Improvement of the Middle Distillate Yields during Crude Oil Hydrotreatment in a Trickle-Bed Reactor

Jarullah, Aysar T.; Mujtaba, Iqbal M.; Wood, Alastair S.

doi:10.1021/ef101327d

Cited by 37 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It can be observed that the presence of hydrogen improved the naphtha fraction more compared to the cyclohexane donor solvent. A similar improvement in naphtha and middle distillate fractions was observed by Jarullah et al [30], after hydrotreatment of a whole crude oil in a trickle-bed reactor. This observation is also consistent with the results reported on API gravity and viscosity of the feed and upgraded oils (see Table 7).…”

Section: True Boiling Point (Tbp) Distributionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Hart

Lewis

White

et al. 2015

Fuel Processing Technology

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The incorporation of catalysts to enhance downhole upgrading in the Toe-to-Heel Air Injection (THAI) process is limited by deactivation due to coking arising from the cracking of heavy oil. This study aims to reduce the catalyst deactivation problems that can occur with upgrading of heavy oils. Ultradispersed catalyst particles could potentially replace pelleted catalysts which may be difficult to regenerate once deactivated during the THAI operation. The dispersed particles could potentially be applied once through, down-hole for in situ upgrading of heavy oil. The catalyst studied was finely crushed pelleted Ni-Mo/Al 2 O 3 catalyst (2.4 μm). The product distribution of liquid, coke and gas may be influenced by the presence of a suitable hydrogen source which promotes hydroconversion reactions rather than simple cracking. In order to improve liquid yield whilst suppressing coke formation, the effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor solvent was studied in a stirred batch reactor (100 mL) at temperature 425°C, initial pressure 17.5 bar, agitation 500 rpm, and a short reaction time of 10 min. The use of cyclohexane was evaluated against that of hydrogen gas. The reaction under hydrogen atmosphere significantly reduced coke yield by 41.3% compared with a nitrogen environment under the same conditions. Also, the coke decreased by 6.2-45.4% as the cyclohexane:oil ratio increased from 0.01 to 0.08 (g·g −1 ) relative to 4.67 wt.% of coke observed without added cyclohexane in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading under nitrogen environment. As the cyclohexane:oil ratio increases, the produced oil API gravity and middle distillate fractions (200-343°C) increase whilst the viscosity decreases. An estimated 0.073 CH:oil ratio was found to suppress coke formation in a similar manner to upgrading under hydrogen atmosphere at the same conditions.

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Section: True Boiling Point (Tbp) Distributionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Hart

Lewis

White

et al. 2015

Fuel Processing Technology

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“…In summary, the upgraded oil with hydrogen contained more low-boiling hydrocarbon components, followed by the upgraded oil obtained when nitrogen gas was used relative to the THAI oil studied. Jarullah and co-workers [41] reported hydrotreatment of conventional crude oil in a trickle-bed reactor, from which they deduced that the yield of middle distillate fractions increased thereafter. This can be attributed to hydrocracking, hydrogenation of free radicals, aromatics and olefins, and the removal of heteroatoms.…”

Section: Upgraded Oils True Boiling Point (Tbp) Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Situ Catalytic Upgrading of Heavy Crude with CAPRI: Influence of Hydrogen on Catalyst Pore Plugging and Deactivation due to Coke

Hart

Wood

2018

Energies

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Heavy crude oil is known to have low hydrogen-to-carbon ratios compared to light oil. This is due to the significant content of carbon-rich species such as resins and asphaltenes; hence their upgrading is commonly through carbon-rejection. However, carbon-rejection promotes rapid fouling of catalyst and pore plugging, yielding low upgraded oil and consequently low fuel distillate fractions when distilled. The roles of hydrogen-addition on in situ catalytic upgrading were investigated at pre-established conditions (425 • C, LHSV 11.8 h −1 , and 20-40 bars) using a simulated fixed-bed reactor that mimics the annular sheath of catalyst (CAPRI) surrounding the horizontal producer well of the Toe-to-Heel Air Injection (THAI) process. It was found that with H-addition, the upgraded oil American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity increased to about 5 • compared to 3 • obtained with N 2 above 13 • (THAI feed oil). The fuel distillate fractions increased to 62% (N 2 , 20 bar), 65% (H 2 , 20 bar), and 71.8% (H 2 , 30 bar) relative to 40.6% (THAI feed oil); while the coke contents of the catalyst after experiments were 35.3 wt % (N 2), and 27.2 wt % (H 2). It was also found that catalyst pore plugging and deactivation due to coke was significantly lower under hydrogen than with nitrogen; hence the catalyst is less susceptible to coke fouling when the upgrading reaction is carried out under hydrogen. The coke fouling further decreases with increasing hydrogen pressure while the API gravity of the upgraded oil marginally increases by 0.3 • for every 10 bar increase in pressure from 20 to 40 bar.

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“…In refineries, crude oil is distilled to various fractions, in which the main distillate fractions including light naphtha, heavy naphtha, kerosene and gas oil are very valuable (Jarullah et al 2011;Prins 2001;Qian et al 2013). There are serious regulations, especially in Europe and USA, which limit the impurities in the main petroleum fractions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of performance of Ni–Mo/γ-alumina catalyst in HDS and HDN reactions of main distillate fractions

2019

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A bimetallic nickel-molybdenum catalyst supported on γ-alumina was synthesized by the two-step incipient wetness impregnation technique. The activity of the prepared Ni-Mo/γ-alumina catalyst was evaluated in a down flow fixed-bed microreactor. In this way, hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) reactions of the main distillate fractions of crude oil were assessed. XRD, SEM, TPR, ICP-OES, BET-BJH and nitrogen adsorption/desorption methods were used for characterizing the synthesized Ni-Mo/γ-alumina catalyst. The active metals with Ni/Mo mass ratio of 0.23 and total metal of 13.7 wt% were loaded on the support, similar to the commercial industrial catalyst. The performance tests were conducted at 3.0 MPa (for light naphtha and heavy naphtha) and at 4.5 MPa (for kerosene and gas oil). The results revealed that the total sulfur conversion of the light naphtha, heavy naphtha, kerosene and gas oil fractions was 98.3%, 95%, 91.7% and 90.1% (after 24 h), respectively.

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Improvement of the Middle Distillate Yields during Crude Oil Hydrotreatment in a Trickle-Bed Reactor

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Cited by 37 publications

References 26 publications

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

In Situ Catalytic Upgrading of Heavy Crude with CAPRI: Influence of Hydrogen on Catalyst Pore Plugging and Deactivation due to Coke

Comparison of performance of Ni–Mo/γ-alumina catalyst in HDS and HDN reactions of main distillate fractions

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