Integration
technology of residue hydrotreating (RHT) and delayed
coking (DC) was first proven to be an effective strategy to process
high-sulfur residue oil while reducing the coke yield and simultaneously
controlling the sulfur content of coke. Then, the evolution of sulfur
species in the integration process was investigated by XPS, online
TG-MS analysis, and atmospheric pressure photoionization FT-ICR MS.
Finally, the essential effects of the RHT process on sulfur evolution
were evaluated. The RHT process optimized the conversion of the refractory
thiophenic sulfurs into sulfidic sulfurs as indicated by the increasing
abundance of sulfidic sulfur during RHT, which thereby helped to reduce
the sulfur content in coke. Moreover, RHT promoted the saturation
of condensed-aromatic-ring structures of some refractory thiophenic
sulfurs and thus promoted the thermal cracking of these sulfurs, and
the resulting sulfurs with a smaller size thereupon directly evaporate
into the liquid products, thus further reducing the sulfur content
in coke.