Hydrocrackt

Hydrocrackt is a nonstandard term sometimes used to refer to hydrocracking, a refinery process that converts heavy hydrocarbons into lighter products in the presence of hydrogen. The form is also used informally as a verb, as in “the feed was hydrocrackt.”

In hydrocracking, a feed such as vacuum gas oil is treated with hydrogen over bifunctional catalysts at high pressure (roughly 30–70 bar) and elevated temperatures (around 300–450 C). The catalysts have acidic sites for cracking and metal sites (for example nickel, cobalt, molybdenum or tungsten) for hydrogenation and hydrocracking. A hydrogen-rich environment helps suppress coke formation and saturates hydrocarbons, producing more stable products.

Typical products include naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel and jet fuel, often with improved sulfur removal. Compared with non-hydrogenating cracking, hydrocracking generally yields higher-quality middle distillates and lower volumes of light gases and olefins, at the cost of higher hydrogen consumption and more complex, energy-intensive operation.

Applications of hydrocracking include upgrading heavy feeds, improving sulfur content, and converting residuals from vacuum distillation into meet-specification fuels. Variants range from mild hydrocracking or hydro-upgrading to full hydrocracking, depending on desired product slate and feed quality. Reactor configurations commonly used are fixed-bed, moving-bed, and slurry-bed systems, each with its own advantages for catalyst lifetime, selectivity, and integration with hydrogen supply.