Glossary
Steel and refining
FCC regenerator
Also known as FCCU regenerator, catalyst regenerator (FCC).
The FCC regenerator burns coke deposits off spent FCC catalyst circulating in the unit. Combustion at ~700 °C restores the catalyst's cracking activity for return to the riser-reactor. The hot flue gas produced is routed through cyclone separators (primary and secondary inside the regenerator, then third-stage external) before going to either a CO boiler or a power-recovery expander.
Fouling concerns
- Catalyst fines accumulation in the regenerator cyclone hoppers
- Refractory-debris accretion in flue-gas paths after major outages
- Pluggage in the third-stage separator's dipleg
- Dust hopper bridging below catalyst recovery equipment
Sonic-horn duty
Sonic horns on regenerator-flue-gas-train hoppers and on the third-stage separator catalyst-fines hopper keep catalyst fines flowing reliably back into the unit or to disposal.
Related terms
Related terms
- Fluid catalytic crackingFluid catalytic cracking (FCC) cracks heavy hydrocarbons into gasoline and lighter products over a fluidised catalyst bed. The associated regenerator and separators benefit from sonic-horn cleaning.
- Third-stage separatorA third-stage separator recovers very fine catalyst fines from the FCC regenerator flue gas using high-efficiency cyclones. Pluggage of the underflow leg is a chronic operational issue.
- Cyclone separatorA cyclone separator removes particulate from a gas stream by centrifugal force. Wall build-up and re-entrainment from the dipleg are the dominant operational issues.