Application and operating experience of sintered metal fiber hot gas filters for FCC unit

Abstract

A long-term test was performed in a Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) hot gas filtration facility using sintered metal candle filters. The operating temperature and pressure were maximum 550°C and 0.28 MPa respectively. Specific particles sampling systems were used to measure the particle size and concentration directly at high temperature. The inlet particles concentration ranged from 150 to 165 mg/Nm3. The outlet particles concentration was in the range of 0.71-2.77 mg/Nm3 in stable operation. The filtration efficiency ranged from 98.23% to 99.55%. The inlet volume median diameters and the outlet volume median diameters of the particles were about 1 μm and 2.2 μm respectively. The effects of operating parameters including face velocity, gas cleaning pressure and maximum pressure drop were investigated. Operating experience, optimal operating conditions and cleaning strategies were determined. The results show that sintered metal fiber filters are suitable for industrial applications due to the better performance and higher efficiency observed.