DELAYED COKER

Highlights

OBJECTIVE

Severe thermal cracking process leading

to a total conversion of heavy residues
(vacuum and atmospheric residues)
into lighter products with a higher added value.

TO SUM UP:
• Produce cracked products, rich in pollutants (sulphur, nitrogen, olefins and diolefins) to purify alone
(high hydrogen consumption) or blended with straight-run cuts.

• Yields gained: gas (10%), gasoline (10%), gasoil (22%), distillate (28%), coke (20 to 30%).

• The green coke called “pet-coke” is collected in the coke drum, arranged by pair to have a continuous
running, with a cycle length of 48h (loading and removal of coke).

• Operating parameters: cracking temperature, residence time, pressure, time for decoking, feed flowrate.

• Decoking, a key point for the process: opening of the coke-drum, coke removal with water injection
at high pressure, collection of coke in a slope before discharge, increase of pressure and temperature
before the next shift of drum.

• The energy consumption is relatively high due to the high temperature of cracking, from 3 to 4% over
feed flowrate.

• This process is commonly used in the “Upgrader” of heavy crudes.

• Two other technologies developed by Exxon lead to a gasification of coke to produce electrical
or thermal energy: Fluidcoker (slight gasification) and Flexicoker (gasification almost complete of coke).

• The margin depends on the differential value in between the heavy fuel and light products, the heavy
and light crude oils and the coke market.

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