Hydrocracking Process

Hydrocracking is essentially catalytic cracking in the presence of hydrogen. It is one of the most versatile petroleum refining schemes adapted to process low value stocks. Generally, the feedstocks are not suitable for catalytic cracking because of their high metal, sulfur, nitrogen, and asphaltene contents. The process can also use feeds with high aromatic content. Products from hydrocracking processes lack olefinic hydrocarbons.

The product slate ranges from light hydrocarbon gases to gasolines to residues. Depending on the operation variables, the process could be adapted for maximizing gasoline, jet fuel, or diesel production. Table 1.1 shows the feed and the products from a hydrocracking unit.

Table 1.1 :Analysis of feed and products from hydrocracking process