Methods and systems for slurry hydrocracking with reduced feed bypass

• US 9,777,226 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2014
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UOP Llc (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: UOP Llc (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Pham, Trung, Yokomizo, Grant, Haizmann, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Boyer, Randy
• Assistant Examiner(s): VALENCIA, JUAN C
• Application Number:
  US14/480,044
• Publication Number:
  US 20160068763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2300/4081 Recycling aspects
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 31/10 with the aid of centrifugal force
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 47/02 characterised by the catalyst used
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 47/26 suspended in the oil, e.g. slurries
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/74 Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid

Abstract

Methods and systems for slurry hydrocracking with reduced feed bypass and methods for modulating an amount of toluene insoluble material present in a slurry hydrocracking reactor are provided. An exemplary slurry hydrocracking method comprises the steps of: combining a hydrocarbon feed and a slurry hydrocracking catalyst or catalyst precursor to generate a slurry hydrocracking feed; introducing the slurry hydrocracking feed to a slurry hydrocracking reactor under hydrocracking conditions suitable to generate a first product stream; drawing a drag stream from the slurry hydrocracking reactor, the drag stream comprising a hydrocarbon, mesophase material, and solid catalyst particles; separating the drag stream into a first separated stream and a recycle stream, with the first separated stream comprising mesophase material and solid catalyst particles, and the recycle stream comprising the hydrocarbon; and directing the recycle stream into the slurry hydrocracking reactor.

Claims

1. A slurry hydrocracking method comprising the steps of:

combining a hydrocarbon feed and a slurry hydrocracking catalyst or catalyst precursor to generate a slurry hydrocracking feed;

introducing said slurry hydrocracking feed to a slurry hydrocracking reactor in the presence of hydrogen and under hydrocracking conditions suitable to generate a first product stream comprising one or more of naphtha, middle distillate, light vacuum gas oil, heavy vacuum gas oil, and pitch;

drawing a drag stream intermittently from said slurry hydrocracking reactor, wherein said drag stream comprises a hydrocarbon, mesophase material, and solid catalyst particles;

separating said drag stream into a first separated stream and a recycle stream, wherein said first separated stream comprises said mesophase material and said solid catalyst particles, and said recycle stream comprises said hydrocarbon; and

directing said recycle stream into said slurry hydrocracking reactor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein separating said drag stream into said first separated stream and said recycle stream is conducted via a centrifugal separation technique or a precipitation/settling technique.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein separating said drag stream into said first separated stream and said recycle stream is conducted using a vortex contactor/decanter or a settler/coalescer/precipitator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of said drag stream drawn from said slurry hydrocracking reactor is sufficient to maintain an amount of total mesophase material in the slurry hydrocracking reactor at less than about 25% by weight.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said hydrocarbon feed comprises one or more of vacuum residue, atmospheric residue, deasphalted oil, clarified slurry oil, vacuum gas oil, and coker gas oil.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said slurry hydrocracking catalyst comprises solid catalyst particulates.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said solid catalyst particulates comprises a compound of a metal of Group IVB, Group VB, Group VIIB, Group VIIB, or Group VII, or a combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising fractionating said first product stream into a lower boiling distillate fraction comprising naphtha, and a higher boiling distillate fraction comprising light vacuum gas oil, heavy vacuum gas oil, and pitch.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising fractionating said higher boiling distillate fraction into a light vacuum gas oil stream, a heavy vacuum gas oil stream, and a pitch stream.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising recycling said heavy vacuum gas oil stream back to said slurry hydrocracking reactor.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising separating said lower boiling distillate fraction into an aromatic hydrocarbon stream and a non-aromatic hydrocarbon stream.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said aromatic hydrocarbon stream comprises one or more of benzene, toluene, and xylene.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising analyzing an aliquot of said drag stream to provide information regarding the composition of the contents of the slurry hydrocracking reactor.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a flow rate and time for drawing said drag stream based on the results of said analysis, such that an amount of total toluene insoluble material in the slurry hydrocracking reactor remains at less than about 25% by weight.

15. A method of modulating an amount of mesophase material present in a slurry hydrocracking reactor, the method comprising the steps of:

introducing a first hydrocarbon, hydrogen, and a slurry hydrocracking catalyst into a slurry hydrocracking reactor under hydrocracking conditions suitable to generate a slurry hydrocracking effluent, wherein said hydrocracking conditions further result in generation of toluene insoluble material in said slurry hydrocracking reactor;

drawing a drag stream from said slurry hydrocracking reactor, wherein the drag stream comprises a second hydrocarbon, mesophase material, and solid catalyst particles;

separating said drag stream into a first separated stream and a recycle stream, said first separated stream comprising said mesophase material and said solid catalyst particles, said recycle stream comprising said second hydrocarbon, and wherein an amount of said mesophase material and said solid catalyst particles in said recycle stream is reduced relative to an amount present in said drag stream; and

directing said recycle stream back to said slurry hydrocracking reactor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the drag stream is intermittently drawn from said slurry hydrocracking reactor.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein separating said drag stream into said first separated stream and said recycle stream is conducted via a centrifugal separation technique or a precipitation/separation technique.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the amount of said drag stream drawn from said slurry hydrocracking reactor is sufficient to maintain an amount of total toluene insoluble material in the slurry hydrocracking reactor at less than about 25% by weight.

19. A slurry hydrocracking method comprising the steps of:

combining a hydrocarbon feed and a slurry hydrocracking catalyst or catalyst precursor to generate a slurry hydrocracking feed;

introducing said slurry hydrocracking feed to a slurry hydrocracking reactor in the presence of hydrogen and under hydrocracking conditions suitable to generate a SHC effluent stream comprising one or more of naphtha, middle distillate, light vacuum gas oil, heavy vacuum gas oil, and pitch;

withdrawing the SHC effluent stream from the slurry hydrocracking reactor;

withdrawing a drag stream directly from said slurry hydrocracking reactor, wherein said drag stream comprises a hydrocarbon, mesophase material, and solid catalyst particles;

separating said drag stream into a first separated stream and a recycle stream, wherein said first separated stream comprises said mesophase material and said solid catalyst particles, and said recycle stream comprises said hydrocarbon;

and directing said recycle stream into said slurry hydrocracking reactor.