
Hot Hot flash
stripper drum
Hot flash liquid
drum MP steam
liquid LP steam Product
fractionator
feed heater LP steam
Unconverted oil
Unconverted oil
Product fractionator
New / modifications
feed heater

Figure 4 Revamp process flow scheme with dual stripper Figure 5 Process flow scheme with the debutaniser-first
fractionation section of an HCU fractionation section of an HCU

14 PTQ Q3 2023 www.digitalrefining.com

 Economic benefits of the dual stripper flow scheme vs a single stripper flow scheme1-8

Parameters Unit Conventional single stripper Dual stripper

Product fractionator feed flow scheme (base case) flow scheme
Heater duty MMKcal/hr 61.0 48.8
MP steam generation tonne/hr Base (8.8)
LP steam generation tonne/hr Base (2.6)
Utility cost $MM/year Base (4.8)
Estimated erected cost (EEC)
for new equipment $MM Base + 4.2
NPV from process improvements $MM Base + 29.5
CO₂ emission (Scope 1 & 2) tonne/year Base (~10,000) (1)
CO₂ credit $MM/year Base + 0.5
NPV including CO₂ credit $MM Base + 32.9

Notes: 1. 835 m³/hr (~126,000 BPSD) mild HCU with conversion of 45 wt%. 2. Fuel consumption is based on 90% heater efficiency. 3. CO₂ reduction credit
$50/tonne. 4. Onstream hours: 8,400 hours per year. 5. NPV is for 15 years at 10% discount rate basis. 6. Simple payback period 10 months and with CO₂ credit
payback period will further reduce to 9 months. 7. Utility price basis: • Fuel gas: $ 57.1/MMKcal • MP steam: $ 17.5/tonne • LP steam: $ 16.8/tonne
8. Scope 1 & 2 CO₂ emission basis: • 0.262 tonne of CO₂/MMKcal of Fuel gas • 0.208 tonne of CO₂/tonne of MP steam • 0.196 tonne of CO₂/tonne of LP steam

Table 1

product fractionator feed heater duty. In the revamp flow m3/hr (~126,000 BPSD) mild HCU improves the facility’s net
scheme, the existing stripper will be utilised as hot stripper present value (NPV) by $29.5 million. If CO₂ is valued at $50
service, whereas a new cold stripper will be added in the per tonne, the NPV boost attributable to the dual stripper
flow scheme (see Figure 4). flow scheme approaches $32.9 million.
The dual stripper flow scheme can reduce the product
fractionator feed heater duty by 20% compared with the Dual stripper scheme applied to a debutaniser-first
existing conventional single stripper flow scheme. Beyond flow scheme
reducing product fractionator feed heater duty, another ben- Some of the earlier designed HCUs are operating with a
efit is that it provides a reduction of carbon emissions from debutaniser-first flow scheme. A simplified flow diagram
the existing HCU. Table 1 provides a summary of the utility of the debutaniser-first fractionation section flow scheme
consumption, economic and CO2 emission benefits with a is shown in Figure 5. This scheme typically includes a
dual stripper flow scheme as compared to a conventional debutaniser column to separate LPG and lighter sour off-
single stripper first flow scheme. gases as an overhead product, with naphtha and heavier
The benefits described in Table 1 are based on a recently fractions as a bottoms product. Bottoms liquid from the
proposed revamp solution and subsequent basic engineer- debutaniser column will be routed to the downstream
ing work, which has been completed. The revamp project product fractionator feed heater and subsequently to the
is currently in the detailed design phase. As summarised in flash zone of product fractionator with two or more side
Table 1, the reduction in fuel gas consumption for this 835 cuts to separate the naphtha, kerosene, and diesel products

Off-gas

Off-gas
Cold flash Stabiliser
drum Product
liquid fractionator Naphtha
Cold
stripper
LPG
Kerosene
MP steam

Naphtha
Hot flash Diesel
drum Hot stripper
liquid (formerly
debutaniser)

MP steam
LP steam

Unconverted oil
Debutaniser Product fractionator New / modifications
reboiler feed heater

Figure 6 Revamp process flow scheme with the dual stripper fractionation section of an HCU

www.digitalrefining.com PTQ Q3 2023 15

 Economic benefits of a dual stripper flow scheme vs a debutaniser-first flow scheme1-8

Parameters Unit Debutaniser first Dual stripper

flow scheme (base case) flow scheme
Debutaniser reboiler heater duty MMKcal/hr 55.0 40.1
Product fractionator feed heater duty MMKcal/hr 24.2 0.0
MP steam consumption tonne/hr Base +5.0
Utility cost $MM/year Base (3.3)
Estimated erected cost (EEC) for new equipment $MM Base + 7.8
NPV from process improvements $MM Base + 15.6
CO₂ iemission (Scope 1 & 2) tonne/year Base (~87,000) (1)
CO₂ credit $MM/year Base + 4.3
NPV including CO₂ credit $MM Base + 45.7
Notes: 1. 358 m3/hr (~54,000 BPSD) two-stage HCU with overall conversion of 99 vol%. 2. Fuel consumption is based on 90% heater efficiency.
3. CO₂ reduction credit $50/tonne. 4. Onstream hours: 8,400 hours per year. 5. NPV is for 15 years at 10% discount rate basis. 6. Simple payback period
28 months and with CO₂ credit payback period will further reduce to 12 months. 7. Utility price basis: • Fuel gas: $9.92/MMKcal. • MP Steam: $8/tonne.
8. Scope 1 & 2 CO₂ emission basis: • 0.262 tonne of CO₂/MMKcal of fuel gas • 0.208 tonne of CO₂/tonne of MP steam

Table 2

from the unconverted oil. A significant amount of energy The proposed dual stripper flow scheme will be able to
is consumed in the debutaniser reboiler heater and the reduce total fuel consumption in the fractionation section
product fractionator feed heater to separate these different of a two-stage HCU by approximately 50% compared to a
products. The dual stripper flow scheme provides a unique conventional debutaniser-first flow scheme. Beyond reduc-
revamp opportunity to reduce fuel consumption in the fired ing total fuel consumption, another benefit is reduced CO2
heaters and will be discussed in more detail, focusing on emission from the existing two-stage HCU. Table 2 summa-
the benefits of revamping the existing fractionation section rises the utility consumption, economic, and CO2 emission
with a dual stripper flow scheme. benefits of the proposed scheme as compared with a con-
In the revamp flow scheme, the existing debutaniser will be ventional debutaniser-first flow scheme.
utilised as the hot stripper with steam stripping, whereas a The summary in Table 2 is based on a recently proposed
new cold stripper will be added to separate the bulk of naph- revamp solution, where the reduced total fuel consumption
tha and light hydrocarbons as overhead material from the for this 358 m3/hr (~54,000 BPSD) two-stage HCU improves
cold flash drum liquid. The existing debutaniser reboiler will the facility’s NPV by $15.6 million. If CO₂ is valued at $50
be repurposed as a product fractionator feed heater service per tonne, the NPV boost attributable to a dual stripper flow
by modifying the heater outlet piping, as shown in Figure scheme approaches $45.7 million.
6. The existing product fractionator heater will no longer be
required in service during operation of the HCU and will be Dual stripper with dual fractionator solution
shut down or isolated from the system. The stripper overhead Similar to the dual stripper flow scheme, the dual fractionator
liquid will be stabilised in the small new stabiliser column. flow scheme has been offered to several new HCUs and is
a commercially proven solution. Apart from new HCUs, the
Off-gas dual fractionator flow scheme is also an excellent revamp
solution to improve energy consumption from the existing
HCU. The following discussion will elaborate on the applica-
tion of the dual stripper with a dual fractionator flow scheme
Unstabilised
naphtha
Naphtha solution for HCUs.
Cold
Light To further improve energy consumption in the HCU’s
stripper
fractionator Kerosene fractionation section, careful analysis of the compositions
Cold flash MP steam Heavy
drum fractionator for cold and hot stripper bottoms streams were carried out.
liquid It was established that the cold stripper bottoms material
LP steam predominantly contains naphtha and kerosene, whereas the
Hot
hot stripper bottoms hydrocarbon stream predominantly
stripper contains diesel and unconverted oil. Thus, to improve the
Hot flash
drum
Diesel separation efficiency and take advantage of bulk product
MP steam
liquid separation that already occurred at the cold stripper and
the hot stripper, it was proposed to use two fractionators,
namely a light fractionator, which will receive the feed from
Fractionator LP steam
feed heater the cold stripper and a heavy fractionator, which will receive
Unconverted the feed mainly from the hot stripper.
oil
Figure 7 presents the dual stripper and dual fractiona-
Figure 7 Process flow scheme with the dual stripper and tor flow scheme. The cold and hot stripper bottoms liquid
dual fractionator of an HCU streams will feed separate fractionator columns: a light

16 PTQ Q3 2023 www.digitalrefining.com

 Economic benefits of dual stripper and dual fractionator flow scheme vs a single stripper1-8

Parameters Unit Conventional single stripper Dual stripper and dual

flow scheme (base case) fractionator flow scheme
Fractionator feed heater duty MMKcal/hr 41.1 17.7
MP steam generation tonne/hr Base (12.4)
LP steam consumption tonne/hr Base (18)
Utility cost $MM/year Base (8.5)
Estimated erected cost (EEC)
for additional equipment $MM Base +12.5
NPV from process improvements $MM Base + 45.5
CO₂ emission (Scope 1 & 2) tonne/year Base (~65,000) (1)
CO₂ credit $MM/year Base + 3.3
NPV including CO₂ credit $MM Base + 68

Notes: 1. 327 m3/hr (49,362 BPSD) two-stage HCU with conversion of 99.5 vol%. 2. Fuel consumption is based on 90% heater efficiency. 3. CO₂ reduction
credit $50/tonne. 4. Onstream hours: 8,400 hours per year. 5. NPV is for 15 years at 10% discount rate basis. 6. Simple payback period 18 months and with
CO₂ credit payback period will further reduce to 13 months. 7. Utility price basis: • Fuel gas: $35.7/MMKcal • MP steam: $13.3/tonne • LP steam: $11.9/tonne
8. Scope 1 & 2 CO₂ emission basis: • 0.262 tonne of CO₂/MMKcal of fuel gas • 0.208 tonne of CO₂/tonne of MP steam • 0.196 tonne of CO₂/tonne of LP steam

Table 3

fractionator and a heavy fractionator, respectively. The cold product fractionator feed heater duty by more than 50%
stripper bottoms liquid is preheated with available process compared with the conventional single stripper design. Due
heat in the fractionation section to reach a certain vaporisa- to the reduction in the product fractionator feed heater duty,
tion and then fed directly to the light fractionator. CO2 emissions from the HCU will also be reduced, as noted
The light fractionator is steam stripped, and its objective in the examples presented in this discussion.
is to separate the kerosene and naphtha portions from the The dual stripper and dual fractionator flow scheme are
diesel and unconverted oil products, which is routed to the commercially proven solutions that provide improved profit-
heavy fractionator and fed just below the diesel product ability while helping refiners achieve their energy efficiency
draw stage as a combined bottoms product. improvement goals across their asset base. These are solu-
The fractionator feed heater provides heat only to the tions that can be applied to new and existing HCUs.
bottoms liquid from the hot stripper. The heavy fractionator
References
operates at a partial vacuum and will perform the required
1 Wood Mackenzie, Refinery emissions: Implications of Carbon Tax and
separation between the diesel and unconverted oil streams.
Mitigation Options, Nov 2021.
Because the heavy fractionator operates at a partial vac-
2 Baars F, Oruganti S, Kalia P, Oil refinery/petrochemical integration in
uum, the required heavy fractionator feed heater outlet tem-
a CO₂-constrained world; Part 2, Hydrocarbon Processing, Aug 2021.
perature is lower than what would otherwise be required
3 www.epa.gov/climateleadership/
for an atmospheric column, thereby reducing the required scope-1-and-scope-2-inventory-guidance
fractionator heater duty and subsequent stack emissions.
Improved relative volatilities between diesel and uncon- Kiran Ladkat is Principal Hydroprocessing Process Specialist at
verted oil at the lower operating pressure in the heavy frac- Honeywell UOP, specialising in design of hydrotreating and HCUs. He
tionator reduce the required heater duty by more than 50%, has 25 years’ experience in the refinery and petrochemical industry and
been granted 14 US patents. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical
compared with the conventional single stripper design. Table
engineering from Pune University. Email: [email protected]
3 provides a summary of the utility consumption, economic,
Jan De Ren is Global Sr. Offering Manager for UOP’s Fluid Catalytic
and CO₂ emission benefits with a dual stripper and dual frac-
Cracking, Hydroprocessing, and Heavy Oil technologies in Honeywell
tionator flow scheme as compared to a conventional single
UOP’s office in Des Plaines, USA. He holds an MSc in applied chemi-
stripper flow scheme.
cal engineering from the University of Antwerp, Belgium and has nine
As summarised in Table 3, the reduction in total fuel
granted US patents. Email: [email protected]
consumption for this 327 m3/hr (49,362 BPSD) two-stage
Kiran Kashibhatla is Global Project Development Manager – UPT
HCU improves the facility’s NPV by $45.5 million. If CO₂ Hydroprocessing and Heavy Oil technologies in Honeywell UOP’s office
avoidance is at $50 per tonne, the NPV boost attributa- in Bracknell, UK. He has 16 years’ experience in refining and petrochem-
ble to the dual stripper and dual fractionator flow scheme icals and holds a master’s in chemical engineering from Indian Institute
approaches $68 million. of Technology, Roorkee. Email: [email protected]

Economic and emission minimisation goals LINKS

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www.digitalrefining.com PTQ Q3 2023 17