Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
ISSN 3025-6674
Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality of SF-05 in Hydrocracker Reactor C-3-03B at HCU RU V Balikpapan Adi Sampurno a,1,*.
Totok Eka Suharto a,2.
Zahrul Mufrodi a,3 a Departmentof Chemical Engineering.
Faculty of Industrial Technology.
Ahmad Dahlan University Yogyakarta 55191.
Indonesia adi2107054007@webmail.
id *.
2 totok.
suharto@che.
3 zahrul.
mufrodi@che.
*corresponding author
ARTICLE INFO
Article history Received June 2024
Revised January 2025
Accepted January 2025
Keywords Catalyst
Hydrocracking Hydrogen
Reactor
Smooth Fluid
ABSTRACT
PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional RU V Balikpapan innovated the Unibon Hydrocracker unit to increase the production of Smooth Fluid (SF-.
, a high-quality base oil for drilling mud.
Because the catalyst was approaching the end of run and the product did not yet meet specifications, the catalyst (Change of Catalyst - COC) was replaced with a new configuration in Reactor I C-3-03B.
This research aims to optimize the hydrocracking process by changing catalyst loading and operating settings for the C-3-16B fractionation column.
It is hoped that this effort will produce high-quality SF-05, meet market demand, and increase efficiency and environmental friendliness.
The research results show that the Smooth Fluid SF-05 product meets all specifications with an average hydrogen consumption of 231,649 Nm3/m3 .
83%) in the HCU Train B reactor.
This condition helps improve the quality of products that are more competitive in the market, thus having a positive impact on increasing company profits.
Hydrogen consumption is influenced by various process variables and increases with changes in hydrogen partial pressure.
CFR.
H 2/HC ratio, conversion rate.
WABT, and LHSV.
All process variables are still within the specified operating design range.
This is an open access article under the CCAeBY-SA license.
Introduction Hydrocracking is a petroleum processing process that aims to break down heavy hydrocarbon molecules into lighter hydrocarbons with the help of hydrogen gas (H.
Hydrogen gas plays an important role in this process.
The main function of hydrogen gas is to stabilize the molecular structure formed from the breakdown of hydrocarbon chains, prevent the formation of undesirable unsaturated compounds, and increase the production of light hydrocarbons that have higher economic A high enough amount and purity of hydrogen gas is very important to ensure the reaction runs well, thereby producing oil products according to the expected specifications.
The process of breaking down hydrocarbon molecules takes place in a reactor which is part of the hydrocracker process unit.
In addition, the hydrocracking process also helps reduce sulfur and nitrogen content in the final product, producing cleaner and environmentally friendly fuel .
Ae.
In order to support the efficiency of the hydrocracking process, one of the key factors that affects reactor performance is the arrangement of catalyst loading.
Configuring optimal catalyst loading is very important, because it can increase reaction efficiency and produce better quality products.
According to research conducted by .
shows that changing the catalyst loading configuration in a hydrocracking reactor can increase feedstock conversion and selectivity to desired products, such as lubricating oil.
https://doi.
org/10.
26555/ijce.
http://journal.
id/index.
php/IJCE/ IJCE@che.
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
ISSN 3025-6674
As one of the largest oil refineries in Indonesia.
PT Kilang Petroleum Internasional RU V Balikpapan produces various types of fuel oil and petrochemical products.
One of its main products is Smooth Fluid (SF-.
, a high-quality lubricant used for motor vehicle engines.
Maintaining the quality of SF-05 products is essential to meet market demand and maintain customer satisfaction .
In order to support the production of SF-05 and maintain its quality, the company needs to focus on providing safe, reliable, efficient, and environmentally friendly fuel and non-fuel products.
Continuous innovation and improvement are the keys to facing the challenges of Pertamina's head office in achieving high-quality product targets.
In particular.
Smooth Fluid (SF-.
functions as a base oil in a mixture of drilling activities using oil-based mud (Oil Base Mud/OBM), which must have the best performance and be environmentally friendly, and is produced from the diesel oil fraction .
In the SF-05 production process, one of the crucial stages is the hydrocracking reaction which takes place in reactor I C-3-03B Unibon Hydrocracker.
This reaction involves the use of a catalyst to convert heavy oil raw materials into lighter and better quality products, such as lubricating oil .
However, over time, catalyst performance may decrease, which can impact the quality of the SF-05 product produced.
To overcome this performance decline and improve the quality of SF-05 products, one approach that can be taken is to change the catalyst loading settings in the Unibon Hydrocracker I C-3-03B By making this configuration change, the expected catalyst performance can be optimized, so that the efficiency of the hydrocracking reaction also increases and produces SF-05 with better quality .
, .
Based on previous studies, it is known that changes in the catalyst loading configuration in the hydrocracking reactor can increase feed conversion, selectivity to the desired product, and the quality of the lubricating oil product .
, .
Therefore, the step of optimizing the catalyst loading configuration in the Unibon Hydrocracker I C-3-03B reactor is very important to ensure an increase in the quality of SF-05 products at PT Kilang Petroleum Internasional RU V Balikpapan.
Along with the increasing demand for high-quality SF-05 products, the condition of the catalyst used in the hydrocracker unit (HCU) reactor is increasingly critical, because it is approaching the end of its service life (EOR).
In addition, the reaction temperature setting in the reactor bed has exceeded the maximum limit set, so that the SF-05 product produced still does not meet the expected Increasing the reaction temperature can accelerate the formation of coke on the catalyst surface, which has a negative impact on reactor performance.
Therefore, to ensure that the SF-05 produced is in accordance with the specifications and has high quality, it is necessary to place a new catalyst (Change of Catalyst/COC) by changing the catalyst loading configuration in Reactor I C-3-03B.
Therefore, this research aims to examine the effect of changes in catalyst loading settings in Reactor I C-3-03B hydrocracking unit as well as changes in the way of regulating operating conditions in the C-3-16B fractionation column for diesel oil fraction products on improving the quality of SF-05 products that will be generated.
Research Methodology Materials The research to be conducted requires software equipment in the form of: Reactor and Fractionation Column: the main equipment in the research to observe and analyze operating conditions directly in the field.
Distributed Control System (DCS): a computerized system used to monitor, control and regulate operating conditions automatically.
To see the changes that occur.
Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) is used: software used for statistical analysis and data management as well as design simulation and analysis processes to test the normality of the operating condition data of the C-3-03B reactor and fractionation column.
Microsoft Excel 365: a spreadsheet application that functions for data processing, analysis, and visualization to create data and tables and initial calculations which are then used as input for Aspen HYSYS.
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
ISSN 3025-6674
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
The type of material is research data which consists of primary data types and secondary data types obtained from Pertamina RU V Balikpapan HCC Unit, certain references or literature, literature studies, and company data or documents used to support primary data Procedures To conduct research correctly and in accordance with the expected goals, there are several stages that must be carried out.
These stages include:
Preparation Stages First, initial research was carried out regarding the operating conditions of the reactor and fractionator columns.
Second, reactor I C-3-03B and Fractionator Column C-3-16B HCC units were determined as research subjects.
Third, supporting software in the form of DCS.
SPSS.
MS Excel needs to be prepared.
Fourth, the specified research time is August - October 2023.
Next, data related to equipment operating conditions must be prepared .
ata shee.
Then, a procedure for loading and unloading the catalyst in the reactor must be created.
Finally, create a procedure for setting operating conditions in the fractionation section during SF-05 production.
Reseach Stages In conducting this research, there are several steps that need to be taken.
First, record the operating parameters in the form of fresh feed flow rate.
Recycle Feed flow rate.
Unconverted Oil product flow rate, gas flow rate, gas purity, operating temperature, and property data from catalyst.
Second, measure additional operating parameters that are not included in routine monitoring.
Third, carry out a normality test of operating condition data to obtain certainty whether or not it is appropriate as input for changes to the catalyst loading configuration.
Fourth, carry out calculations and manage data related to operating conditions in accordance with the operating variable calculation formula.
Fifth, determine the independent operating variable in this research, namely setting the temperature for withdrawing diesel oil products in the C-3-16B fractionation column.
Finally, the procedure for setting operating conditions in the fractionator section during SF-05 production is made in the form of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
Results and Discussion Process Description PT.
Kilang Pertamina Internasional RU V Balikpapan Refinery, especially the Hydrocracker Unit Train B, has a processing capacity of 27,500 barrels/day and functions to carry out conversion through a cracking process in the reactor with Fresh Feed (FF), namely High Vacum Gas Oil (HVGO).
from the High Vacum Unit (HVU) plant and storage tank with a ratio of around 45% and HVGO is converted into lighter products with high selling value, such as Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Light and Heavy Naphta.
Light and Heavy Kerosene, and Gasoil, apart from that, also special products high quality, namely Smoot Fluid (SF-.
which will be discussed in this research.
The HVGO feed design data can be seen in table 1.
Table 1.
HVGO Bait Design Data Property HVGO Test Method Gravity.
API
ASTM D-287
ASTM Dist.
ASTMD-1160
IBP
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
ISSN 3025-6674
Sulfur Content.
Wt.
UOP-380
Total Nitrogen.
Wt.
Ppm
UOP-384
Conradson Carbon.
Wt.
ASTM D-169
Heptane Insolubles.
Wt.
%max.
UOP-614
Metal (Ni V).
Wt.
Ppm max
UOP-391 or 389
0 max
ASTM D-1500
Color The SF-05 product that will be produced has critical parameters of density, aromatic content, viscosity, pour point, aniline point, sulfur content.
SF-05 product specifications can be seen in table Table 2.
SF-05 Product Specifications Parameter Density @15AC Unit
Method
ASTM D-1298
Specification 800 Ae 0.
Flash Point PMCC
ASTM D-93
Min.
% m/m GCMS Max.
Viscosity @40AC ASTM D-445 0 Ae 3.
Distilasi
ASTM D-86
Min.
Pour point
ASTM D-97
Max.
Aniline point
ASTM D-611
Min.
Color ASTM
ASTM D-1500
Max.
Copper strip corrosion ASTM D-130 Max.
Class 1
ASTM D-2622
Max.
Aromatic content (BTX) IBP Sulfur Content The reactor in the hydrocracker unit uses a fixed bed reactor type using two different types of catalyst, namely the HC-215 LT .
catalyst which is used for the hydrotreating process and the DHC-8 .
catalyst, whose reaction orientation is hydrocracking.
Operating Condition The operating conditions in the hydrocraking process will influence the progress of the conversion In addition, the operating variables that are regulated will affect the operating load .
of the reactor, quality and product quantity.
These operating variables include: temperature, pressure, hydrogen consumption, conversion rate.
H2/HC ratio.
Combined Feed Ratio (CFR).
Conversion per Pass (CPP), hydrogen partial pressure.
Liquid Hourly Space Velocity (LHSV).
Weight Average Bed Temperature (WABT).
Operating conditions are obtained from direct observations in the field and data from the Distributed Control System (DCS).
By using the formula for each operating condition, the following recapitulation data on the reactor evaluation results can be obtained which can be seen in Table 3.
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
ISSN 3025-6674
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
Table 3.
Recapitulation Data of Evaluation Results Variabel
Date
01/08/23
02/08/23
03/08/23
04/08/23
05/08/23
06/08/23
07/08/23
08/09/23
09/09/23
10/09/23
11/09/23
12/09/23
13/09/23
14/09/23
15/10/23
16/10/23
17/10/23
Konsumsi
Conversion PP H2
LHSV
Nm3/Hr Kg/cm2 1/Hr CFR
CPP
H2/HC
Reactor
C-3-03B
WABT
Reactor
C-304B
Reactor
C-305B
Evaluation results show actual values based on operating condition data.
If we average the calculation results of the reactor operating process variables including hydrogen consumption in the HCU train B reactor circuit, we can make a comparison between the calculation results and the design values for the existing operating conditions.
Table 4 below is a comparison table data.
Table 4.
Data Comparison of Calculation Results and Design Data
Desain
Variable Unit
Evaluation Min Max
Consumption Nm3/m3 Konversion kg/cm2g LHSV
1/hr CFR
CPP
Nm3/m3 WABT
Reactor 1 Bed I AC
Reactor 1 Bed II
Reactor II
Reactor i AC
Hydrogen Partial Pressure H2/HC Ratio
55 AC
454 AC (EOR)
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
ISSN 3025-6674
An analysis can be carried out regarding the operating conditions of the reactor during operation to produce SF-05, namely:
LHSV operates below design, because the amount of feed processed is currently also reduced according to processing targets.
The increase in flow rate of processed feed will be directly proportional to the increase in operating LHSV, and vice versa.
Combined Feed Ratio (CFR) is operated beyond the design limit, because more and more liquid recycle is returned to the recycle feed reactor.
The aim is to reduce the severity of the fresh feed reactor and increase the conversion rate of the amount of feed into product.
Hydrogen Partial Pressure is operated close to the design maximum with the aim of compensating for coke formation on the catalyst surface.
Therefore, hydrogen partial pressure is an important parameter that must be monitored.
In terms of temperature, the current peak temperature is 440 oC, from the permitted peak temperature limit of 454 oC.
This indicates that the catalyst activity is still under normal operating conditions, and the SF-05 product as the main product is produced in accordance with the specified specifications.
Fig.
1 Graph of WABT Reactor Condition WABT calculation results are below design.
This is because the required reaction temperature is smaller so WABT decreases.
And it is shown by the decreasing slope on the WABT graph.
If the reactant residence time is shorter, the frequency of the reaction will be lower, and vice versa.
overcome this, the action that needs to be taken is to increase the energy supply needed for the reaction, so that the frequency level that occurs can remain high even though the residence time of the reactants is relatively short.
To increase the energy supply for reactions, appropriate actions need to be taken.
This action is to increase the RIT (Reactor Inlet Temperatur.
value, which will have an effect on increasing WABT.
The WABT calculation has been carried out in the previous sub-chapter.
Figure 1 below shows the condition of the reactor WABT.
Correlation between Abtara Conversion and Product Yield The amount of yield volume will vary greatly from one catalyst to another.
This is because different types of catalysts will provide different cracking reactions.
The type of catalyst will determine the level of cracking that occurs.
Amorphous catalysts generally do not require a high conversion compared to zeolite to get the same product.
However, zeolite catalysts generally have higher activity than amorphouse so they require lower temperatures.
The volume of the main product will increase with increasing conversion.
Product yield data produced by HCU train B includes Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Light Naphta.
Heavy Naphta.
Light Kerosene.
Heavy Kerosene.
Diesel or SF-05.
Net Bottom Fractionator (NBF) which can be seen in table 5.
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
ISSN 3025-6674
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
Table 5.
HCU Train B Product Product .
Date
LPG
L Naphtha
H Naphtha
L Kerosine H Kerosine SF-05
NBF
01/08/23
02/08/23
03/08/23
04/08/23
05/08/23
06/08/23
07/08/23
08/09/23
09/09/23
10/09/23
11/09/23
12/09/23
13/09/23
14/09/23
15/10/23
16/10/23
17/10/23
From Table 5 it can be seen that the number or quantity of SF-05 products has a higher percentage compared to other products, this indicates that the cracking process in the HCU reactor with the DHC-8 type catalyst is taking place optimally with the reaction direction to maximize the diesel fraction product.
Apart from the quantity aspect, the quality analysis of the final product, especially the SF-05 product, is also strictly controlled so that it meets the specified specifications, which can be seen in Table 6.
Table 6.
SF-05 Product Analysis Results after Configuration Changes Date Product Analysis SF-05 Units Limits 01/08/2 02/08/2 03/08/2 04/08/2 05/08/2 06/08/2 Density @15 C 8 - 0.
Flash Point Min.
Aromatic Content
(BTX)
Max.
Viscosity @40 C 0 Ae 3.
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
ISSN 3025-6674
Distilasi (IBP) Min.
Pour Point Max.
Aniline Point Min.
Color ASTM Max.
Copper Strip Corossion Max.
Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Sulfur Content Max.
Date Product Analysis SF-05 Units Limits 07/08/2 08/09/2 09/09/2 10/09/2 11/09/2 12/09/2 Density @15 C 8 Ae0.
Flash Point Min.
Aromatic Content
(BTX)
Max.
Viscosity @40 C 0 Ae 3.
Distilasi (IBP) Min.
Pour Point Max.
Aniline Point Min.
Color ASTM Max.
Copper Strip Corossion Max.
Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Sulfur Content Max.
Date Product Analysis SF-05 RataRata Units Limits 13/09/2 14/09/2 15/10/2 16/10/2 17/10/2 Density @15 C 8 Ae0.
Flash Point Min.
Aromatic Content
(BTX)
Max.
Viscosity @40 C 0 Ae 3.
Distilasi (IBP) Min.
Pour Point Max.
Aniline Point Min.
84,81
Color ASTM Max.
Copper Strip Corossion Max.
Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Class 1 Sulfur Content Max.
Adi Sampurno et.
al (Optimizing Catalyst Loading for Improved Quality A.
ISSN 3025-6674
Indonesian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.
No.
1, 2025, pp.
Conclusion From the research carried out, the resulting Smooth Fluid SF-05 product meets all the specified specification parameters.
The average hydrogen consumption of the HCU Train B reactor circuit is 231,649 Nm3/m3 with a purity of 94.
This condition contributes to improving the quality of products that are more competitive in the market, thus having a positive impact on increasing the company's profits.
Hydrogen consumption is related to various process variables such as fresh feed intake, feed SG, conversion.
H2/HC ratio, hydrogen partial pressure.
CFR.
CPP LHSV, and WABT.
Evaluation shows that hydrogen consumption increases with decreasing hydrogen partial pressure and CFR, as well as increasing H2/HC ratio, conversion rate, and WABT.
Hydrogen consumption also increases as LHSV decreases.
The evaluation calculations of process variables related to hydrogen consumption are still within the specified operating design range.
References