Dynamic modeling and simulation of a riser-type fluid catalytic cracking unit

A dynamic model is developed for a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit to describe the dynamic behavior of both the riser and the regenerator reactors and their interactions. The cracking reactions are simulated by the four-lumped kinetic model [1]. The reactions in the riser occur in a transported bed with the fluid and the solids in ideal plug flow. The two-phase nature of the regenerator-fluidized bed is considered and the kinetic model for the coke combustion on the cracking catalyst [2, 3] is incorporated. The proposed model is validated using steady-state plant data from an industrial unit and the results are found to be in good agreement. One of the main advantages of the model is that it does not include any partial differential equations. This facilitates the solution of the equations and makes the model particularly suitable for control studies. Simulation studies are performed to investigate the effect of changing various process variables, such as catalyst circulation rate, gas oil feed rate, and oxygen feed concentration.