Technical review on flexible processing middle distillate for achieving maximum profit in China

Currently, refining business is?experiencing a transformation from refining to chemical business, or integration of refining and chemical business due to the slow economic growth, and decreased demand of clean fuels, particularly diesel product. Diesel products are over-supplied based on the consumption data in China. Refineries are pursuing technologies that could reduce diesel output, particularly the inferior light cycle oil (LCO) fraction. Herein, this article mainly describes the industrialized technologies for LCO processing such as LCO upgrading, LCO blending into available?plants such as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), and hydro-refining/treating unit, LCO moderate hydrocracking, and LCO to aromatics and gasoline with the integration of selective hydro-refining and optimized FCC. It is figured out that the LCO moderate hydrocracking can provide more gasoline at the expense of high H₂ consumption, while LCO to aromatics and gasoline (LTAG) technology needs more steps for clean fuel production and retrofitting of FCC plant. Based on the analyses of current technologies, it is suggested that implementation of such technologies should consider the configuration of refineries, as well as the benefit of employed technologies instead of realizing the target for decreasing diesel product unilaterally.