BASF Catalysts

Technical Bulletin

R 5-12 Zinc Oxide

Drying Procedure
Catalyst R 5-12 is typically used for the removal of arsine and sulfur compounds. No
activation treatment is necessary. However, when new the catalyst contains some
adsorbed water which may need to be removed if it would affect the process adversely.

Thus it may be advisable to dry the catalyst bed before bringing it on-stream, especially
if there are downstream units which are moisture sensitive or if the reactor effluent must
meet a tight specification on moisture content.

Drying can be accomplished by passing heated nitrogen over the catalyst bed at a flow
rate of 300 SCFH per ft3 of catalyst bed (i.e. a space velocity of 300 hr-1) or higher,
depending on N2 availability. The N2 temperature initially should be no higher than
150 °F to avoid thermal stress to the catalyst. The N2 temperature should be increased
at 75-85 °F per hour up to a max. of 250-350°F. Continue feeding N2 at 250-350 °F
while checking the dew point exit the bed, until the dew point stabilizes indicating the
bed is dry. This procedure can take anywhere from several hours to a couple of days,
depending on the actual N2 flow rate and maximum temperature.

IMPORTANT : If the catalyst has been dried and the process stream contains hydrogen
or olefins, the bed must be cooled to around 40 °C (100 °F) before going on-line, at a
minimum space velocity of 300 hr-1. If a hot spot exists in the bed, an exotherm could
occur upon startup, caused by coking or decomposition of olefins on the hot catalyst.

13-Dec -1999
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