Systems for hydroprocessing heavy oil

摘要

A hydroprocessing system involves introducing heavy oil and in situ formed metal sulfide catalyst particles, or a catalyst precursor capable of forming metal sulfide catalyst particles in situ within the heavy oil, into a hydroprocessing reactor. The metal sulfide catalyst particles are formed in situ by 1) premixing a catalyst precursor with a hydrocarbon diluent to form a precursor mixture, 2) mixing the precursor mixture with heavy oil to form a conditioned feedstock, and 3) heating the conditioned feedstock to decompose the catalyst precursor and cause or allow metal from the precursor to react with sulfur in the heavy oil to form the metal sulfide catalyst particles in situ in the heavy oil. The in situ formed metal sulfide catalyst particles catalyze beneficial upgrading reactions between the heavy oil and hydrogen and eliminates or reduces formation of coke precursors and sediment.

主权项

1. A system for hydroprocessing heavy oil, comprising:
a hydroprocessing reactor comprised of:
a reaction chamber operating at hydroprocessing conditions;an input port through which heavy oil is fed into the reaction chamber;an output port through which upgraded hydrocarbon material is withdrawn from the reaction chamber;a liquid hydrocarbon phase within the reaction chamber comprised of heavy oil and upgraded hydrocarbon material;metal sulfide catalyst particles dispersed in the liquid hydrocarbon phase; anda gaseous phase comprised of hydrogen gas dispersed in the liquid hydrocarbon phase; and an in situ catalyst formation system comprised of:
a catalyst precursor;a hydrocarbon diluent;a heavy oil feedstock separate from the hydrocarbon diluent;a first mixing vessel configured to receive the catalyst precursor and the hydrocarbon diluent and mix them below a temperature at which a significant portion of the catalyst precursor decomposes to form a diluted precursor mixture comprising mixture products of the catalyst precursor and the hydrocarbon diluent;a second mixing vessel, downstream from the first mixing vessel and upstream from the hydroprocessing reactor, configured to receive the diluted precursor mixture and the heavy oil feedstock and mix them prior to heating to a temperature at which a substantial portion of the catalyst precursor decomposes to form a conditioned feedstock comprising mixture products of the catalyst precursor, the hydrocarbon diluent, and the heavy oil feedstock; anda heater, downstream from the second mixing vessel and upstream from the hydroprocessing reactor and/or that forms part of the hydroprocessing reactor, that heats the conditioned feedstock to decompose the catalyst precursor so that metal from the decomposed catalyst precursor reacts with sulfur in the heated feedstock to form metal sulfide catalyst particles in situ within the heated feedstock.