Refinery and Petrochemical Processing

Coking and Thermal Processing

Dr. Philip Holmes

Department for Chemical and Process Engineering
University of Surrey
 Introduction
• Visbreaking – a mild thermal cracking process for improving the quality
(viscosity) of vacuum residue. Also provides additional feed for the FCCU and
naphtha for gasoline production. Typically, clean product yield of 20 – 30 wt %
(700 °F – i.e. 370 °C -).
• Delayed coking – a severe thermal cracking process that rejects carbon as a
deposit in large drums. Developed to upgrade vacuum residue to provide feed
to the FCCU. Typically, clean product yield of 60 – 70 wt %.
• Fluid coking/Flexicoking – similar to delayed coking but coke rejected as a
particulate solid (Fluid coking) or partially gasified (Flexicoking).

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Visbreaker Flow Scheme

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 Visbreaker Operation
• Cracking of long paraffinic side chains from aromatic rings and naphthenes.
Subsequent cracking of paraffins gives reduced viscosity and lower pour points.
• Cracking of resins to light hydrocarbons i.e. olefins and compounds that convert to
asphaltenes.
• Some cracking of naphthene rings if temperatures above 482 °C (900 °F).
• Typically, furnace outlet temperature of 450 – 480 °C with liquid phase reactions at
35 – 90 barg.
• Temperature and residence time in furnace affect conversion/coking rate.
• Coke gradually lays down in furnace tubes so shutdown required every 6 – 9
months for steam/air decoke.
• Typical yields:

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Delayed Coker Flow Scheme

480 – 495 °C

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 Delayed Coker Operation
• More severe vacuum residue thermal cracking than visbreaking.
• Furnace residence time minimised to avoid coke laydown in tubes i.e coke
deposition delayed until “soaks” in large drums where cracking process is
completed.
• Coke drums operated in pairs i.e. one filling with coke whilst other is having coke
drilled out over 48 hr cycle.
• Petroleum sponge coke mainly used for making electrodes.
• Typical yields:

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 ExxonMobil Fluid Coker Flow Scheme

Source: ExxonMobil, 2009.

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 Fluid Coker Operation
• Continuous fluid bed coking process.
• Preheated vacuum residue at 315 – 370 °C is sprayed into the reactor where it
contacts hot fluidised coke particles at 510 – 540 °C.
• Cracking occurs and the vapours are separated from coke particles by cyclones.
- Reactor vapours quenched in scrubber that removes heavy components and coke dust
that are recycled to the reactor. Quenched vapours pass to the fractionator for separation.
- Reactor coke particles scrubbed by steam then transferred to heater.

• Coke inventory is maintained by transferring bed coke from the reactor to the
burner/heater.
- The heater bed is maintained fluidised by air that gives controlled combustion according to
process heat requirements. The flue gas after spinning through cyclones passes through a
CO boiler where steam is raised.
- Hot coke at about 600 °C is returned to the reactor where it provides the necessary
sensible and latent heats and endothermic heat of cracking.
-Excess coke is purged as a product.

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 Fluid Coker Yields

Source: ExxonMobil, 2009.

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 ExxonMobil Flexicoker Flow Scheme

Source: ExxonMobil, 2009.

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 Flexicoker Operation
• Continuous fluid bed coking process.
• Reactor similar to that of Fluid Coker.
• Coke inventory is maintained by transferring bed coke from the reactor to the
burner/heater.
- The heater bed is maintained fluidised by the gasifier gas that after spinning through
cyclones passes through a waste heat boiler and wet gas scrubber to the refinery fuel gas
system.
- Hot coke at about 600 °C is returned to the reactor where it provides the necessary
sensible and latent heats and endothermic heat of cracking.
-Excess coke is sent to the gasifier, with a small amount purged as product.

• Gasifier receives hot coke from the heater and produces low BTU gas from
injection of air and steam. It operates at 815 – 980 °C and transfers coke and gas
to the heater.

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 Flexicoker Yields

Source: ExxonMobil, 2009.

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 References
ExxonMobil, 2009: Fluidcoking Conversion Technology. Available at website.
ExxonMobil, 2009: Flexicoking Conversion Technology. Available at website.

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