Shell Oil Comapny

Vance Jordan Grieshop

Robert Charles Ryan

John Anthony Smegal

Louis Edward Stein

Richard Addison Sanborn

Raul Jasso Garcia, Sr

Daniel Yuk-Kwan Ngan

Haluk A Bilgic

A centrifugal vapor/liquid separator separates the vapor and liquid in a flash of hydrocarbon and steam mixture, such that only the vapor stream is fed and processed further downstream. The design of the separator ensures that all partially wetted surfaces in the separator, except at the vapor outlet pipe, are well-wetted and washed by the non-vaporized liquid portion of the feed or by injection of external liquid thus ensuring that no coke deposition occurs inside the separator. The flash temperature in the separator therefore can be increased beyond the typical limit thus achieving a deeper cut into the feed and recovering a larger fraction of the feed as vapor for further downstream processing.

Wetted wall vapor/liquid separator

The instant invention comprises an improved hydrorefining process which comprises contacting hydrocarbonaceous oil feed and hydrogen with a catalyst comprising a hydrogenation component selected from the group consisting of Group VIB metal component, Group VIII non-noble metal component and mixtures thereof, optionally comprising a phosphorous-containing component or compound, and an alumina-containing support, at hydrorefining conditions, wherein the improvement comprises heating the catalyst at initial start-up from a temperature below about 450.degree. F. to hydrorefining temperature at an average rate of less than 30.degree. F. per hour in the presence of hydrogen and said oil feed.

Start-up of a hydrorefining process

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Destrehan, LA, United States of America

Vance Jordan Grieshop