Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Exxonmobil Technology and Engineering Company

Gary Paul Schleicher

Stephen John McCarthy

Stuart Leon Soled

Kenneth L Riley

Wenyih Frank Lai

Michel A Daage

Lei Zhang

Timothy Lee Hilbert

Matthew Scott Ide

Eric D Joseck

Krista Marie Prentice

Stephen J Mccarthy

Sabato Miseo

Christine Nicole Elia

Shifang Luke Luo

Joseph Ernest Baumgartner

Sylvain S Hantzer

Halou Oumar-Mahamat

Michael B Carroll

William Joseph Novak

Bradley R Fingland

Christine Esther Kliewer

Michael P Lanci

Javier Guzman

Tracie L Owens

Jeenok Theresa Kim

Kanmi Mao

Thomas Elmer Green

Teck-Mui Hoo

Jason T Calla

Chad Hinden Mondor

Lukasz Koziol

Thomas F Degnan

Jose G Santiesteban

Stuart S Shih

Ian A Cody

Ajit Bhaskar Dandekar

Xiaochun Xu

Paul Podsiadlo

Mohan Kalyanaraman

Randolph John Smiley

Joseph P Boyle

Richard A Demmin

Richard Charles Dougherty

Robert Andrew Migliorini

Elizabeth L Stavens

Christopher Gordon Oliveri

David Mentzer

José Guadalupe Santiesteban

William Francis Heaney

Darlene Schuette, Legal Representative

Kristen S Lyon

Angela Horton

Teck-Mui Ho

William F Heaney

Elizabeth Stavens

Jeenok T Kim

Christopher G Oliveri

Thomas E Green

Joseph E Baumgartner

Systems and methods are provided for catalytic hydroprocessing to form lubricant base oils. The methods can include performing high pressure hydrofinishing after fractionating the hydrotreated and/or hydrocracked and/or dewaxed effluent. Performing hydrofinishing after fractionation can allow the high hydrogen pressure for hydrofinishing to be used on one or more lubricant base oil fractions that are desirable for high pressure hydrofinishing. This can allow for improved aromatic saturation of a lubricant base oil product while reducing or minimizing the hydrogen consumption. The high pressure hydrofinishing can be performed at a hydrogen partial pressure of at least about 2500 psig (&#x2dc;17.2 Mpa), or at least about 2600 psig (&#x2dc;18.0 Mpa), or at least about 3000 psig (&#x2dc;20.6 MPa). The high pressure hydrofinishing can allow for formation of a lubricant base oil product with a reduced or minimized aromatics content, a reduced or minimized 3-ring aromatics content, or a combination thereof.

High pressure hydrofinishing for lubricant base oil production

Methods are provided for forming noble metal catalysts comprising both platinum and a second Group VIII metal, such as palladium, with improved aromatic saturation activity. Instead of impregnating a catalyst with both platinum and another Group VIII metal at the same time, a sequential impregnation can be used, with the Group VIII metal being impregnated prior to platinum. It has been discovered that by forming a Group VIII metal-impregnated catalyst first, and then impregnating with platinum, the distribution of platinum throughout the catalyst can be improved. The improved distribution of platinum can result in a catalyst with enhanced aromatic saturation activity relative to a catalyst with a similar composition formed by simultaneous impregnation.

Sequential impregnation for noble metal alloy formation

Base stocks having Group III/III+ characteristics are prepared from certain advantageous crude oils via simplified process configurations and/or under less severe process conditions. Crude oils comprising a vacuum gas oil (VGO) fraction having a ratio of a sum of paraffin content plus 1-Ring species content to multi-ring species content that is greater than or equal to about 1.5 are advantageous in this context. Other parameters such as API gravity and crude compositional ranges may also be considered for identifying advantageous crudes. In some instances, advantageous crudes are processed into Group III base stocks via a process configuration in which the crude oil is directly supplied to a hydroprocessing unit.

Process for production of base stocks

Systems and methods are provided for activation of noble metal catalysts that are supported on siliceous supports. The activation method can include limiting the amount of water vapor pressure and/or the time of exposure to the water vapor pressure during heating of the catalyst at temperatures of 50&#xb0; C. or less. This can be achieved by introducing heated gas into multiple reactors of a multi-reactor system at the same time. A suitable system for introducing heated gas into multiple reactors can correspond to a system with multiple heated hydrogen lines for delivery of heated hydrogen to a plurality of reactors within a multi-reactor system.

Activation of noble metal catalysts on siliceous supports

Methods are provided for modifying hydrogenation catalysts having silica supports (or other non-alumina supports) with additional alumina, and using such catalysts to achieve unexpectedly superior hydrogenation of feedstocks. The modified hydrogenation catalysts can have a relatively low cracking activity while providing an increased activity for hydrogenation.

Method and system for producing low aromatic hydrocarbon products

Noble metal hydrogenation catalysts and aromatic saturation methods

Methods are provided for producing lubricant base oils from petrolatum. After solvent dewaxing of a brightstock raffinate to form a brightstock base oil, petrolatum is generated as a side product. The petrolatum can be hydroprocessed to form base oils in high yield. The base oils formed from hydroprocessing of petrolatum have an unexpected pour point relationship. For a typical lubricant oil feedstock, the pour point of the base oils generated from the feedstock increases with the viscosity of the base oil. By contrast, lubricant base oils formed from hydroprocessing of petrolatum have a relatively flat pour point relationship, and some of the higher viscosity base oils unexpectedly have lower pour points than lower viscosity base oils generated from the same petrolatum feed. The base oils from petrolatum are also unusual in yielding both high viscosity and high viscosity index and can be generated while maintaining a high yield.

Production of base oils from petrolatum

Methods are provided for producing Group II and Group III base stocks with a controlled or consistent aromatics content. An aromatics-rich base stock, such as a Group I base stock or an alkylated aromatic base stock, can be added to the catalytically treated base stock in a minimal amount after the final catalytic treatment step but prior to fractionation. At the beginning of a processing run for forming lubricant base stock products, about 0.25 wt % to about 1.25 wt % of the Group I base stock can be added to a catalytically processed feed after the final catalytic processing stage but prior to fractionation to form the Group II and/or Group III base stock. During the course of the processing run, the amount of Group I base stock added can be reduced roughly in correspondence with the increase in aromatics caused by catalyst deactivation. This can allow a catalytically processed lubricant base stock product to be generated that contains at least about a threshold (minimum) aromatics content during the course of a processing run. Alternatively, this can allow a catalytically processed lubricant base stock product to be generated that has consistent aromatics content during the course of the processing run.

Production of lubricant base stocks with controlled aromatic contents

Methods are provided for dewaxing distillate feeds using a dewaxing catalyst with improved aromatic saturation activity. The dewaxing can be performed using a catalyst including a zeolitic molecular sieve with a beneficial ratio of zeolitic molecular sieve to binder and/or using a catalyst including a zeolitic molecular sieve with a reduced ratio of silica to alumina.

Dewaxing catalyst with improved aromatic saturation activity

Systems and methods are provided for hydroprocessing a petroleum fraction, such as a bottoms fraction from a fuels hydrocracking process, to generate a lubricant base oil. The aromatic content of such a petroleum fraction can be reduced using a aromatic saturation stage with multiple catalyst beds, or alternatively using a reactor (or reactors) with multiple aromatic saturation stages. The catalysts in the various beds or stages can be selected to provide different types of aromatic saturation activity. An initial bed or stage can provide activity for saturation of 1-ring aromatics in the petroleum fraction. One or more subsequent beds or stages, operating at successively lower temperature, can then be used to reduce the multiple-ring aromatic content of the petroleum fraction.

Saturation process for making lubricant base oils

Methods are provided for processing a gas oil boiling range feedstock, such as a vacuum gas oil, in a single reaction stage and/or without performing intermediate separations. The methods are suitable for forming lubricants and distillate fuels while reducing or minimizing the production of lower boiling products such as naphtha and light ends. The methods can provide desirable yields of distillate fuels and lubricant base oils without requiring separate catalyst beds or stages for dewaxing and hydrocracking. The methods are based in part on use of a dewaxing catalyst that is tolerant of sour processing environments while still providing desirable levels of activity for both feed conversion and feed isomerization.

Co-production of lubricants and distillate fuels

Systems and methods are provided for hydroprocessing a petroleum fraction, such as a bottoms fraction from a fuels hydrocracking process, to generate a lubricant base oil. A fuels hydrocracking process typically has less stringent requirements for the sulfur and nitrogen content of a feed as compared to a lubricant base oil. Additionally, depending on the nature of the feed for the fuels hydrocracking process, the bottoms fraction may contain a relatively high level of aromatics compounds. The aromatic content of such a petroleum fraction can be reduced using a aromatic saturation stage with multiple catalyst beds, or alternatively using a reactor (or reactors) with multiple aromatic saturation stages. The catalysts in the various beds or stages can be selected to provide different types of aromatic saturation activity. An initial bed or stage can provide activity for saturation of 1-ring aromatics in the petroleum fraction. One or more subsequent beds or stages, operating at successively lower temperature, can then be used to reduce the multiple-ring aromatic content of the petroleum fraction.

Growing community of inventors

Milford, NJ, United States of America

Gary Paul Schleicher