A non-Shell US refinery’s cycle length was consistently limited to between 9 and 12 months. This was a result of a high-pressure drop across reactor beds.
Attempts were made to remedy the performance issue but nothing was making a substantial impact.
When the reactors' hardware was upgraded with Shell Filter/High-Dispersion Trays, cycle length for the gas oil hydrotreater (GOHT) was increased by 300%.
Contrast this with the marginal 16% improvement from the initial attempts and it's clear to see the value of state-of-the-art hardware.
