Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, As Represented by the Minister

Energy, Mines & Resources - Canada

Jaroslav F Kriz

Jeffrey K Wan

Marten Ternan

In a process for upgrading heavy asphaltenic oil, a feed slurry of a heavy asphaltenic oil and less than 10 ppm of molybdenum, e.g. molybdenum naphthenate, is contacted with a hydrogen-rich gas in a hydroconversion zone at hydrocracking conditions to convert at least a portion of said heavy oil to lower boiling products. This is achieved with minimum coke formation under moderate processing conditions.

Hydrocracking of heavy asphaltenic oil in presence of an additive to

An exceptionally effective technique has been developed for desulphurizing hydrocracked petroleum pitch containing organic molecules having at least some chemically bound sulphur. Particles of petroleum pitch and a para- or ferromagnetic material catalyst are intimately mixed and this mixture in the presence of hydrogen is subjected to microwave radiation so as to generate a high intensity oscillating electric field thereby releasing at least part of the chemically bound sulphur from the pitch as sulphur-containing gases without substantial increase of the temperature of the pitch and separating the sulphur containing gases thus formed. To avoid temperature rise during desulphurization, the microwave irradiation is preferably gated in a train of short pulses.

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Nepean, Canada

Jaroslav F Kriz