Hydrocarbon Research, Inc.

Hri, Inc.

Edwin S Johanson

Michael C Chervenak

Derk T Huibers

Ronald H Wolk

Marvin S Rakow

Paul D Schuler

Thermal hydrogenation of solids-containing carbonaceous feed materials to produce hydrocarbon gaseous and liquid products is performed in a thermal reaction zone, in which the feed material flows generally downwardly countercurrent to upflowing hydrogen and recycled hydrocarbon liquid. The recycled hydrocarbon liquid is at a rate sufficient to control the settling of solids-containing feed through the reactor, and is obtained from the reaction zone upper end by phase separation from gaseous effluent at reaction conditions. The gaseous effluent material is removed from the thermal reaction zone upper end, and heavy liquid material containing less than about 40 W % solids is withdrawn from the reaction zone bottom end, with both streams being passed to further phase separation and distillation steps for recovery of the hydrocarbon gas and liquid products. The process is useful for hydroconversion of solids-containing tar sand bitumen, shale oil and particularly for coal, with the coal being fed into the thermal reaction zone as a coal-oil slurry. If desired, the heavy liquid bottoms stream withdrawn from the lower end of the thermal reaction zone containing unconverted coal and ash solids can be advantageously passed to a second reaction zone containing an ebullated catalyst bed for further hydrogenation reaction to increase the conversion and yield of low-boiling hydrocarbon liquid products.

Hydrogenation process for solid carbonaceous feed materials using

An improved process for hydrogenation of coal containing ash with agglomeration and removal of ash from an ebullated bed catalytic reactor to produce deashed hydrocarbon liquid and gas products. In the process, a flowable coal-oil slurry is reacted with hydrogen in an ebullated catalyst bed reaction zone at elevated temperature and pressure conditions. The upward velocity and viscosity of the reactor liquid are controlled so that a substantial portion of the ash released from the coal is agglomerated to form larger particles in the upper portion of the reactor above the catalyst bed, from which the agglomerated ash is separately withdrawn along with adhering reaction zone liquid. The resulting hydrogenated hydrocarbon effluent material product is phase separated to remove vapor fractions, after which any ash remaining in the liquid fraction can be removed to produce substantially ash-free coal-derived liquid products.

Coal hydrogenation and deashing in ebullated bed catalytic reactor

A multiple-zone fluidized bed coal conversion process for producing fuel gas and distillate liquid products. The coal is fed into an upper fluidized bed maintained at 950.degree.-1500.degree. F. for devolatilization. The resulting coke and some tars are deposited on a particulate carrier material, which descends along with the larger particles of unreacted coal through a stripping zone into a lower fluidized bed gasification zone, which is maintained at 1700.degree.-2000.degree. F. by steam and O.sub.2 -containing gas introduced therein to gasify the coke and char. Fine particles of unreacted coal and carrier are passed with gas and distillate vapor through a cyclone gas-solids separation step located in the devolatilization zone, from which the solids are returned to the lower bed for further gasification. Ash produced in the lower bed along with the clean hot particulate carrier is transferred through an up-transport tube to the upper bed. The effluent from the devolatilization/hydrogenation zone passes through an external cyclone separator which removes the particles as a disposal stream. Alternatively, the effluent from the devolatilization zone may be passed through a third or uppermost bed of particulate carrier material for heat recovery and more complete removal of tars from the product gas.

Multi-zone coal conversion process using particulate carrier material

The thermal hydrogenation of solid coal without added catalyst produces hydrocarbon gases in the methane to propane range as the principal product, plus substantial yields of synthetic petroleum-like hydrocarbon liquids. The C.sub.4 -400.degree. F. naphtha liquid fraction is steam reformed to produce hydrogen, while heavier distillate liquid fractions are used as fuel to operate the steam reformer and for other process heat requirements, so that all of the hydrogen required for the coal hydrogenation reaction is produced from portions of the liquid products.

Production of fuel gas by liquid phase hydrogenation of coal

The hydrogenation of low rank coal to produce hydrocarbon liquids and gases is conducted in a first stage reaction zone at elevated temperature and pressure and without catalyst, followed by further hydrogenation of the total effluent in a second stage ebullated bed catalytic reaction zone which is maintained at slightly lower temperature. The first stage may comprise an ebullated bed of high density non-catalytic contact material. However, the presence of such contact material is not required. Clarified hydrocarbon liquid streams are returned to the first stage reaction zone as the slurrying oil and to the second stage zone as recycle oil to maintain a significantly high percentage of unconverted coal solids in the first stage reaction zone than in the second stage zone. This two stage reaction arrangement produces a high percentage conversion of the low rank coal to liquid and gaseous products with good process operability.

Staged hydrogenation of low rank coal

A process is provided for the simultaneous conversion of coal and residuum oil to predominantly liquid products, employing ebullated bed techniques. A fluid blend of particulate coal admixed with crude oil comprising from about 20 to 100% by weight of residuum oil boiling above about 975.degree. F. is contacted with hydrogen in the presence of an ebullated bed of particulate hydrogenation catalyst to effect conversion of at least about 50% of the residuum oil component and up to about 94% of the m.a.f. coal. In an alternate embodiment the oil feed includes recycled oil from the product liquids.

Catalytic hydrogenation of blended coal and residual oil feeds

Coal is hydrogenated in an upflow, random motion, gas-liquid-catalyst process in which the heavy liquids (800.degree. F to 1000.degree. F) are recycled to the reactor to optimize production of preferred 400.degree.-800.degree. F boiling range end product liquids. The optimization is accomplished by not recycling to the reactor any liquid fraction boiling between about 600.degree. and 800.degree. F.

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Princeton, NJ, United States of America

Edwin S Johanson