Process for upgrading hydrocarbon feedstocks using solid adsorbent and membrane separation of treated product stream

摘要

A process for upgrading hydrocarbon oil feedstreams employs a solid adsorption material to lower sulfur and nitrogen content by contacting the hydrocarbon oil, with a solid adsorbents in a mixing vessel; passing the slurry to a membrane separation zone to separate the solid adsorption material with the adsorbed sulfur and nitrogen compounds from the treated oil; recovering the upgraded hydrocarbon product having a significantly reduced nitrogen and sulfur content as the membrane permeate; mixing the solid adsorbent material with aromatic solvent to remove and stabilize the sulfur and nitrogen compounds; transferring the solvent mixture to a fractionation tower to recover the solvent, which can be recycled for use in the process; and recovering the hydrocarbons that are rich in sulfur and nitrogen for processing in a relatively small high-pressure hydrotreating unit or transferring them to a fuel oil pool for blending.

主权项

1. A process for improving the quality of a hydrocarbon oil feedstock by removing undesirable sulfur and nitrogen compounds present in the feedstock, the process comprising:
a. introducing the hydrocarbon oil feedstock consisting of hydrocarbon components boiling in the range of from 36° C. to 400° C. and containing undesirable sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds, including polynuclear aromatic compounds, into a mixing vessel with a solid adsorbent material having average particle size in the range of 74 microns to 149 microns, the adsorbent material being selected from the group consisting of attapulgus clay, silica alumina, alumina, silica, silica gel, activated carbon and zeolite catalyst materials; b. mixing the hydrocarbon oil feedstock with the adsorbent material to form a slurry; c. continuing to mix the slurry for a time sufficient to adsorb the sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds on the adsorbent material; and d. contacting the hydrocarbon oil and solid adsorbent mixture with a filtration membrane in a separation zone to separate an upgraded hydrocarbon oil product from the solid adsorbent and recovering a hydrocarbon oil product having a reduced sulfur and nitrogen compound content as the membrane permeate.