CleanCat system used at Total Lindsay Oil

Botlek-Rotterdam 31st March - The need for evolution in the working methods of ‘catalyst charge-outs’ has never been so important for refining companies.

March 2008 Mourik carried out a catalyst change-out at Total Lindsey Oil Refinery  (LOR) in the UK. During this catalyst change-out CleanCat™ was used for the first time at LOR for loading Total’s HDS-2 28D-1 reactor. Several key Total personnel witnessed the demonstration from the UK, France and the Netherlands, along with representatives from the catalyst manufacturer. Over 300m³ catalyst was loaded during wet and windy days with wind speeds in the region of 60mph, - ideal conditions to highlight one of the many benefits of the CleanCat system’s non weather dependency, as established methods, (where big-bags are lifted to the top of reactors by a crane) could not have occurred in such conditions, thus demonstrating the economic savings the CleanCat system brings to the industry.

Total’s technical services department commented, “Despite the very difficult conditions caused by severe gale force winds the CleanCat system loaded the reactor and saved a substantial amount of time by not incurring wind and rain delays”.

CleanCat Technologies, a division of InBulk Technologies together with Mourik International have been working steadily for the past years on the development of revolutionary dense phase technology for reactor catalyst charge-outs. The system involves a dense phase conveying unit at ground level to convey the catalyst to the top of the reactor. At the top, a specialist dual-purpose ‘catalyst controller’ controls the velocity of the catalyst in the pipeline and also allows the catalyst to fall by gravity through a discharge sock in the conventional way.  For unloading, the process can be reversed and the control unit forms part of a dense phase vacuum system.

For further information, please contact Michel Wijbrands, mwijbrands@mourik.com