Heavy oil upgrading process (LAW813)

• US 6,171,471 B1
• Filed: 04/30/1999
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Inventors: Ferrughelli, David T., Gorbaty, Martin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yildirim, Bekir L.
• Application Number:
  US09/302,622
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 208/58, 208/89, 208/96, 208/143, 208/251.R, 208/251.H, 208/253, 208/301, 208/302, 208/309, 208/311, 208/299
• US Class Current: 208/96
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 67/0463 The hydrotreatment being a hydrorefining

Abstract

The present invention is a slurry-type process for upgrading heavy oils to FCC and S/C feeds under temperature and pressure conditions similar to MSHP, but employing catalysts in concentrations small enough (e.g., <300 ppm Mo on feed) that they need not be recycled.

Claims

1. A process to reduce the amount of metals and microcarbon residue in a hydrocarbon-containing feedstream comprising:

(a) mild-slurry hydrotreating said feedstream in a single stage at a temperature and pressure for a sufficient time using a heterogeneous catalyst at metal levels at or below 300 ppm by weight relative to feed, and then directly

(b) reducing said metals and said microcarbon residue from the hydrotreated product in a solvent deasphalter.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein said hydrotreating step is performed at a temperature between 725 and 850°

F.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein said time is between 5 minutes and 4 hours.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein said hydrotreating step is performed at a pressure between 800 and 1500 psig.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said metal catalyst levels are between 100 and 300 ppm by weight based on feed.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein said metal catalyst is a molybdenum based catalyst.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein said reducing step is performed by selective adsorption.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein said catalyst is prepared in-situ by contacting feed with phosphomolybdic acid.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein said contacting step is performed at a temperature of about 150°

C. and for a time of about 30 minutes.

10. The process of claim 9 further comprising a sulfiding step at a temperature of about 390°

C. for a time of about 1 hour.

11. The process of claim 1 wherein said catalyst particle size is between 5 and 50 microns.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein said solvent deasphalter is operated using a C₃, C₄, or C₅ paraffin or combinations thereof.

13. The process of claim 1 wherein a portion of the asphalt recovered from the solvent deasphalter is recycled to the OT-MSHP reactor.

14. The process of claim 1 wherein said catalysts are prepared and sulfided in-situ.

15. The process of claim 1 wherein catalyst precursors and catalyst are prepared ex-situ and added to the feed.

16. The process of claim 1 wherein the OT-MSHP reaction is carried out at a temperature of about 425°

C. for a time of about 30 minutes.