Petrochemicals & Refining

Protecting Catalysts and Product Specification

Refining and petrochemical processes need tight moisture and contaminant control to protect catalysts and meet product specification. A catalyst poisoned by trace water, sulphur, or chloride may run for weeks at degraded activity before the cause is identified, and the cost of an early changeout runs into millions of dollars per unit. SorbiTech adsorption guard beds prevent that loss for a small fraction of the catalyst replacement cost.

The SorbiTech molecular sieves, activated carbon, and activated alumina handle the recurring duties, and SorbiTech builds the engineered vessels and skids that house them under a single SorbiTech performance guarantee.

Feedstock and Recycle Gas Drying

Feedstock to a reformer, an isomerisation unit, or an aromatics plant must be dried below the moisture limit of the catalyst, which is commonly 1 ppmv or lower. Recycle hydrogen streams carry water from the make up gas and from process water that bleeds in through compressor seals.

A twin or triple tower temperature swing adsorption unit charged with SorbiTech 3A or 4A molecular sieve delivers the specification continuously. The unit is fitted with a regeneration heater sized for the campaign water load and with switching valves rated for the operating pressure.

Guard Beds and Trace Contaminant Removal

Catalyst guard beds run at the feed inlet of the catalytic unit, downstream of the main dryer, and remove the trace contaminants that the upstream treatment does not catch. Typical duties include:

• Residual moisture below the catalyst limit
• Hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans on metal oxide or impregnated carbon
• Hydrogen chloride and chloride on promoted alumina
• Arsine, phosphine, and other heavy metals on a dedicated chemisorbent

A SorbiTech guard bed is sized for the contracted catalyst cycle length, typically 12 to 24 months, with margin to absorb a feedstock upset without breakthrough.

Solvent Recovery and Vapour Treatment

Activated carbon recovers solvents from coater and printing exhaust, from monomer purification vents, and from vapour recovery on tank farms. The carbon is regenerated by steam or by inert hot gas, and the recovered solvent is condensed and returned to the process.

Tank farms, loading racks, and railcar terminals carry a regulated emission limit on volatile hydrocarbons. SorbiTech vapour recovery units capture the displaced vapour, regenerate the SorbiTech carbon, condense the recovered hydrocarbon, and return it to the storage system. The duty meets the typical regulator limits of 10 to 35 g/m³ at the vent.

Refinery Effluent and Catalyst Lifecycle

Refinery effluent combines oily water from desalter outlets and tank bottoms with sour water from crude unit overheads and FCC. The standard SorbiTech train is a CPI separator for free oil, a coalescing skid for dispersed oil, and a polishing stage of activated carbon for dissolved hydrocarbons. The duty connects to produced water and effluent treatment.

For catalyst lifecycle support, SorbiTech aligns the molecular sieve and the activated carbon guard bed inventories to the operator schedule, so warehouse stock does not age out of specification. Replacement campaigns are co ordinated with the host unit turnaround.

Catalyst Lifecycle and Bed Replacement Programmes

A modern refinery runs dozens of catalytic beds, each with a defined campaign length, a planned changeout window, and a forward bed replacement schedule. SorbiTech aligns the SorbiTech molecular sieve and activated carbon guard bed inventories to that schedule, so the operator does not carry warehouse stock that ages out of specification.

Replacement campaigns are co ordinated with the host unit turnaround. The team unloads the spent media under nitrogen, certifies it for disposal or for off site reactivation, loads the new charge, and hands over a campaign report that documents the loading depth, the load density, the mechanical integrity, and the post loading vessel cleanliness.

Petrochemical Complex Coverage

Within an integrated petrochemical complex SorbiTech serves olefin crackers, polyolefin units, aromatics complexes, oxygenate plants, and the supporting utility blocks. Each block has its own water and contaminant sensitivities; the adsorbent and the engineered package selection follow the host catalyst and the product specification rather than a one size fits all template.

Sustainability and Carbon Footprint Reduction

The refining sector is under increasing pressure to reduce direct and indirect emissions. Thermal reactivation of spent activated carbon avoids the manufacture of new media and reduces the lifecycle carbon intensity by 60 to 80 percent compared with single use disposal. Tighter dehydration on a SorbiTech TSA dryer reduces the fuel consumed by the downstream cryogenic unit, which lowers the unit emission factor on the recovered product. The cumulative effect across a refinery campaign typically saves 5 to 15 thousand tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year for a medium sized operator.

From Drum to Turnkey

SorbiTech engages at any level. The operator can order a drum of SorbiTech guard bed media for a planned changeout, a SorbiTech packaged dryer for a debottleneck, or a complete engineered package delivered turnkey by SorbiTech. One performance guarantee covers the complete duty regardless of engagement model, and the engagement scales seamlessly through the asset lifecycle. SorbiTech supplies 3A, 4A, and impregnated alumina for catalyst protection, with engineered dryer packages and effluent treatment across the sector.