The five 'musts' for efficient continuous catalyst regeneration in PDH process

Been struggling to take your propylene production up a notch? Is your continuous catalyst regeneration process not helping with this? Perhaps you could start improving production efficiency by checking your catalyst handling valves.

Simple but challenging

The effective implementation of propane dehydrogenation (PDH) has a lot of challenges, many associated with the catalyst at the core of the process. Coke formed during the process coats the catalyst which reduces the catalyst activity.

One good method of maintaining optimal catalyst activity is continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR). The efficiency and cost effectiveness of CCR comes down to the catalyst handling valves. These small but meaningful components can play a central role in the efficiency of your entire production.

If you are a propylene producer focused on improving competitiveness, having a few quality valves is not enough to maintain top production. Having the most reliable, accurate and application-appropriate valves should be your target – throughout your process.

Five criteria of a good CCR valve

At minimum, the CCR valves you select must meet the following five criteria:

1. Must not allow catalyst or dust to get stuck in cavities
2. Must be able to handle the abrasive catalyst
3. Must correspond to Class VI shut-off requirements
4. Must have a stroking time of less than 10 seconds
5. Must be highly robust and reliable, able to cycle 20,000−30,000 times annually

Do not hesitate to demand industry- and licensor-proven performance. These valves must be specifically designed to last for your desired process uptime targets.

Benefits of reliable CCR valves

• Get industry-wide, well-proven performance
• Detect possible problems in advance with advanced SG9000 diagnostics
• Reduce catalyst waste
• Valve seat designs which are capable of handling the catalyst or dust
• Meet desired process uptime targets with valves that last
• Save piping and valve costs with compact, lightweight valve solutions
• Improve process efficiency with reliable catalyst regeneration
  
  

These details matter so much that only a well-considered valve selection is capable of ensuring an efficient process.

With the right criteria and correct valves, improving total regeneration efficiency and maximum throughput for your dehydrogenation process will be only a matter of time.

If you care for more details about the CCR process and how the right valves are crucial to getting the most out of it, read this application report.