Process scheme for maximum heavy oil conversion with stage asphaltene rejection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12410372-B2
Application number	US-202218069556-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2022
Priority date	Dec 22, 2021
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

Provided is a system to upgrade an input stream of a straight run vacuum residue or a cracked feedstock that includes a vacuum column, a hydrocracking unit, a high lift solvent deasphalting unit, a low lift solvent deasphalting unit, and a bitumen blowing unit or a pitch pelletizing unit, and optionally a hydrotreating reactor. The system and components thereof may pass a distillate and naphtha product, a light ends product, an asphaltene-lean heavy deasphalted oil stream, an asphaltene-rich pitch stream, a light deasphalted oil that is a lube base feed stock, a heavy oil stream, a bitumen and asphalt stream or a solid fuel. Further provided is a process, including introducing a straight run vacuum residue or a cracked feed stock into a system, and operating the system including a step of fractionating, a step of solvent stage deasphalting, and a step of hydrocracking.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system to upgrade an input stream, comprising:
a vacuum column;
a hydrocracking unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column;
a high lift solvent deasphalting unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column;
a low lift solvent deasphalting unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column; and
a bitumen blowing unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column and the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
where: the vacuum column is configured to receive an input stream of a straight run atmospheric residue or a cracked feedstock and to separate the input stream into a vacuum column light stream and a vacuum residue stream,
the hydrocracking unit is configured to receive a combined stream of the vacuum column light stream and a heavy deasphalted oil stream, as well as a hydrogen stream, and to pass a distillate and naphtha product, and a light ends product,
the heavy deasphalted oil stream is in fluid communication with the hydrocracking unit and also with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
the high lift solvent deasphalting unit is configured to receive a butane stream, as well as a combined stream of a first portion of the vacuum residue stream, a first portion of a hydrocracking bleed stream, and a heavy oil stream, and to pass an asphaltene-lean heavy deasphalted oil stream and an asphaltene-rich pitch stream, an unconverted oil stream is in fluid communication with the hydrocracking unit, the high lift solvent deasphalting unit, and the bitumen blowing unit,
the low lift solvent deasphalting unit is configured to receive a propane stream, as well as a second portion of the vacuum residue stream, and to pass a light deasphalted oil that is a lube base feed stock, and a heavy oil stream,
the heavy oil stream is in fluid communication with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
the bitumen blowing unit is configured to receive a combined stream of a second portion of the hydrocracking bleed stream, a remaining portion of the vacuum residue stream, and a low viscosity gas oil stream, and to pass a bitumen and asphalt stream,
the low viscosity gas oil stream is in fluid communication with the bitumen blowing unit, and
the vacuum residue stream is in parallel to the high lift solvent deasphalting unit, the low lift solvent deasphalting unit, and the bitumen blowing unit.

2. The system of claim 1 , where the first portion of the vacuum residue stream is in a range of from about 40 wt % to about 60 wt % of the vacuum residue stream.

3. The system of claim 1 , where the first portion of the hydrocracking bleed stream is in a range of from about 80 wt % to 100 wt % of the unconverted oil stream.

4. The system of claim 1 , where the second portion of the vacuum residue stream is in a range of from about 5 wt % to about 15 wt % of the vacuum residue stream.

5. The system of claim 1 , where the second portion of the hydrocracking bleed stream is in a range of from greater than 0 wt % to about 20 wt % of the unconverted oil stream.

6. The system of claim 1 , where the remaining portion of the vacuum residue stream is from about 25 wt % to about 45 wt % of the vacuum residue stream.

7. The system of claim 1 , where the vacuum column light stream comprises hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature at or less than 560° C., and the vacuum residue stream comprises hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature above 560° C.

8. The system of claim 1 ,
where the combined stream of the vacuum residue stream, the unconverted oil stream, and the heavy oil stream form a combined vacuum residue, unconverted oil, and heavy oil, and
where the high lift solvent deasphalting unit is further configured to receive a ratio of about 5:1 of butane to the combined vacuum residue, unconverted oil, and heavy oil.

9. The system of claim 1 , where the low lift solvent deasphalting unit is further configured to receive a ratio of about 8:1 of propane to vacuum residue.

10. The system of claim 1 , where the low viscosity gas oil stream has a viscosity of from 800 to 1200 centistokes.

11. A system to upgrade an input stream, comprising:
an input stream of a straight run atmospheric residue or a cracked feedstock;
a vacuum column;
a hydrocracking unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column;
a high lift solvent deasphalting unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column;
a low lift solvent deasphalting unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the vacuum column; and
a pitch pelletizing unit coupled downstream of and in fluid communication with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
where:
the vacuum column is configured to receive the input stream and to separate the input stream into a vacuum column light stream and a vacuum residue stream,
the hydrocracking unit is configured to receive a combined stream of the vacuum column light stream and a heavy deasphalted oil stream, as well as a hydrogen stream, and to pass a distillate and naphtha product, and a light ends product,
the heavy deasphalted oil stream is in fluid communication with the hydrocracking unit and also with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
the high lift solvent deasphalting unit is configured to receive a butane stream, as well as a combined stream of a first portion of the vacuum residue stream, an unconverted oil stream as a hydrocracking bleed stream, and a heavy oil stream, and to pass an asphaltene-lean heavy deasphalted oil stream and an asphaltene-rich pitch stream,
the unconverted oil stream is in fluid communication with the hydrocracking unit and the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
the low lift solvent deasphalting unit is configured to receive a propane stream, as well as a combined stream of a second portion of the vacuum residue stream, and to pass a light deasphalted oil that is a lube base feed stock, and a heavy oil stream,
the heavy oil stream is in fluid communication with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit,
the pitch pelletizing unit is configured to receive an asphaltene-rich pitch stream, and to pass a solid fuel,
the asphaltene-rich pitch stream is in fluid communication with the high lift solvent deasphalting unit and the pitch pelletizing unit, and
the vacuum residue stream is in parallel to the high lift solvent deasphalting unit and the low lift solvent deasphalting unit.

12. The system of claim 11 , where the first portion of the vacuum residue stream is from about 70 wt % to about 90 wt % of the vacuum residue stream.

13. The system of claim 11 , where the second portion of the vacuum residue stream is from about 10 wt % to about 30 wt % of the vacuum residue stream.

14. The system of claim 11 , where the vacuum column light stream comprises hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature at or less than 560° C., and the vacuum residue stream comprises hydrocarbons that boil at a temperature above 560° C.

15. The system of claim 11 ,
where the combined stream of the vacuum residue stream, the unconverted oil stream, and the heavy oil stream form a combined vacuum residue, unconverted oil, and heavy oil, and
where the high lift solvent deasphalting unit is further configured to receive a ratio of about 5:1 of butane to the combined vacuum residue, unconverted oil, and heavy oil.

16. The system of claim 11 , where the low lift solvent deasphalting unit is further configured to receive a ratio of about 8:1 of propane to vacuum residue.

17. A system to upg

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Ramaseshan Vinod
• Subaie Emad Al
• Infante Hector
• Williams Jesse
• Ismagilov Rustam
• Al-Balawi Abdalaziz A
• Choudhary Ashok Kumar

Classifications

• C10C3/08

  by selective extraction · CPC title

• C10G2300/44

  Solvents · CPC title

• C10G2300/301

  Boiling range · CPC title

• C10G2300/1077

  Vacuum residues · CPC title

• C10G67/16

  plural parallel stages only · CPC title