Reformer catalyst application and
optimisation
Rishabh Upadhyay
25 Mar 2015
Westin Hotel Gurgaon, India
Agenda
Catalyst combination for heavy natural gas feedstock
Pressure drop reduction and efficiency benefit
Steaming of primary reformer for carbon removal
Manage increased plant rate
Global excellence
Importance of monitoring process gas temperature
Catalysts for demanding top fired reformer exceed performance in side fired reformer
Case Study 1: Customer with heavy NG
feed
A large methanol customer in Asia Pacific
Plant capacity ~ 2500 MTPD
Top fired reformer
Recently commissioned competition catalyst faced with challenging conditions
Plant constrained to increase load
Background
Relatively heavy natural gas feedstock
Feedstock availability erratic, several trips seen during operation
Tubes observed with hot spots and patches
Eventually some of the tubes ruptured
Carbon formation suspected
JM conducted Reformer Imager survey to identify potential issues with the reformer
Thermal Imager reformer survey
TWTs were measured accurately at two levels
Several hot spots were found during survey
Few hot spots were above the design temperature
Hot & cold zones identified
Hot spots in blind areas observed with the use of Thermal Imager which has fish-eye lens
Temperature distribution
Benchmarking the reformer
Benchmarked against similar reformers to identify scope of improvement
Number of plants
Carbon Number
Findings & recommendation
Carbon formation suspected due to relatively heavy feed
Using standard catalysts carbon formation is expected
Recommendation:
JM alkalised catalyst at the top to avoid carbon formation
Smaller size for high activity
Larger catalysts at the bottom for optimised pressure drop
Summary
Optimum combination of sizes and variants to:
Avoid carbon formation
Optimum pressure drop
JM catalyst preferred
KATALCOJM 25-4MQ
Small alkalised catalyst at the top
KATALCOJM 57-4GQ
Large catalyst at the bottom
Case Study 2: Pressure drop & extended
life benefit
Customer in USA
Plant capacity ~ 1700 MTPD
Top fired reformer
6 catalyst charges installed in 25 years operation span.
Plant faced the problem of low catalyst life and high pressure drop for 10 years after commissioning.
Background
The plant was commissioned in 1990
Life of catalyst charges and pressure drop both were not satisfactory
Life of each of competitors first 3 charges < 4 years
Customer replaced the charge with another competitor but life achieved was still 4.3 years.
First JM charge achieved a life of 5.6 years.
Longer catalyst life
2.4 yrs 3.4 yrs 3.6 yrs 4.3 yrs
Competitor A
(3 charges) Competitor B
KATALCOJM 25-4Q/23-4Q
Johnson Matthey Catalyst
Life 5.6 years
+30% life
Savings with increased catalyst life
The commercial benefits gained by customer with an increase of 30% in catalyst life
(Basis: Average life of JMs catalyst 5.5 years and that of competitors catalyst 4 years)
Cost of one overhaul
Production loss during shutdown
Cost of one primary reformer catalyst batch
Leading low PD product
KATALCOJM57-4G KATALCOJM57-4XQ
(4-hole) (QUADRALOBE)
Nominal OD (mm) 19mm 19.7mm
Nominal hole dia. (mm) 5.5mm 5.5mm
Length (mm) 19.6 - 20.4 19.6 - 20.4
Nominal TBD (kg/l) 0.9 0.9
Average mean horizontal
(radial) crush strength (kgf) >56 >100
Relative pressure drop 1.0 0.76
GSA (m2/m3) 343 346
For the next charge, JM redesigned the catalyst bed and further optimized by using the new leading low pressure drop product.
Further savings with pressure drop
reduction
2.4 yrs 3.4 yrs 3.6 yrs 4.3 yrs 5.6 yrs 5.1 yrs and running
Competitor A
(3 charges) Competitor B
KATALCOJM 25-4Q/23-4Q
KATALCOJM 25-4GQ/57-4XQ
Johnson Matthey Catalyst
Lower pressure drop
Second charge of Johnson Matthey reduced the pressure drop by 20% and is still in service from last 5.1 years with
satisfactory performance.
Case Study 3: Steaming for carbon
removal
Customer in western Europe
Plant capacity ~ 1450 MTPD
Top fired reformer
Feedstock for the plant is LPG which is a challenging duty.
Plant faced the problem of carbon formation due to feeding LPG condensate during startup.
Carbon formation incident
During startup, LPG condensate trapped in line was fed into the primary reformer which resulted in carbon formation over the catalyst.
The pressure drop over the
reformer increased by 1 bar and went upto 4.2 bar.
Hotspots were observed over the length of tube.
Customer reported the incident to JM and mentioned that they need to keep the plant in operation.
Improvement with higher S:C ratio
JM recommended to operate at higher S:C to control carbon and to steam the catalyst in next available oppurtunity.
Appearance improved in
short period of time with higher S:C operation.
Pressure drop reduced by 0.3 bar.
TWT of the hot tubes also came down.
0 5 10 15 200
50
100
150
200
0
0. 5
1
1. 5
2
Time (Hours)
CO
+ C
O2
Exit
Ste
am
Refo
rm
er (p
pm
)
(29.0)
(14.5)
Pre
ssu
re d
rop (b
ar/p
si)
CO + CO2 Pressure Drop
Steaming of catalyst
Due to some reason, plant tripped after two months operation and allowed full steaming.
Carbon removal profile
Recovery of catalyst activity
Hot patches not visible due to carbon removal by
steaming.
TWT and pressure drop reduced considerably
The catalyst charged performed satisfactorily for
4 more years after carbon
formation incident.
Summary
The high strength of JM catalyst restricted any breakage even after feeding of LPG condensate. This allowed the
customer to recover the pressure drop.
Life of tubes was not adversely affected due to JMs catalyst capability of regaining the activity.
Customer in western Europe
Plant capacity at commissioning~ 1750 MTPD
Present capacity ~ 2050 MTPD
Top fired reformer
ICI catalyst Katalco 57-3 was installed at commissioning and provided 10 years of life.
Plant interested in increasing the capacity.
Case Study 4: Increase in plant rate
managing P
Enhanced shape and higher activity
catalyst catering higher load
KATALCOJM57-4G 4-hole catalyst replaced previous charge and had
achieved a 10 year life
~10% increase in plant load including pre reformer addition.
The higher surface area of 4 hole catalyst helped customer to cater the
increased load
The picture of discharged catalyst pellets points out the high strength of
JM shaped catalyst.
KATALCOJM 57-4G
after 10 yrs service
Reduction in pressure drop
In early 2000, plant increased the production to 2000 MTPD and were interested in any further pressure drop
saving
Installation of new KATALCOJM 57-4XQ has given even lower pressure drop
Pressure drop reduced by 24%
Detailed performance surveys completed
Confirmed expected catalyst performance
Allowed plant to reach record rates
Pressure Drop
2.3 bar (earlier)
1.8 bar with
KATALCOJM57-4XQ
Summary
All 3 charges of catalyst since 1987 have achieved 10 years of operation.
All the charges used different shapes and the performance of all catalyst charges had been excellent.
The variations in shapes and sizes enables JM to optimize the catalyst bed for every customer according to their specific
requirements.
Case Study 5 Feedstock changeover
Customer in India
Capacity 1350 MTPD
Installed in Aug 1999
Feedstock as naphtha (100%) till Apr 2004
Same charge operated on mixed feed (naphtha + NG) till April 2007
100% feedstock converted during April 2007
Smooth feedstock changeover experienced
No issues on performance of primary reformer
Discharged catalysts didnt show loss of potash or strength
Customer in India
Second charge commissioned in 2007 for NG as feedstock
2 decker catalyst combination
50:50 alkalised and non-alkalised
Unidense loading
Operates around 105% of rated capacity
Lasted for 7 years without any issues
Performance
Consistence methane slip
Steady pressure drop
Good physical integrity
Time on line
(days)
Methane slip
(% mol, dry)
Norm. Pressure
drop (kg/cm2)
1737 12.21 2.96
1912 11.52 2.9
2166 12.75 3.06
2235 12.9 3.11
2483 12.49 3.12
2563 12.82 3.03
Capacity of 2500 MTPD
Side fired reformer
No of tubes : 210
Commissioned in 1997
Case Study 6 : Global excellence
Global excellence
Customer has a R&D facility along with methanol plant.
Philosophy : Operating with the best catalysts and absorbents affects the competitive power in a business
with a high installed capacity
Belief : Most catalyst suppliers will state that their product is the best ! Necessitates
need for independent testing.
Global excellence
Customer carried out independent tests on material of shortlisted vendor at their own R&D facility in
2007 to find the best for them.
Johnson Matthey KATALCOJM57-4Q was selected.
First charge was installed in 2007 and changed in 2013, providing 100% more life than previous
charge of competitor.
Second JM primary reformer catalyst charge was installed in 2013 and is providing satisfactory
operation
Case Study 7: Benefits of monitoring
process gas temperature
Customer is a renowned utility provider
Customers experience as a technology licensor & plant designer:
Tubes are largest single capital investment
No economical fixes (large down time & capital cost)
Nine references since 2003
Issues identified:
The detailed reformer inspections and surveys are done only periodically and mainly during
incidents.
Lack of measurement technique of process gas temperature inside tube
Failed Tube
in Operation
CatTracker: Solution for process gas
temperature measurement
Customer installed CatTracker units in their plants offered by Johnson Matthey.
11 thermocouple measurement locations
Positioned at determined points of interest along length
Rugged and flexible with high accuracy
CatTracker Tube
CatTracker
Modified
flange
Top Fired Reformer CatTrackers
Side Fired Reformer CatTrackers
Reformer CatTrackers
process simulation calibration
Use with TWTs to calibrate simulation
Detailed reformer model (JM - REFORM)
Regress model physical parameters
More accurate prediction of catalyst performance
Reformer CatTrackers
example plant normal operating data
9 CatTrackers
Different measurement locations
Reformer CatTrackers start up
monitoring
Through startup CatTracker hotter than both outlets.
. in-tube TIs are leading Indicators
Reformer CatTrackers
Sulphur slip incident detection
Summary
On-line in-tube accurate and well proven temperature measurement
First time direct process gas measurement in a reformer
Provided early indication of sulphur poisoning and enabled customer to take early action preventing adverse effect on
catalyst tube.
CatTrackers also facilitate the customer to avert tube failures and have safer operation.
Steam Reformer
Types
Competing reformer technologies in Asia Pacific:
Top fired
Side fired
Comparison
Temperature profiles for typical top and side fired reformers
Flue gas temperature significantly different
Process gas temperatures similar
Comparison
Top Fired Side Fired
Peak heat flux kW/m2
116.6 87.2
Average heat flux kW/m2
78.2 78.0
Ratio peak/average
149% 112%
Top fired duty is more onerous for catalyst
Higher peak heat flux for same average heat flux
Higher risk of carbon formation at peak heat flux point
Requires catalyst to have higher activity as compared to a side fired furnace
Catalyst operating well in a top fired reformer is more than good enough to work in a side fired reformer
Reformer catalyst market split
Market split between top and side fired furnaces
Top fired share has increased over time
Side fired share has a reducing trend because of single designer in new plants.
Case Study 8 - Reformer analysis
Ammonia plant at 1100TPD
Topsoe side fired reformer
Using JM catalyst successfully used since 2000
Reformer health-check analysis completed by JM
Addressed concerns regarding high TWTs
Tube Wall Temperature pattern
920 oC
East Cell 1
Tubes 121 - 160
West Cell 1
Tubes 81 - 120
East Cell 2
Tubes 41 - 80
West Cell 2
Tubes 1 - 40
Furnace Balancing Furnace Balancing
Poorly Balanced
800 820 840 860 880 9000
10
20
30
40
50
Temperature (C)
Freq
uen
cy
(%
)
Well Balanced
800 820 840 860 880 9000
10
20
30
40
50
Temperature (C)
Freq
uen
cy
(%
)
Standard Deviation a good measure
Max TWT
Ave TWT
TWT Improvement
Max TWT down 40C, Avg TWT down 20C
PRIMARY REFORMER TUBE TEMPS
840.0
850.0
860.0
870.0
880.0
890.0
900.0
910.0
920.0
930.0
940.0
11/0
8/20
00
25/1
0/20
00
15/1
2/20
00
20/1
2/20
00
26/0
1/20
01
02/0
3/20
01
20/0
4/20
01
25/0
5/20
01
28/0
6/20
01
12/0
7/20
01
20/0
7/20
01
06/0
8/20
01
14/0
9/20
01
15/1
0/20
01
23/1
1/20
01
14/1
2/20
01
31/0
1/20
02
27/0
2/20
02
22/0
3/20
02
12/0
4/20
02
09/0
5/20
02
31/0
5/20
02
28/0
6/20
02
09/0
7/20
02
02/0
9/20
02
De
g C
Case Study 8(b)
Plant Name Ammonia 1
Design Capacity 1,500 T/D
Current Capacity 1,725 T/D
Construction Contractor Snamprogetti
Process/Design Contractor Topsoe
Reformer/Furnace Contractor Topsoe
Reformer Type Side fired
Feedstock Nat. Gas
Startup Date 01/12/77
Catalyst performance
Customer chosen to get back to JM catalyst
LOTIS creep stain data visualisation
JM arranged Laser Optical Tube Inspection for tube creep study
Case Study 7(c) Tube inspection
Bottom of tubes
Spiral pattern
of damage
Side fired furnace spiral damage
Flue gas flow paths
Thank you
Top Related