Apparatus and process for the hydroconversion of heavy oil products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10968406-B2
Application number	US-201716337171-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2017
Priority date	Oct 28, 2016
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for the hydroconversion of heavy oil products (the fresh load). Said apparatus comprises: a slurry bubble column hydroconversion reactor, which comprises a feed line in which the fresh load and the recirculated slurry phase are conveyed, an inlet line for a hydrogenating stream and an outlet for a reaction effluent through an outlet nozzle; a stripping column at high pressure and high temperature placed downstream of the reactor and directly connected to the reactor head through a pipeline in which the reaction effluent flows; said column having an inlet line for a stripping gas, an inlet for the reactor effluent, a head outlet for steam and an outlet for the slurry phase; lines and means for recirculating the slurry leaving the stripping column; lines and means for taking a drain stream, which has the function of preventing the accumulation of solids in the reactor. The stripping column is characterized in that it contains one or more contact devices that allow physical contact to be created between different phases.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the hydroconversion of heavy oil products which constitute the fresh load, said apparatus comprising:
a slurry bubble column hydroconversion reactor, which comprises a feed line in which the fresh load and the recirculated slurry phase are conveyed, an inlet line for a hydrogenating stream and an outlet for a reaction effluent through an outlet nozzle;
a high pressure and high temperature stripping column placed downstream of the reactor and directly connected to the reactor head through a pipeline in which the reaction effluent flows; said column having an inlet line for a stripping gas, an inlet for the reactor effluent, a head outlet for steam and an outlet for the slurry phase;
lines and means for recirculating the slurry leaving the stripping column;
lines and means for taking a drain stream, which has the function of preventing the accumulation of solids in the reactor,

said stripping column characterized in that it contains one or more contact devices that allow physical contact to be created between different phases; and wherein the pipeline connecting the reactor head to the stripping column is composed of a vertical portion, connected to the outlet placed on the reactor head, followed by a pipeline portion which is connected with an inlet to the stripping column, said portion being inclined downwards with an inclination comprised between 2% and 10%, calculated with respect to the horizontal plane orthogonal to the reactor axis and the stripping column axis.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the stripping column contains from 2 to 6 contact devices.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the contact devices are selected from shed decks, disk and donut trays, side to side trays.

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 or 2 wherein the inclination is comprised between 4% and 7% calculated with respect to the horizontal plane orthogonal to the reactor axis and the stripping column axis.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the inclined portion of the pipeline is designed so that the ratio between the length of the inclined portion and the inner diameter of the conduct is at least equal to 20.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 in which the line and means for drain taking are or on the reactor recycle line or directly connected to the reactor.

7. A process for the hydroconversion of heavy oil products, which constitute the fresh load, which is carried out using the apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , said process comprising the following steps:
reacting in the least one hydroconversion reactor a feed, which includes fresh feed and recirculated slurry, with a hydrogenating gas, in the presence of a suitable hydrogenation catalyst, thereby producing a two-phase effluent;
subsequently, sending directly said reaction effluent to a high pressure and high temperature stripping step, which operates at the reaction pressure, except for load losses along the line in which the reaction effluent flows, feeding as a stripping gas a stream having the same composition as the gas fed to the reactor, and thus producing a stream in vapor phase and a stream in slurry phase containing the heavy products and the solids;
recirculating in feeding to the hydroconversion reactor, in a continuous manner, the slurry separated in the stripping step, and
continuously taking a drain stream.

8. Process according to claim 7 , wherein the hydrogenating gas is hydrogen or a mixture of hydrogen and light hydrocarbons in the gas phase.

9. Process according to claim 8 wherein the hydrogenating stream is a mixture of hydrogen, methane, ethane, propane and butane.

10. Process according to claim 7 wherein the hydrogenation catalyst in slurry phase is based on molybdenum or tungsten sulphide.

11. Process according to claim 7 , wherein the hydroconversion reaction is conducted at a temperature comprises between 400° C. and 450° C. and at a pressure comprises between 100 atm and 200 atm.

12. Process according to claim 11 , wherein the hydroconversion reaction is conducted at a temperature comprised between 420° C. and 440° C. and at a pressure comprised between 140 atm and 180 atm.

13. Process according to claim 7 wherein the stripping step is conducted at the same pressure as the reaction phase, except for load losses along the stripper feed line.

14. Process according to claim 7 wherein the drain is taken on the recycle line to the reactor or directly from the reactor.

15. Process according to claim 14 wherein the drain flow, when taken from the recycle stream, is modulated so as to have a weight percentage of tetrahydrofuran-insoluble solids in the recycle stream and the drain ranging from 3% to 15%.

16. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the inclination is comprised between 4% and 7% calculated with respect to the horizontal plane orthogonal to the reactor axis and the stripping column axis.

17. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the inclined portion of the pipeline is designed so that the ratio between the length of the inclined portion and the inner diameter of the conduct is at least equal to 20.

18. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the inclined portion of the pipeline is designed so that the ratio between the length of the inclined portion and the inner diameter of the conduct is at least equal to 20.

19. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which the line and means for drain taking are or on the reactor recycle line or directly connected to the reactor.

20. Process according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the hydrogenation catalyst in slurry phase is based on molybdenum or tungsten sulphide.

Assignees

• Eni Spa

Inventors

• Molinari Mario
• Bonomi Susi

Classifications

• C10G45/00

  Refining of hydrocarbon oils using hydrogen or hydrogen-generating compounds · CPC title

• C10G49/22

  Separation of effluents · CPC title

• B01D3/16

  Fractionating columns in which vapour bubbles through liquid (packing elements B01J19/30, B01J19/32) · CPC title

• C10G2300/1037

  Hydrocarbon fractions · CPC title

• C10G2300/4006

  Temperature · CPC title