Fixed-Bed Catalyst Test Units: Better Catalyst Decisions for Refinery and Petrochemical R&D

14 hours ago

2 min read

At a glance. Refineries and petrochemical plants spend heavily on catalysts, and a wrong choice costs months of lower yield. The Tech Inc. Fixed-Bed Catalyst Test Unit tests catalysts under controlled pressure, temperature and feed in a tubular fixed-bed reactor, with online GC analysis. For a refinery R&D centre, it is one of the most valuable tools it can own.

What the unit does

It reproduces the conditions of a commercial reactor at bench scale. Catalysts are screened for activity and selectivity, aged over long runs and compared side by side, so the plant changes catalyst on data rather than on brochures.

What is in the unit

Gas feed panel with mass flow controllers
Liquid feed pump and preheater
Tubular fixed-bed reactor in a split-tube furnace with multipoint thermocouples
Back-pressure regulator and gas–liquid separator
Sampling valve for online GC analysis
PLC and SCADA with recipe control, safety interlocks and data logging

Configurations

Configuration	Use
Single-reactor unit	Screening and kinetics
Twin or parallel unit	Side-by-side catalyst comparison
MAT unit	Micro-activity testing of FCC catalysts
Continuous pilot unit	Longer runs and product collection

Why it is one of the best things to happen to refinery R&D

Decisions on data. Compare commercial catalysts before a change-out.
Repeatable results. Mass flow control and multipoint bed temperatures.
Unattended running. Recipes and interlocks for long ageing runs.
Built for sour and acidic feeds. Alloy C-276 wetted parts where needed.
Integrated analysis. GC sampling designed in from the start.

Who uses it

Refinery and petrochemical R&D centres, catalyst makers, universities and fine-chemical plants working on hydroprocessing, FCC, reforming, isomerisation and CO2 conversion. For batch and slurry work, see the six-vessel parallel reactor station.

Frequently asked questions

What is a MAT unit?

A micro-activity test unit measures the cracking activity of FCC catalysts under standard conditions. Tech Inc. builds MAT units on the same platform.