Research Progress and Commercial Applications of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Technology

As the core of heavy oil upgrading, fluid catalytic cracking(FCC) units have long been the main pillar of economic benefits for petrochemical enterprises in China.This paper reviews the development history of domestic FCC technology and summarizes the current status of FCC technology from three perspectives based on target products:Oil production technology,light olefin maximization technology,and product structure adjustment technology.It emphasizes summarizing the design concepts,main characteristics and commercial application of different FCC technologies,with a particular focus on comparing the differences in reactor types and catalyst.Additionally,research efforts aimed at improving oil quality to meet market demands,enhancing the yields of low⁃carbon olefins,BTX(benzene,toluene,xylene),and other basic chemical raw materials,as well as optimizing their selectivities,are discussed,providing viable technical solutions for high⁃quality enterprise development.Future research priorities for FCC technology include feedstock heavy and diversified processing,product quality improvement,flexible product structure adjustment,and cleaner production processes.