How can refiners expand feedstock options for naphthenic specialty lubricants?

By enabling catalytic dewaxing in hydrotreater reactors, refiners can process a broader crude slate while maintaining strict viscosity and density requirements.

What is the role of catalytic dewaxing in lubricant production?

Catalytic dewaxing lowers pour points and optimizes viscosity, allowing refiners to process alternative crudes while meeting lubricant quality standards.

What benefits did the FEL-1 study deliver to the refiner?

The FEL-1 study validated catalytic dewaxing feasibility, identified equipment needs, updated the PFD, and provided a Class V cost estimate for future engineering.

Expanding Feedstock Options for Naphthenic Specialty Lubricants

A European refiner producing naphthenic specialty lubricants (NSP) was experiencing increased margin pressure and tightening feedstock supply. Because lubricants require strict viscosity and density relationships, only certain crudes are suitable for NSP production. To continue meeting quality standards while improving profitability, the refiner was looking to expand their crude slate by enabling catalytic dewaxing.

Objective

Develop a Front-End Loaded (FEL-1) study to assess the feasibility of catalytic dewaxing of intermediate distillates. The study would need to provide a high-level technical evaluation of the hydrotreater, including heat and material balance development, verification of existing equipment under new operating conditions, updates to the process flow diagram (PFD), preliminary sizing of major equipment, and a Class V cost estimate (±50%) to support future engineering and implementation.

Approach

The refiner’s VGO hydrotreater was configured with three reactor beds. Becht evaluated the feasibility of converting the third bed to enable catalytic dewaxing of intermediate distillates. Pilot plant data from multiple heavy crude distillates was analyzed using kinetic modeling, augmented with dewaxing and viscometry correlations developed from crude and pilot data. Becht also built and validated Petro-SIM® digital twins, integrating correlations for viscosity, hydrogen consumption, and yields. This allowed simulation of both base case and dewaxing mode operations.

Solution

The study confirmed that catalytic dewaxing could be implemented by repurposing the third reactor. This design gave the refiner the flexibility to heat the reactor when dewaxing was required and cool it when not. Becht identified equipment items requiring upgrades or replacement, updated the PFD, and developed a preliminary cost estimate to guide next steps.

Value

The FEL-1 study provided the client with a technically validated and economically scoped pathway to expand crude flexibility while safeguarding NSP product quality. Key benefits included:

Broader feedstock options to reduce supply constraints
Improved margin resilience through crude flexibility
A strong basis for advancing to detailed engineering, vendor engagement, and catalyst selection

By enabling catalytic dewaxing, the client was positioned to protect market reputation while maintaining profitability in a challenging environment.

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