Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), as a core process in the petroleum refining industry, is crucial to China's energy demands and the development of the petrochemical industry. By addressing the contradictions between thermal and catalytic reactions, as well as between unimolecular and bimolecular reactions, innovations in FCC technology have been propelled. SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co., Ltd. has developed various catalytic materials,catalysts and processes, such as SRNY zeolite and Min-Coke catalysts, significantly enhancing heavy oil conversion efficiency and reducing coke yield. The development of the series olefin-reducing catalyst GOR and the variable-diameter fluidized bed reactor technology has successfully met the requirements for unleaded gasoline and environmental protection, driving the upgrade of China's gasoline quality. Additionally, the development of catalytic cracking technologies (such as DCC and CPP) and the maximum selective catalytic cracking (MSC) process has achieved the goal of transitioning from refining to chemicals production, improving the production efficiency of light olefins and clean fuels. The innovative thinking and technological breakthroughs in FCC have not only advanced the development of FCC technology in China but also provided significant references for the global refining industry.

China's first fluid catalytic cracking unit was completed and put into operation in the Second Petroleum Plant of Fushun Petrochemical Company in 1965. The completion of the unit marks a major breakthrough in the fluid catalytic cracking technology of China's refining industry and fills the domestic technology gap. The successful operation and upgrading of the unit have provided valuable experience for the design and operation of domestic FCC units and promoted the progress of FCC technology in China.

The data from the first industrial test of 13X molecular sieve catalysts in a riser catalytic cracking unit in China were collected. By comparing with amorphous microsphere silica-alumina catalysts, the advantages of molecular sieve catalysts in terms of activity, selectivity, coke formation rate, and conversion rate were truly reflected.

The research on efficient regeneration technology of fast bed in China has always been accompanied by the development of fluid catalytic cracking technology in China. Based on literature records, this article traces the collaborative development process of China's rapid bed high-efficiency regeneration technology and the development and application of the first set of technology. It elaborates on the development of high-efficiency regeneration processes, especially the achievements made in industrialization technology after the successful development of this technology.

The development history and the latest advancements in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst production technology in China are primarily introduced. Since the establishment of China's first FCC unit in 1965, domestic FCC catalyst production technology has undergone continuous innovation, gradually forming a series of products that can meet domestic market demands and have been exported to multiple countries. The key directions of FCC catalyst production technology are highlighted: enhancing yield, optimizing performance, achieving clean production, and enabling resource utilization.Through technological innovation and equipment upgrades, catalyst production has achieved large-scale, continuous, automated, and cleaner operations. The capacity of single-unit installations has increased from 5 kt/a to 50 kt/a, reaching internationally advanced levels. Specific technologies include zeolite mother liquor recycling, continuous production processes, low-temperature spray drying, and high-temperature calcination, which have significantly improved catalyst yield and performance. Concurrently, the application of environmental protection technologies has enabled effective treatment of exhaust gases, wastewater, and solid waste generated during production, realizing green manufacturing practices.Future efforts will continue to focus on cleaner production, intelligent manufacturing, and specialized catalyst development to support the high-quality and sustainable growth of the refining industry.

Catalysis technology is an irreplaceable key technology that promotes the development of modern industry. In modern industries such as petroleum, chemical, biochemical, and environmental protection, over 90% of industrial processes are related to catalysis technology and involve the application of catalysts. The catalyst plant of the PetroChina Lanzhou Petrochemical Company(referred as LPC) was completed and put into operation in 1964. It was the first petroleum processing catalyst production plant in China, where the small ball catalyst, one of the "Five Golden Flowers" of the petroleum front, was born. It is known as the cradle of catalytic cracking catalysts in China.In the development process of more than 60 years, LPC's catalyst business has always focused on the major needs of national energy security and green low-carbon development. It has always inherited Daqing and iron man spirit, and has developed 4 series and 40 varieties of catalysts.All research and development achievements have been industrialized, also providing key core technologies for building the world's largest single catalyst production device capacity and creating a completely independent and controllable catalyst industry chain.

Catalytic cracking is one of the most active and distinctive refining and processing technologies in China. With a 60 years development history, it has accumulated a large amount of process and engineering technology and experience, playing a crucial role in converting heavy oil into light products, automotive fuel production, gasoline quality upgrading, and improving the economic benefits of refining enterprises. By reviewing the development trend of catalytic cracking technology and looking forward to the future development needs of the refining industry, catalytic crackingis expected to continue to provide strong support in the process of refining structure adjustment and oil chemical transformation in the future.In the future, catalytic cracking technology will focus on making new efforts in short process reengineering of refineries, direct crackingof crude oil, flexible adjustment of oil and chemical product structure, energy conservation and emission reduction, and clean production.

This paper reviews the 60-year development of fluid catalytic cracking engineering technology at SINOPEC Guangzhou Engineering Co., Ltd., which has evolved alongside advancements in fluid catalytic cracking technology. The development of fluid catalytic cracking engineering technology can be chronologically divided into stages of initial foundation, technological breakthroughs, and large-scale plant. Through the efforts of generations of catalytic experts, a technology cluster has been established, featuring 11 reaction-regeneration configurations adaptable to diverse feedstocks and a comprehensive engineering innovation system. These achievements provide robust technical support for the expansion of fluid catalytic cracking engineering technology. The company has successfully developed the industrial-scale methanol to olefins (DMTO) complete technology, forming a world-leading DMTO engineering system. This breakthrough has accelerated the rapid emergence and growth of coal-to-olefins strategic industryin China, playing a vital role in advancing the oil substitution strategy and safeguarding energy securityof China.

The fluid catalytic cracking unit has always been a crucial and key unit in oil refining enterprises. With the development of processes and process control technologies, the progress of fluid catalytic cracking optimization technologies has also become a symbol of the key intelligent technological progress. The control technology of the catalytic cracking process is implemented in a stepwise manner through conventional control, advanced control and online optimization control technologies,in which good conventional control is not only conducive to improving the automatic control rate of the unit, but also serves as the foundation of advanced control. The successful application of advanced control is, in turn, the prerequisite for online optimization technologies. An accurate model of fluid catalytic cracking can greatly improve the performance of optimization control, and its combination with artificial intelligence technologies has laid a cornerstone for realizing the overall intelligent prospects of enterprises.

Tracing back the development process and technological transformation route of the core technology of gasoline production, catalytic cracking (FCC) process. Under the drive of heavy and inferior raw materials, technologies for pre-treatment of distillate oil, residual oil, heavy oil, and catalytic cracking of heavy oil have been sorted out. In response to the market's demand for gasoline quality, this article elaborates on the research progress of clean catalytic cracking gasoline products from the aspects of unleaded gasoline, reducing gasoline olefin and sulfur content, etc. Based on this, a series of transformative catalytic cracking processes are continuously developed. It mainly includes dual reaction zone catalytic cracking (MIP),deep catalytic cracking (DCC), targeted catalytic cracking to olefins(TCO) for low-cost production of light olefins, integration of FCC gas oil hydrotreating(HAR) and highly selective catalytic cracking(HSCC) for maximizing liquid yield(IHCC), etc. The future catalytic cracking process not only faces the challenge of transformation and development, but also needs to meet the "the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals" requirements. Its target products will gradually shift from gasoline to light olefins in a flexible and controllable manner, while reducing CO₂ emissions in the production process. This will become a new driving force for the technological transformation of catalytic cracking processes in the future, promoting the development of catalytic cracking technology to a higher level.

Based on the innovative theory of catalytic cracking, deep catalytic cracking (DCC) process has continuously developed and grown into DCC family processes, playing an important role in the transformation from oil refining to chemical industry.The DCC family processes have characterized by diversified product structure, strong adaptability to raw materials, operational flexibility, and large-scale application, forming a route for olefinbased petrochemical refineries centered around DCC technology.

Catalytic cracking is the core technology of domestic oil refining industry，and it is an important pillar of the economic benefit of today's petrochemical enterprises and a key path of petrochemical transformation and development in the future. In this paper，the development history and industrial application of domestic catalytic cracking technology are introduced. And the development status and commercial application of catalytic cracking technology are introduced from the aspects of raw material feeding technology，reaction termination and separation technology，striping technology，catalyst regeneration technology，catalytic cracking reaction technology，and integrated innovative technology of catalytic cracking，so as to provide guidance for the selection of catalytic cracking technology and plant operation.

The cyclone separator is a key equipment in the catalytic cracking unit, which directly affects the catalyst loss rate and long-term stable operation of the unit, and is also an important component of the energy consumption of the reaction-regeneration system. This article principally introduces the technology of cyclone separators in catalytic cracking regenerators at home and abroad, as well as the research progress on the structure, flow field and performance relationship of cyclone separators based on domestic PV type high-efficiency cyclone separators, and the structural characteristics of the new PLS two-stage cyclone separator.

This paper begins by tracing the origins of catalytic cracking processes, briefly reviewing their evolution from the initial fixed-bed operations, through a short phase of moving-bed processes, to the development of fluidized bed technologies, and ultimately to the circulation fluidized bed processes. Subsequently, the focus is on the rise of research in fast fluidized beds, particularly the systematic research efforts in this field by domestic scientists represented by Mooson Kwauk. During the development of theoretical models, the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, worked closely with SINOPEC and other entities to jointly promote several significant upgrades of catalytic cracking process technologies, including the technology for fast fluidized bed regenerators and the technology for maximizing the production of isomerized alkanes in diameter-transformed fluidized bed reactors. With the continuous advancement of catalytic cracking technology in China, domestic research on fast fluidized beds is also deepening, with the scope of research expanding from experimental observations to axial models, multi-scale theories, and multi-scale simulation methods. By reviewing the development trajectory of fast fluidized bed research and its close relationship with catalytic cracking processes, this paper aims to provide insights and ideas for the study of new technologies and theories, in the hope of promoting the future development and application of fluidization technologies.

Based on the recent reports, this review encapsulates the advances in the research， development and industrial application of catalytic cracking additives in the past decade. These additives include heavy oil additives, metal passivators, octane number additives, propylene and butylene additives, flue gas desulfurization and denitrification additives, as well as CO combustion promoters. Particular emphasis is placed on the additive technologies pioneered by SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Processing in the fields of heavy oil conversion, gasoline quality upgrading, increased production of low carbon olefins, pollutant emission reduction, operation optimization. The review comprehensively discusses the reaction mechanism, development, characterization, commercial application and technical and economic analysis of the catalytic additives, and highlights the future development direction, which provides new insights into how the catalytic cracking units to flexibly adapt to changes or needs in raw materials, markets and environmental protection.

Catalytic cracking process is the core process of secondary processing in petroleum refining. Starting from the global catalytic cracking capacity and China's catalytic cracking capacity, this article summarizes the status and role of catalytic cracking technology in petroleum processing, with a focus on analyzing the changes in the cracking capacity of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) in refineries. Taking statistical data from some units as an example, it elaborates on the versatility and adaptability of its processing materials. Summarized the contributions made by FCC's main products such as gasoline, diesel, liquefied gas, and slurry to the development of China's transportation and petrochemical industries.

Fluid catalytic cracking（FCC） remains a pivotal process for converting heavy oil into lighter products in China. It has also become essential for refineries aiming to achieve the strategic goal of “reducing gasoline production while increasing chemical product” particularly as gasoline demand approaches its peak. The development of the FCC process is currently facing multiple challenges, including the efficient and deep conversion of feedstocks, the production of green and low-carbon products, and intelligent long-term operation, driven by the heavier nature of feedstocks and the growing demand for lighter products. Focusing on these challenges, China University of Petroleum has continuously optimized and upgraded the FCC process through technological theory innovation, technology theory innovation, process reconfiguration and the implementation of artificial intelligence（AI）＋computational fluid dynamics（CFD） intelligent guarantee. In this paper, emulsified feeding and steam stripping enhancement technology, FCC coking and catalyst loss intelligent prediction and warning technology, and regenerator flus gas CO₂ in-situ enrichment technology are summarized, and an outlook for the further development of the FCC process is presented.

FN-3 denitrification catalyst was prepared by direct extrusion molding using TiO₂ as the carrier and V₂O₅ as the active component, using rare earths and molecular sieves to regulate the redox and acidity of the catalyst. The denitrification performance of the catalyst was investigated by a fixed bed reactor. The experimental results showed that the modification of rare earth and molecular sieve enhanced the synergistic effect of surface acidity and redox properties of the catalyst. The industrial calibration results show that using FN-3 denitrification catalyst for flue gas, the NO_x concentration in the outlet flue gas could be below 40 mg/m³, meeting the requirements for ultra-low NO_x emissions.

A green and efficient self-combustion depolymerization (SCD) method is proposed to activate coal gangue into highly reactive silica and alumina species and to construct catalytic cracking catalysts with hierarchical porous structure by direct method. X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance and other methods were used to investigate the coal gangue activated by SCD method and the hierarchical pore catalysts synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis, elucidating the crystal growth law of gangue-based zeolies and the association with the activated silica and alumina species in the gangue. The results show that SCD properties of the gangue are conducive to its efficient depolymerisation and activation into amorphous highly active silica-alumina materials, which promotes its transcrystallisation into zeolite components. The prepared catalysts were enriched with 4–100 nm pore structure. ACE evaluation results showed that the hierarchical pore catalysts had excellent activity and stability compared with conventional FCC catalysts, with an increase in (gasoline + LPG) yield and a significant decrease in coke yield, which is attributed to the formation of abundant macropores on the surface of the microspheres during the specific “self-combustion depolymerization-alkali solubilisation-crystallisation” process, giving the microspheres an ideal pore size distribution. Furthermore, the uniform growth of zeolites on the inner and outer surfaces of the microspheres has been demonstrated to enhance the utilization rate of zeolties, thereby facilitating multi-directional diffusion paths, which results in a hierarchical porous structure catalyst with optimal accessibility to the active center, thus effectively improving the heavy oil cracking activity and decreasing coke yield.

The development of equipment related to catalytic cracking reaction systems needs to satisfy the “high-quick synergy” principle, which requires mutual coordination between the "three highs" in the flow-transfer environment [high-efficiency oil-catalyst contact (referred to as oil-cat), high-efficiency oil-cat separation, and high-efficiency catalyst stripping] and the “quick” requirement dictated by reaction kinetics. Based on the method of decomposing and reconstructing single heterogeneous fluidization zones, novel pre-lifting equipment and stripping equipment have been developed. By applying aerodynamic theorem to multiphase flow analysis, feed injection equipmentthat can regulate multi-channel confined jet flow-multiphase flow has been developed. Through enhancing effective tangential velocity, a revolutionary oil-cat rapid separation equipment with innovative concepts has been created for riser outlets. These equipment configurations not only demonstrate excellent performance but also enable quick phase transition of two-phase flow patterns within catalytic cracking reaction systems, achieving extensive industrial applications.

The study of reaction kinetics can provide decision-making basis for the production of “Safe, Stable, Long cycle, Full load, High quality” of the industrial catalytic cracking unit, promote the progress of catalytic cracking technology, and help deepen the understanding of reaction mechanism and reaction network. In this paper, based on the guidance of molecular refining, the digital reconstruction of molecular composition of feed oil is realized based on the structure-oriented lumping(SOL) method and advanced analytical instruments. Based on the reaction mechanism, a molecular level catalytic cracking reaction kinetics model is constructed. Combined with the reactor structure characteristics of catalytic cracking unit (MIP-CGP process), a molecular level catalytic cracking reaction process model is constructed. The effects of reaction conditions on product distribution are studied at molecular level and the optimization of catalytic cracking process is carried out by the calculation of the model. As the reaction temperature increase from 500℃ to 560℃, the content of pentene, isopentene and methyl thiophene molecules in gasoline increase, the content of methyl hexene in gasoline first increase and then decrease, and the content of butyl naphthalene, methyl phenanthrene and dimethyl benzothiophene molecules in diesel increase. It elucidates from the molecular level that low temperature contributes to the reduction of the olefins and sulfur content in gasoline and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur content in diesel. If the gasoline yield is not less than 40% and the olefin content in gasoline is not more than 18%, the reaction temperature range is 515―525℃ and the ratio of catalyst to oil range is 8.0―10.0. The catalytic cracking reactor model based on the SOL method can provide the theoretical guidance at the molecular level for the process optimization of heavy oil lightering in refineries.

During the mid-to-late period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China's energy structure adjustment stands at a critical crossroads. Faced with a complex landscape including "the rapid development of new energy vehicles" "the peak consumption of oil products" and "a prolonged loss cycle in the chemical market spanning over ten quarters," traditional refining enterprises must not only develop the real economy but also secure and stabilize the energy supply. Adhering to the main theme of transitioning towards petrochemicals, these enterprises are leveraging new catalysts and novel reactor configurations to integrate refinery resources. The goal is to cost-effectively and competitively convert reduced gasoline products into low-carbon olefins. Leading the way, the SINOPEC Tianjin Company development team has optimized and integrated a new fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) technology, known as FCO(fluid catalytic olefins). Based on the fresh feed of the first riser, this technology can yield 6.5%-10.6% of ethylene and 22% of propylene, with an energy consumption of 63-72 kgOE/t（1 kgOE=41.8 MJ）. This innovation opens a new transformation path for preserving and enhancing the value of existing assets. During the transition period, it is crucial to deeply explore the potential of catalytic cracking technology and solidify its key role in the overall process.