Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Thomas Francis Degnan, Jr

Ramanathan Sundararaman

Randolph John Smiley

Rustom Merwan Billimoria

Manuel Anthony Francisco

Roby Bearden, Jr

William Ernest Lewis

John P Greeley

Mohsen N Harandi

Stuart Leon Soled

Stephen Harold Brown

Jane C Cheng

Lei Zhang

Chuansheng Bai

Ajit Bhaskar Dandekar

Paul Podsiadlo

David C Dankworth

Anjaneya Sarma Kovvali

Benjamin S Umansky

Himanshu Gupta

Robert J Falkiner

Richard Charles Dougherty

Juan D Henao

Mainak Ghosh

Natalie Ann Fassbender

Steven Webster Levine

Colin L Beswick

Keith Wilson

Todd P Marut

Jacob Johannes Thiart

Amitava Sarkar

John D Nelson

Cindy J Hughart

Systems and methods are provided for hydroconversion of a heavy oil feed under slurry hydroprocessing conditions and/or solvent assisted hydroprocessing conditions. The systems and methods for slurry hydroconversion can include the use of a configuration that can allow for improved separation of catalyst particles from the slurry hydroprocessing effluent. In addition to allowing for improved catalyst recycle, an amount of fines in the slurry hydroconversion effluent can be reduced or minimized. This can facilitate further processing or handling of any 'pitch' generated during the slurry hydroconversion. The systems and methods for solvent assisted hydroprocessing can include processing of a heavy oil feed in conjunction with a high solvency dispersive power crude.

Processing of heavy hydrocarbon feeds

Systems and methods are provided for slurry hydroconversion of a heavy oil feed, such as an atmospheric or vacuum resid. The systems and methods allow for slurry hydroconversion using catalysts with enhanced activity and/or catalysts that can be recycled as a side product from a complementary refinery process.

Slurry hydroconversion using enhanced slurry catalysts

Systems and methods are provided for slurry hydroconversion of a heavy oil feedstock, such as an atmospheric or vacuum resid, in the presence of an enhanced or promoted slurry hydroconversion catalyst system. The slurry hydroconversion catalyst system can be formed from a) a Group VIII non-noble metal catalyst precursor/concentrate (such as an iron-based catalyst precursor/concentrate) and b) a Group VI metal catalyst precursor/concentrate (such as a molybdenum-based catalyst precursor/concentrate) and/or a Group VI metal sulfided catalyst.

Slurry hydroconversion catalysts

A heavy petroleum oil feed is upgraded by having its amenability to cracking improved by subjecting the oil to selective partial oxidation with a catalytic oxidation system to partially oxidize aromatic ring systems in the heavy oil. The partially oxidized oil can then be cracked in the conventional manner but at lower severities to lower molecular weight cracking products. The cracking following the partial oxidation step may be thermal in nature as by thermal cracking, delayed, contact or fluid coking or fluid catalytic cracking or hydrogenative as in hydrocracking.

Upgrading heavy oils by selective oxidation

Improved yields of fuels and/or lubricants from a resid or other heavy oil feed can be achieved using slurry hydroconversion to convert at least about 90 wt % of the feed. The converted portion of the feed can then be passed into one or more hydroprocessing stages. An initial processing stage can be a hydrotreatment stage for additional removal of contaminants and for passivation of high activity functional groups that may be created during slurry hydroconversion. The hydrotreatment effluent can then be fractionated to separate naphtha boiling range fractions from distillate fuel boiling range fractions and lubricant boiling range fractions. At least the lubricant boiling range fraction can then be hydrocracked to improve the viscosity properties. The hydrocracking effluent can also be dewaxed to improve the cold flow properties. The hydrocracked and/or dewaxed product can then be optionally hydrofinished.

Integrated hydrocracking and slurry hydroconversion of heavy oils

Systems and methods are provided for sequential slurry hydroconversion of heavy oil feedstocks. One or more low pressure slurry hydroconversion stages can be used to perform a majority of the conversion of a heavy oil feedstock. The bottoms from the low pressure stages can then be slurry hydroconverted in one or more high pressure stages to further convert the feedstock.

Sequential slurry hydroconversion of heavy oils

Systems and methods are provided for slurry hydroconversion of a heavy oil feed, such as an atmospheric or vacuum resid. The systems and methods allow for slurry hydroconversion using catalysts with enhanced activity. The catalysts with enhanced activity can be used in conjunction with demetallization catalysts or catalysts that can be recycled as a side product from a complementary refinery process.

Slurry hydroconversion with high activity catalysts

Growing community of inventors

Philadelphia, PA, United States of America

Thomas Francis Degnan, Jr