Engineering Commons^™

Modeling Fluid Coker Cyclone Fouling, Erica Glatt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fluid Coking^TM is a continuous process that thermally converts heavy hydrocarbons, such as oil-sands bitumen, to lighter and higher-value products by horizontal injection onto a fluidized bed of hot coke particles. The deposition of carbonaceous materials in the cyclone sections of commercial Fluid Cokers has been observed throughout each run. The main objective of this work is to improve unit reliability by proposing cyclone fouling mitigation strategies based on a localized phenomenological model using Aspen Plus®. The heavy ends condensation fouling mechanism was studied by incorporating vapour-liquid thermodynamics, thermal cracking reactions, and overall fluid dynamics in the Fluid Coker. …