A Hydrocracking (or Hydrocracker) is a catalytic cracking process assisted by the presence of a pressured hydrogen and a catalyst that uses gas oil, which is heavier and a higher boiling range than distillate fuel oil, and cracks the heavy molecules into distillate and gasoline. The Hydrocracker upgrades low quality heavy gas oils from the atmospheric or vacuum distillation facilities to high-quality and particularly valuable products that is trying to maximise diesel production and reduce residual fuel oil.
Reference Definition by Link.springer.com: Hydrocracking is a flexible catalytic refining process that can upgrade a large variety of petroleum fractions. Hydrocracking is commonly applied to upgrade the heavier fractions obtained from the distillation of crude oils, including residue. The process adds hydrogen which improves the hydrogen to carbon ratio of the net reactor effluent, removes impurities like sulphur to produce a product that meets the environmental specifications, and converts the heavy feed to a desired boiling range. The chemistry involves the conversion of heavy molecular weight compounds to lower molecular weight compounds through carbon-carbon bond breaking and hydrogen addition. The main products have lower boiling points, are highly saturated, and generally range from heavy diesel to light naphtha. Hydrocracking processes are designed for, and run at, a variety of conditions.
Related Definitions in the Project: The Plant and Process Unit
