CHEM1136 – Forensic Science : Final Year Design Project 2024-25 | UoG

Project Brief

High Pressure Distillate Hydrotreater

Background and Introduction 

The main objective of a high pressure distillate hydrotreater is to remove impurities (such as Sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen) from the feed to produce ‘on grade’ diesel (to meet the Industry specification for Diesel). The key hydroprocessing reaction is the catalytic addition of hydrogen to oil. 
The investment in a distillate hydrotreater would maximise utilisation of ExxonMobil’s highly efficient pipeline network in the South of the UK. 

Figure 1, below shows a standard overview for a high conversion refinery, such as Fawley and the typical location for the distillate hydrotreater.

Figure 1. Typical Refinery overview

Objective & Design Brief 

The objective is to produce ADO10 Industry specification diesel for sale to the UK market.  Process Safety & Reliability are essential. 

Teams should aim to minimise product specification ‘giveaway’, an indication of over processing. When assessing economics, it’s important to consider the cost and run length between catalyst recharges. Key product qualities are total sulphur content, cetane number, cetane index, flash point and density.