Adsorption systems and processes for recovering pna and hpna compounds from petroleum based materials and regenerating adsorbents

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022213391-A1
Application number	US-202117143342-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 7, 2021
Priority date	Jan 7, 2021
Publication date	Jul 7, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

A process for treating a hydrocarbon stream to remove polynuclear aromatic (PNA) and heavy polynuclear aromatic (HPNA) compounds includes contacting the hydrocarbon stream with an adsorbent in an adsorption unit to adsorb the PNA and HPNA compounds onto the adsorbent to produce a treated hydrocarbon stream and regenerating the adsorbent. Regenerating the adsorbent may include contacting the adsorbent with a solvent comprising a disulfide oil, such as a disulfide oil effluent from a mercaptan oxidation unit. The solvent comprising the disulfide oil desorbs the PNA and HPNA compounds from the adsorbent into the solvent to produce a desorption effluent. The treated hydrocarbon stream can be passed to a hydrocracking unit that hydrocracks the treated hydrocarbon stream to produce a hydrocracker effluent that includes greater value petrochemical products or intermediates.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A process for treating a hydrocarbon stream to remove polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both, the process comprising:
contacting the hydrocarbon stream with an adsorbent in an adsorption unit, where the contacting causes at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both in the hydrocarbon stream to be adsorbed onto the adsorbent to produce a treated hydrocarbon stream; and regenerating the adsorbent in the adsorption unit, where regenerating the adsorbent comprises:
ceasing contact of the hydrocarbon stream with the adsorbent; and
contacting the adsorbent with a solvent comprising a disulfide oil, where contacting the adsorbent with the solvent comprising the disulfide oil desorbs at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, the heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both from the adsorbent into the solvent to produce a desorption effluent comprising at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, the heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both.

2 . The process of claim 1 , where regenerating the adsorbent further comprises, before contacting the adsorbent with the solvent comprising the disulfide oil:
contacting the adsorbent with a paraffinic solvent, where contacting desorbs non-PNA and non-HPNA hydrocarbons from pores, void spaces, or both of the adsorbent; and passing an inert gas through the adsorbent to dry the adsorbent.

3 . The process of claim 1 , where at least a portion of the hydrocarbon stream comprises a hydrocarbon feed for a hydrocracking process, the hydrocarbon feed comprising at least polynuclear aromatic compounds.

4 . The process of claim 1 , where at least a portion of the hydrocarbon stream comprises a hydrocracker bottom stream comprising heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds and the desorption effluent comprises at least a portion of the heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds from the hydrocracker bottoms.

5 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising combining the disulfide oil with at least one secondary solvent upstream of the adsorption unit to produce the solvent and then passing the solvent to the adsorption unit during regeneration of the adsorbent.

6 . The process of claim 6 , where the secondary solvent is selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylene, tetrahydrofuran, a heavy naphtha stream having a boiling point temperature range of from 70° C. to 140° C., or combinations of these.

7 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising:
contacting a mercaptan-containing hydrocarbon stream with an oxygen-containing gas and an alkaline solution in the presence of a mercaptan oxidation catalyst, where the contacting causes at least a portion of the mercaptan in the mercaptan-containing hydrocarbon stream to react to produce a mercaptan oxidation effluent comprising at least the disulfide oil; treating the mercaptan oxidation effluent to produce at least a disulfide oil effluent comprising at least a portion of the disulfide oil; and passing at least a portion of the disulfide oil effluent to the adsorption unit as at least a portion of the solvent for regeneration of the adsorbent.

8 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising passing the desorption effluent to a desorption separation system that separates the desorption effluent into a recycle solvent comprising at least disulfide oil and a desorption bottom stream comprising at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, the heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both.

9 . A process for upgrading a hydrocarbon feed, the process comprising:
contacting the hydrocarbon feed with an adsorbent in an adsorption unit, where the contacting causes at least a portion of polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both in the hydrocarbon feed to be adsorbed onto the adsorbent to produce a treated hydrocarbon stream; contacting at least a portion of the treated hydrocarbon stream with hydrogen in the presence of at least one hydrocracking catalyst to produce a hydrocracker effluent; separating the hydrocracker effluent into at least one upgraded effluent and a hydrocracker bottom stream; and regenerating the adsorbent in the adsorption unit, where regenerating the adsorbent comprises contacting the adsorbent with a solvent comprising a disulfide oil, where contacting the adsorbent with the solvent comprising the disulfide oil desorbs at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both from the adsorbent into the solvent to produce a desorption effluent comprising at least a portion of the polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both.

10 . The process of claim 9 , wherein the hydrocarbon feed comprises a vacuum gas oil, and optionally a demetalized oil, deasphalted oil, or both.

11 . The process of claim 9 , where the solvent comprises the disulfide oil and one or more secondary solvents selected from the group consisting of benzene, toluene, xylenes, tetrahydrofuran, a heavy naphtha stream having a boiling point temperature range of from 70° C. to 140° C., or combinations of these.

12 . The process of claim 9 , further comprising:
contacting a mercaptan-containing hydrocarbon stream with an oxygen-containing gas and an alkaline solution in the presence of a mercaptan oxidation catalyst, where the contacting causes at least a portion of the mercaptan in the mercaptan-containing hydrocarbon stream to react to produce a mercaptan oxidation effluent comprising at least the disulfide oil; treating the mercaptan oxidation effluent to produce at least a disulfide oil effluent comprising at least a portion of the disulfide oil; and passing at least a portion of the disulfide oil effluent to the adsorption unit as at least a portion of the solvent for regeneration of the adsorbent.

13 . The process of claim 9 , further comprising passing at least a portion of the hydrocracker bottom stream to the adsorption unit and contacting the at least a portion of the hydrocracker bottom stream with the adsorbent in the adsorption unit, where the contacting causes at least a portion of polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both from the hydrocracker bottom stream to adsorb onto the adsorbent.

14 . The process of claim 9 , where the adsorbent includes at least one of activated carbon, Attapulgus clay, spent catalysts, silica, alumina, titania, zeolite, or combinations of these.

15 . A system for processing a hydrocarbon feed, the system comprising:
an adsorption unit comprising an adsorbent and operable to contact the hydrocarbon feed with the adsorbent to adsorb at least a portion of polynuclear aromatic compounds, heavy polynuclear aromatic compounds, or both from the hydrocarbon feed to produce a treated hydrocarbon stream; a hydrocracking unit disposed downstream of the adsorption unit and comprising at least one hydrocracking catalyst, the hydrocracking unit operable to contact at least a portion of the treated hydrocarbon stream with hydrogen in the presence of the at least one hydrocracking catalyst at conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the treated hydrocarbon stream to produce a hydrocracked effluent comprising hydrocarbons having a boiling point temperature less than or equal to 370° C.; and a mercaptan oxidation unit operable to convert at least a portion of mercaptan in a mercaptan-containing hydrocarbon stream to disulfide oil, where the mercaptan oxidation unit is in fluid communic

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Koseoglu Omer Refa
• Alzaid Ali

Classifications

• B01J20/3475

  in the liquid phase · CPC title

• C10G67/06

  including a sorption process as the refining step in the absence of hydrogen · CPC title

• C10G47/00 Primary

  Cracking of hydrocarbon oils, in the presence of hydrogen or hydrogen- generating compounds, to obtain lower boiling fractions (C10G15/00 takes precedence; destructive hydrogenation of non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials C10G1/06) · CPC title

• B01J2219/0004

  Processes in series · CPC title

• B01D15/203

  Equilibration or regeneration · CPC title