Catalyst Support Blog

The fourth annual Asian Nitrogen + Syngas conference was held in Jakarta Indonesia at the Ritz Carlton Mega Kunigan hotel from October 26th to 28th, 2015.

Christy Catalytics, LLC exhibited at this conference and our booth promoted our complete line of solutions for the Nitrogen & Syngas industry including inert bed supports for fixed bed catalytic and adsorbents reactors, refractory specialty shapes and tower packing for packed tower equipment.  Our growing marketing partnership with Blasch Ceramics was highlighted at our booth.

Many of Christy's regional marketing partners were in attendance to promote our ability to serve our growing Asian clientele including Mr. Tomo Mori [Japan], Mr. K.S. Yong [Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei] and Mr. Yoseph Wijaya [Indonesia].

The conference, with its range of technical papers and workshops as well as exhibit hall where key suppliers of products and services to the global nitrogen and syngas industry, offered end users in attendance an excellent overview of current technical and market trends and the ability to interface with key peers in their industry.

Christy Cataltyics, LLC looks forward to continued support of this prestigious event in future years.

From left to right:   Mr. Tomo Mori, Mr. Vernon Christensen, Mr. K.S. Yong, Mr. Yoseph Wijaya

Christy Catalytics, LLC recently exhibited at the Nitrogen & Syngas 2012 Conference held in Athens, Greece from March  20-23 . With a record attendance of over 500 delegates and over 38 exhibitors, the venue gave Christy Catalytics, LLC the opportunity to interface with key industry contacts as well as learn about new developments related to the the Nitrogen and Syngas industries worldwide.  Delegates who visited our booth were able to view our entire line of products and discuss their specific requirements with our staff.

Per Vernon Christensen,  Christy’s Vice President of Sales, “the Athens conference was a resounding success and we look forward to participating in next year’s Nitrogen & Syngas 2013 conference to be held in Berlin, Germany  [March 5-8].”

Christy Catalytics held forth at the 2011 SynGas Association meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA from April 25-27. Primarily focused on the ammonia industry, the 375 attendees included delegates from hydrogen facilities as well.

Christy’s exhibit featured its well known PROX-SVERS® inert catalyst bed support media, CUSTOM-CRAFTED™ Hexagonal Target Tile Secondary Reformer toppings, and random packing mass transfer media (saddles, raschig rings, and pall rings).   

Christy Catalytics participated in the Nitrogen + Syngas Conference in Duesseldorf Germany from February 20 to 23, 2011.  Organized by the UK-based consultancy CRU (www.crugroup.com), the conference draws attendees from throughout the globe to discuss issues and advancements associated with production and technology of the nitrogen value chain.

Christy’s stand exhibited its comprehensive offerings or high-temperature reactor internals (PROX-SVERS® alumina balls, ceramic balls, and alumina bricks and block), and of mass-transfer media (saddles, raschig rings, and pall rings).   The 2012 conference is planned for Athens, Greece.

There are several different ways to provide a target and/or catalyst hold down in a secondary reformer. These same methods also apply for synthesis gas high and low temperature shift reactors, although a lower purity material could be substituted to reduce cost. These options are:

• Large diameter alumina balls (50 mm, 76 mm, 100 mm)
• Alumina hexagonal target tile (up to 25 Kg each)
• Large alumina lumps (50 x 100 mm)
• Low pressure drop (low dP) catalyst support media

Several factors must be considered when selecting catalyst support hold down media:

• Purity - Low silica is key with >99% alumina being considered the "gold standard".
• Pressure Drop - Depending upon who you talk to, some insist low pressure drop is important; others insist that a higher pressure drop media is important in order to ensure good flow distribution across the top of the catalyst.
• Size and Weight - Many secondary reformers have problems with the process gas flow dislocating the catalyst hold down material thus exposing the catalyst bed.  If this is a concern, the heavier the individual media piece, the less likely it is to be displaced during service.
• Cost - Each of the above options has a different price per installed volume.  Price can be considered once the purity, pressure drop and size considerations have been addressed.

Based on our field experience and conversations with operators, catalyst vendors and engineering design personnel, we believe the following to be true:

• Alumina lumps have by far the highest pressure drop due to their irregular shape, poor aerodynamic properties and thicker bed volume.  Due to their needle like shape, they have also been known to penetrate into the catalyst bed.
• 50 mm and 76 mm alumina balls have significantly less pressure drop due to their round surface, consistent void volume and reduced volume required for loading. 76 mm alumina balls have approximately 30% lower dP than 50 mm alumina balls.
• Hexagonal target tile is a little more difficult to install, but bench scale testing indicates that 64 mm thick hexagonal target tile with 19 mm holes have about half the dP of 76 mm diameter balls.  Due to their weight, they are also the least likely media to become dislocated during unit operation.
  

While past practice has primarily relied upon the use of alumina lumps and alumina balls, industry trends suggest the use of hexagonal target tile as the product of choice for the toughest applications where dislocation of the catalyst hold down media is a concern.

To ask additional questions or to share your own experiences about difficult catalyst hold down applications, please drop us a line.