Use of ebullated bed reactor in combination with solvent deasphalting reactor to process renewable and circular feedstocks

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system and process for making fuel from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks. The system and process can include adding a reaction product of the fossil feedstock from a first ebullated bed (EB reactor to a separator, adding a deasphalted oil product from a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor to a second EB reactor, adding the non-fossil feedstock to the second EB reactor, performing a catalytic reaction on the deasphalted oil product and the non-fossil feedstock in the second EB reactor to form a mixed effluent, and mixing the mixed effluent from the second EB reactor and the fossil feedstock reaction product in the separator, thereby producing unconverted heavy oil, partially converted intermediates, and hydroconverted products.

Description

Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)USE OF EBULLATED BED REACTOR IN COMBINATION WITH SOLVENT DEASPHALTING REACTOR TO PROCESS RENEWABLE AND CIRCULAR FEEDSTOCKSCROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 725,802, filed November 27, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to systems and methods for producing renewable fuels, and more particularly to coprocessing renewable and circular feedstocks with fossil feedstocks.BACKGROUND

[0003] The production of fuels from non-fossil feedstock is becoming more and more important in reducing fossil carbon footprints and tackling climate change. Ebullated Bed (EB) reactor platforms, such as LC-FINING, are widely used to hydrocrack heavy fossil oil feedstock. During LC-FINING, some residues tend to form sediment and ultimately lead to fouling in the downstream separation and fractionation sections. While LC-FINING can reach conversion levels as high as 70 and 80%, the sediment can limit the ability to increase conversion levels. In addition, LC-FINING processes have never been applied to the processing of renewable and circular feedstocks. The industry is in need of new, useful, and more efficient processes for addressing the treatment of circular and renewable feedstocks.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for novel and efficient processes to process renewable and circular feedstocks to produce transportation fuels.SUMMARY

[0005] Provided is a process for making fuels from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks. The fossil and non-fossil feedstocks are coprocessed in the reaction system. The non- fossil feedstocks can comprise renewable and / or circular feedstocks.

[0006] Central to the present process is the use of an ebullated bed (EB) reactor in combination with a solvent deasphalting (SDA) reactor. The combination of theAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) reactors has been found to efficiently and effectively coprocess renewable and / or circular feeds with fossil feedstocks. The combination of reactors ensures that heavy oil products (e.g., unconverted oil (UCO) products) are converted. In one embodiment, the UCO products conversion rate can range from about 80-95% by weight.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0004] The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the disclosure will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, specific embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the disclosure is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities of the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0005] FIG. 1 depicts a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 2 depicts a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart of a method of performing a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of a method of performing a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] To facilitate an understanding of the principles and features of the present disclosure, various illustrative embodiments are explained below. The components, steps, and materials described hereinafter as making up various elements of the embodiments disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components, steps, and materials that would perform the same or similar functions as the components, steps, and materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of the disclosure. Such other components, steps, and materials not described herein can include, but are not limited to, similar components or steps that are developed after development of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0010] Residuum hydrocracking is a high pressure, high temperature hydroconversion process, which uses ebullated beds (EB) of catalyst to upgrade lower value heavy oils into higher value products, via thermal cracking in presence of hydrogen and the EB catalyst. EB residuum hydrocracking units can process a heavier feed than fixed bed, gas oil hydrocracking units. Residuum hydrocracking units, such as LC-FINING, are particularly useful to provide increased production or high-qualityAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) diesel and kerosene, with reduced residual fuel oil production. EB units also yield heavier products, such as vacuum gas oil (VGO), that can be further processed and upgraded into other products through fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) or hydrocracking. Residuum hydrocracking units typically convert between 60-80% of the vacuum residuum range material processed, producing between 20-40% of vacuum residuum range (vacuum tower bottoms, VTB) unconverted oil (UCO) product, typically referred to as heavy products. The onset of sludge or sediment formation typically limits residuum conversion. UCO residuum processing is difficult as UCO residuum contains organic solids and hydrocracking catalyst fines, is prohibitively high in viscosity, has a high propensity to flocculate and form a (semi-solid) slurry, is extremely prone to foul process equipment, and is virtually impossible to further process. UCO residuum is therefore typically considered to be of low value and is often sent to a coker (a unit operation designed to handle slurries) or blended into (bunker) fuel oil, without further processing or upgrading.

[0011] Central to the present invention is the ebullated bed (EB) reactor in combination with the solvent deasphalting (SDA) extractor to separate those UCO residuum species that survived prior severe hydroprocessing and reach a conversion (around 80-95%) with high liquid selectivity within one process.

[0012] The functioning of the EB reactor, including the recycling of reactor liquids upwards through the stirred bed of catalyst, is generally well known. A mixture of feedstock and hydrogen is passed from the bottom upwards over a bed of catalytic particles at a flow rate such that the particles are subjected to a forced random motion whereas the liquid and gas pass through the bed from the bottom upwards. The movement of the catalytic bed is controlled by a flow of recycled liquid such that, in the steady state, the mass of the catalyst does not rise above a definable level in the reactor. Vapors and liquid being hydrogenated pass through the upper level of the bed of catalytic particles to reach a zone substantially free of catalyst, and they are then discharged from the upper part of the reactor. A fraction of the reactor liquids is continuously recycled into the reactor. EB technologies use supported catalysts, generally in the form of extrudates or beads whose diameter is generally of the order of 1, or less than 1, mm. The catalysts remain inside the reactors and are not discharged with the products. The catalytic activity can be kept constant by online replacement of the catalyst. It is not necessary to shut down the unit in order to change the spent catalyst, or to increase the reaction temperatures along the cycle in order to compensateAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) for deactivation. Furthermore, working under constant operating conditions makes it possible to obtain constant product yields and qualities along the cycle. Also, because the catalyst is kept in agitation by a significant recycling of liquid, the pressure drop in the reactor remains low and constant and the reaction exotherms are rapidly averaged over the catalytic bed.

[0013] Catalysts used in an EB reactor are widely marketed. These are granular catalysts whose size never reaches that of the catalysts used in an entrained bed. The catalyst is usually in the form of extrudates or beads. Typically, they contain at least one hydro-dehydrogenating element deposited on an amorphous support. Generally, the supported catalyst comprises a group VIII metal chosen from the group formed by Ni, Pd, Pt, Co, Rh, and / or Ru, optionally a group of VIB metal chosen from the group Mo and / or W, on an amorphous mineral support chosen from the group formed by alumina, silica, silica-aluminas, magnesia, clays and mixtures of at least two of these minerals. CoMo / alumina and NiMo / alumina catalysts are the most common.

[0014] Solvent deasphalting (SDA) is also a known technology, traditionally used for lubes and asphalt production. The SDA process selectively separates residues by molecular type by mixing with certain solvents and precipitating asphaltenes and other residue heavy components out of solution. SDA produces a low-contaminant, relatively high deasphalted oil (DAO) product suitable for catalytic conversion, and a pitch product that is suitable for thermal conversion. The pitch product contains the majority of the residue's contaminants, including, for example, metals, asphaltenes, and the carbon residue of crude oil and heavy oil. The pitch formed in SDA extractors can be further processed at a gasifier or coker (a unit operation designed to handle slurries) or a cement plant.

[0015] In some embodiments, the process for making fuels from fossil and / or nonfossil feedstock can include performing a first catalytic reaction on a non-fossil feedstock together with a fossil feedstock in an ebullated bed (EB) reactor, wherein the feedstocks are exposed to hydrogen and an EB catalyst; separating EB-stage heavy products and light products; extracting the EB-stage heavy products in a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor to form SDA-stage deasphalted oil products and pitch products; performing a second catalytic reaction on SDA-stage deasphalted oil products in a deasphaltene oil (DAO) reactor for forming DAO-stage asphalt and deasphalted oil products; and separating the DAO-stage asphalt and deasphalted oil products. The process can include several steps that can be performed serially or all at once. In any ofAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) the embodiments described herein, the solvent deasphaltene unit can be before or after the EB process.

[0016] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fossil feedstock 100 can be passed to one or more first EB reactors 10a, lOx. The resulting reaction product 102 can then be passed to a separator 40. In a second EB reactor 20, non-fossil feedstock 200 can be added, along with effluent stream comprising deasphalted oil product 302 from a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor 30. The resulting mixed effluent 202 can then be passed from the second EB reactor 20 to the separator 40, to be mixed with the fossil feedstock reaction product 102. The separator 40 can separate and produce unconverted heavy oil (UCO) 402, partially converted intermediates 403, and / or hydroconverted products 404. The unconverted heavy oil 402 and partially converted intermediates 403 can then be passed to the SDA extractor 30, to be further separated into deasphalted oil product 302 in a cyclic recycling process. The residue contaminants are separated in pitch 304 and removed from the recycling process, whereas the deasphalted oil product 302 resulting from the unconverted heavy oil 402 and partially converted intermediates 403 can be moved back into the second EB reactor 20 to undergo a second catalytic reaction. This recycling process can repeat until all, substantially all, or a majority of the unconverted heavy oil 402 and partially converted intermediates 403 are processed into either hydroconverted products 404 or pitch 304. Additional non-fossil feedstock 200 can be added to the second EB reactor 20 at various times to continue the cyclic, recycling process.

[0017] FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fossil feedstock 100a, 100b can be injected directly in an SDA extractor 30 and / or in a first EB reactor 10a, respectively. The SDA extractor 30 can separate the fossil feedstock 100 into deasphalted oil product 302 and pitch 304. Non-fossil feedstock 200a can be added to the first EB reactor 10a. The non-fossil feedstock 200a can be mixed with deasphalted oil product 302 separated from the SDA extractor 30. The non-fossil feedstock 200a and deasphalted oil product 302 form a first mixed effluent 102 after undergoing a catalytic reaction in the first EB reactor 10a. In some embodiments, the first mixed effluent 102 can be passed to a series of first EB reactors 10a to lOx, which perform a series of catalytic reactions to form the first mixed effluent 102 that passes on to the second EB reactor 20. The first mixed effluent 102 undergoes a catalytic reaction in the second EB reactor 20 to form a second mixed effluent 202 that is moved to a separator 40. The separator pulls extracts unconverted heavy oil 402 and partiallyAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) converted intermediates 403 to be recycled to the SDA extractor 30, as indicated by the dotted line. Any hydroconverted products 404 separated in the separator 40 can be collected for post-processing.

[0018] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, additional non-fossil feedstock 200b can be injected directly in the second EB reactor 20 to be mixed with the first mixed effluent 102. As with the process shown in FIG. 1, the recycling process of FIG. 2 can repeat until all, substantially all, or a majority of the unconverted heavy oil 402 and partially converted intermediates 403 are processed into either hydroconverted products 404 or pitch 304. Additional non-fossil feedstock 200b can be added to the second EB reactor 20 to continue the recycling process.

[0019] The first EB reactor can perform catalytic hydrogenation, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, hydronitrogenization, decarboxylation, decarbonylation, and hydrodeoxygenation of the fossil and non-fossil feedstocks simultaneously. For example, oxygen polymers and single oxygenated molecules in the feedstocks undergo breaking of the oxygen linkages and form water and CO2 from the oxygen, which form smaller molecules.

[0020] Conditions in EB reactors can vary based on the feedstock to be hydroprocessed. In some embodiments, the mixed feedstock can be hydrotreated in the EB reactors under effective hydrotreating conditions that differ among the series of EB reactors. For instance, in a first EB reactor, the hydrotreating conditions can include an LHSV of about 0.25 hr-1 to about 4 hr— 1 , a total pressure of about 250 psig to about 800 psig (about 1.7 MPag to about 5.5 MPag), and a temperature of about 550° F. to about 750° F. (about 288° C. to about 399° C.). In an adjacent EB reactor in the series of first EB reactors, the hydrotreating conditions can include an LHSV of about 0.25 hr- 1 to about 2 hr— 1 , a total pressure of about 500 psig to about 800 psig (about 3.4 MPag to about 5.5 MPag), and a temperature of about 650° F. to about 800° F. (about 343° C. to about 426° C.).

[0021] The UCO heavy oil feeds that may be used for the fossil feedstock typically include atmospheric residuum, vacuum residuum, tar from a solvent deasphalting unit, atmospheric gas oil, vacuum gas oil, deasphalted oil, oil derived from tar sands or bitumen, oil derived from coal, heavy crude oil, oil derived from recycled oil wastes and polymers, or a combination thereof. The UCO feed for the processes and systems of the invention may be obtained from these sources after they are subjected toAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) hydroprocessing in a hydroprocessing system that includes hydrocracking and forms hydrocracker resid.

[0022] FIG. 3 provides a flowchart of an example method 3000 for making fuel from fossil feedstock 100 and non-fossil feedstock 200. Method 3000 can include adding a reaction product 102 of a fossil feedstock 100 from a first ebullated bed (EB) reactor 10 to a separator 40 in the first step 3002. Next, method 3000 includes adding a deasphalted oil product 302 from a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor 30 to a second EB reactor 20 in step 3004. Step 3006 can include adding the non-fossil feedstock 200 to the second EB reactor 20. In the second EB reactor 20, step 3008 can include performing a catalytic reaction on the deasphalted oil product 302 and the non- fossil feedstock 200 to form a mixed effluent 202. After the catalytic reaction of step 3008, the method 3000 can include mixing the mixed effluent 202 from the second EB reactor 20 and the fossil feedstock reaction product in the separator 40, thereby producing unconverted heavy oil 402, partially converted intermediates 403, and hydroconverted products 404 at step 3010. Method 3000 can end at step 3010 or can continue back in a cyclic manner with step 3002.

[0023] FIG. 4 provides a flowchart of an example method 4000 for making fuel from fossil feedstock 100 and non-fossil feedstock 200. Method 4000 can include injecting a fossil feedstock 100 in a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor 30 and separating resulting deasphalted oil product 302 and pitch 304 in the first step 4002. Next, method 4000 includes adding non-fossil feedstock 200 to a first ebullated bed (EB) reactor 10 and mixing with the deasphalted oil product 302 from the SDA extractor 30 to form a first mixed effluent 102 in step 4004. Method 4000 can next include passing the first mixed effluent 102 from the first EB reactor 10 to a second EB reactor 20 in step 4006. In the second EB reactor 20, step 4008 can include performing a catalytic reaction on the first mixed effluent 102 to form a second mixed effluent 202. In step 4010, method 4000 can include moving the second mixed effluent 202 from the second EB reactor 20 to a separator 40, thereby separating unconverted heavy oil 402, partially converted intermediates 403, and hydroconverted products 404. At step 4012, the method 4000 can include moving the unconverted heavy oil 402 and / or partially converted intermediates 403 from the separator 40 to the SDA extractor 30. Method 4000 can end at step 4012 or can continue back in a cyclic manner with step 4002.

[0024] In some embodiments, the process can include hydroprocessing of non- fossil feedstocks including renewable and circular feedstocks. The non-fossilAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) feedstocks can be processed at the same time with the fossil feedstock. Renewable feedstocks for coprocessing with heavy fossil oil can include bio crudes (e.g., fastpyrolysis bio-oil, pyoil or FPBO, hydrothermal liquefaction oil, lipids (e.g., vegetable oil, cooking oil, tallow, animal fats, grease), fat / oil derived feedstocks from other conversion processes, and the like. The renewable feed can be one single feedstock or a mixture of several feedstocks.

[0025] In some embodiments, the circular feedstocks for coprocessing with heavy oil feedstock can include plastic pyrolysis oil or waste plastics, and the like. The circular feedstock can be one single feedstock or a mixture of several feedstocks.

[0026] In certain embodiments, the fossil feedstock may include any fossil fuel feedstock and / or fraction thereof including, but not limited to, one or more of heavy crude oil, a reduced crude oil, petroleum residuum, atmospheric tower bottoms, vacuum tower bottoms, tar sands bitumen, shale oil, liquefied coal, coal tar, reclaimed oil, heavy residual oils generated by solvent deasphalting of petroleum residua including the DAO and pitch fractions from the deasphalting process, and other residuum fractions. In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstock includes a significant fraction of high boiling point hydrocarbons, with boiling points at or above 343° C. (650° F.). In one embodiment, the heavy oil feedstock has a boiling range at or above 524° C. (975° F.). Heavy oil feedstocks which can be treated in the present process contain asphaltenes. Asphaltenes are complex hydrocarbon molecules that include a relatively low ratio of hydrogen to carbon that is the result of a substantial number of condensed aromatic and naphthenic rings with paraffinic side chains. The asphaltene fraction also contains a higher content of sulfur and nitrogen than does crude oil or the rest of the vacuum residuum, and it also contains higher concentrations of carbon- forming compounds.

[0027] In certain embodiments, the renewable and / or circular feedstocks can be pretreated physically or chemically via filtration, water washing, hydrothermal cleanup, mild-hydrotreating, hydrodeoxygenation, and the like. The pretreatment can be done to remove large solids or contaminants. The pretreatment can also be done to stabilize the feedstocks by saturating olefins or removing oxygen from the renewables.

[0028] The as-is or pretreated renewable and circular feedstocks can be added to the EB reactor(s) and can be coprocessed with fossil feedstocks. In one embodiment, the fossil feedstocks can include, without limitation, at least one vacuum gas oil, FCCAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) cycle oil, atmospheric residue, vacuum residue, bitumen, asphalt, deasphalted oil, deasphalted pitch, tar, shale oil residue, coal-derived oil residue, and mixtures thereof.

[0029] The combined amount of renewable and circular feedstocks, as of the volume of the total combined feedstocks, can range from about 1-90% (v / v), from about 3-70% (v / v), from about 3-50% (v / v), from about 3-30% (v / v), from about 3-20% (v / v), from about 3-15% (v / v), from about 3-10% (v / v), from about 5-20% (v / v), from about 5-10% (v / v), from about 10-20% (v / v), and any range in between, e.g., from about 1.9-76% (v / v).

[0030] In some embodiments, the system can have a series of EB reactors followed by a series of SDA reactors. The as-is or pretreated renewable and circular feedstocks can be injected to the same feed line as the fossil feed. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the feedstocks can be heated in a separate heat exchanger and injected separately into the reactor. The renewable and / or circular feedstocks can be both injected into the first EB reactor. Conversely, the feedstocks can be both injected into the second EB reactor, or the last reactor, or to the SDA reactors.

[0031] In any of the embodiments described herein, the system can have a series of EB reactors, followed by a series of DAO reactors, followed by a series of SDA reactors. In some embodiments, depending on the difficulty of the feedstock, one or more types of feedstocks can be injected to the first reactor, while another type of feedstock can be injected to the second, or third, or last reactor (either EB or SDA or DAO). Heavy products from any of the EB reactors, DAO reactors, or SDA reactors may be recycled through the system to undergo additional hydrocracking conversion.

[0032] All the feedstocks (renewable, circular, and fossil) in reactors undergo various reactions in the presence of hydrogen and EB catalyst, such as hydrogenation, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenization, hydrodemetallization, hydrodeoxygenation, decarbonylation, decarboxylation, and the like. The desired coprocessing conditions can include liquid hourly space velocity at 0.1 to 1 hr; pressure at 800-3000 psig; temperature at 650°F to 850°F, and H2 to feed ratio at 1000-8000 SCF / bbl. Unreacted hydrogen is recycled back to the front-end reactor.

[0033] In another embodiment, a separator may be used to separate the gaseous portion of the effluent from the liquid portion of the effluent. The separation or filtration process step removes insolubles from the UCO heavy oil stream, including, e.g., catalyst fines, particulates, sediments, agglomerated oil and aggregates. Preferably, the separation process comprises a filtration process or step. Suitable filtrationAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) processes generally include mesh, screen, cross-flow filtration, backwash filtration, membrane filtration processes, and combinations thereof.

[0034] In some embodiments, instead of being extracted into a DAO or SDA reactor after reaction in the EB reactor, the product goes to a separation system, such as a high pressure high temperature separator, to separate into heavy and light liquid products. The heavy product can further go to a vacuum column to be separated into vacuum gas oil (VGO) and vacuum tower bottom (VTB).

[0035] In some embodiments, the VTB goes to a 1 -stage or 2-stage SDA unit to generate deasphalted oil (DAO) and pitch. The DAO goes to a dedicated DAO EB reactor to further crack and produce light oils. Optionally, part of the DAO can be recycled back to the first or second reactor for further cracking and control sediment formation. In addition, part of the VTB may be recycled back to the first reactor for further cracking.

[0036] Optionally, the distillate and VGO products can be further hydrotreated in an integrated hydrotreater to further remove contaminates, such as sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen. After fractionation, the hydrotreated VGO can be further hydrocracked in an optional hydrocracker or in an FCC process. Isomerization may be needed for the jet and diesel products. In some examples, the heavy product can also be hydrotreated in a heavy oil hydrotreater to make very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).

[0037] In some embodiments, additional liquid circular or renewable feedstocks can be added to an existing integrated hydrotreater (IHT) in an EB reactor. For instance, additional feedstocks ranging from about 3-20% (v / v) of the original capacity can be added without affecting its overall performance.

[0038] It is to be understood that the embodiments and claims disclosed herein are not limited in their application to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the description and illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the description and the drawings provide examples of the embodiments envisioned. The embodiments and claims disclosed herein are further capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting the claims.

[0039] Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which the application and claims are based may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposesAttorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01) of the embodiments and claims presented in this application. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions.

[0040] As used in this disclosure, the word “comprises” or “comprising” is intended as an open-ended transition meaning the inclusion of the named elements, but not necessarily excluding other unnamed elements. The phrase “consists essentially of’ or “consisting essentially of’ is intended to mean the exclusion of other elements or any essential significance to the composition. The phrase “consisting of’ or “consists of’ is intended as a transition meaning the exclusion of all but the recited elements except for only minor traces of impurities.

[0041] All patents and publications referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent not inconsistent herewith. It will be understood that certain of the above-described structures, functions, and operations of the above-described embodiments are not necessary to practice the present invention and are included in the description simply for completeness of an exemplary embodiment or embodiments. In addition, it will be understood that specific structures, functions, and operations set forth in the above-described referenced patents and publications can be practiced in conjunction with the present invention, but they are not essential to its practice. It is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise that as specifically described without actually departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)What is claimed is:

1. A process for making fuel from fossil feedstock [vacuum residue, 100] and nonfossil feedstock [liquid renewable and / or circular feedstock, 200], the process comprising: adding a reaction product [102] of the fossil feedstock [100] from a first ebullated bed (EB) reactor [10] to a separator [40]; adding a deasphalted oil product [302] from a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor [30] to a second EB reactor [20]; adding the non-fossil feedstock [200] to the second EB reactor [20]; performing a catalytic reaction on the deasphalted oil product [302] and the non-fossil feedstock [200] in the second EB reactor [20] to form a mixed effluent [202]; and mixing the mixed effluent [202] from the second EB reactor [20] and the fossil feedstock reaction product in the separator [40], thereby producing unconverted heavy oil [402], partially converted intermediates [403], and hydroconverted products [404],2. The process of claim 1, further comprising recycling unconverted or partially converted intermediates from the separator to the SDA extractor and second EB reactor to undergo a second catalytic reaction.

3. The process of claim 2, further comprising adding additional non-fossil feedstock directly to the second EB reactor.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the second EB reactor is a deasphalted oil (DAO) reactor.

5. The process of any preceding claim, wherein the fossil feedstock comprises vacuum gas oil, fluid catalytic cracking cycle oil, atmospheric residue, vacuum residue, bitumen, asphalt, deasphalted oil, deasphalted pitch, tar, shale oil residue, coal-derived oil residue, petroleum, or combinations thereof.

6. The process of any preceding claim, wherein the non-fossil feedstock comprises circular feedstock and / or renewable feedstock.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)7. The process of claim 6, wherein the circular feedstock comprises plastic pyrolysis oil or waste plastics.

8. The process of claim 6, wherein the renewable feedstock comprises bio crudes, lipids, or recycled fat / oil derived feedstocks from other conversion process.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein bio crudes comprise fast-pyrolysis bio-oil (pyoil or FPBO), hydropyrolysis product, or hydrothermal liquefaction oil (HTL oil).

10. The process of claim 8, wherein lipids comprise vegetable oils, used cooking oil, tallow, animal fats, or greases.

11. The process of any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-fossil feedstock is pretreated physically or chemically via filtration, water washing, hydrothermal cleanup, hydrotreating, or combinations thereof.

12. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 70%.

13. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 80%.

14. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 90%.

15. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of ranging from about 88% to about 92%.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)16. A process for making fuel from fossil feedstock [vacuum residue, 100] and nonfossil feedstock [liquid renewable and / or circular feedstock, 200], the process comprising: injecting a fossil feedstock [100] in a solvent deasphaltene (SDA) extractor [30] and separating resulting deasphalted oil product [302] and pitch [304]; adding non-fossil feedstock [200] to a first ebullated bed (EB) reactor [10] and mixing with deasphalted oil product [302] from the SDA extractor [30] to form a first mixed effluent [102]; passing the first mixed effluent [102] from the first EB reactor [10] to a secondEB reactor [20] performing a catalytic reaction on the first mixed effluent [102] in the second EB reactor [20] to form a second mixed effluent [202] moving the second mixed effluent [202] from the second EB reactor [20] to a separator [40], thereby separating unconverted heavy oil [402], partially converted intermediates [403], and hydroconverted products [404]; and moving the unconverted heavy oil [402] and / or partially converted intermediates [403] from the separator [40] to the SDA extractor [30],17. The process of claim 16, further comprising injecting fossil feedstock directly in the first EB reactor [10] to mix with the non-fossil feedstock [200] and the deasphalted oil product [302],18. The process of claim 16, further comprising injecting fossil feedstock to mix with the deasphalted oil product moving from the SDA extractor to the first EB reactor.

19. The process of claim 16, further comprising injecting non-fossil feedstock directly in the second EB reactor [20] to mix with the first mixed effluent [102]20. The process of claim 16, wherein the first EB reactor comprises a series of two or more reactors.

21. The process of claim 16, wherein the second EB reactor comprises a deasphalted oil (DAO) reactor.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)22. The process of claim 16, wherein the fossil feedstocks and / or the non-fossil feedstocks are exposed to hydrogen and an EB catalyst in at least one of the first or the second EB reactors.

23. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 70%.

24. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 80%.

25. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products of greater than about 90%.

26. The process of any of the preceding claims, further comprising achieving a conversion from fossil and non-fossil feedstocks to hydroconverted products ranging from about 88% to about 92%.

27. The process of any preceding claim, wherein the fossil feedstock comprises vacuum gas oil, fluid catalytic cracking cycle oil, atmospheric residue, vacuum residue, bitumen, asphalt, deasphalted oil, deasphalted pitch, tar, shale oil residue, coal-derived oil residue, petroleum, or combinations thereof.

28. The process of any preceding claim, wherein the non-fossil feedstock comprises circular feedstock and / or renewable feedstock.

29. The process of claim 28, wherein the circular feedstock comprises plastic pyrolysis oil or waste plastics.

30. The process of claim 28, wherein the renewable feedstock comprises bio crudes, lipids, or recycled fat / oil derived feedstocks from other conversion process.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0693WOU1 (T-12453P2-WO01)31. The process of claim 30, wherein bio crudes comprise fast-pyrolysis bio-oil (pyoil or FPBO), hydropyrolysis product, or hydrothermal liquefaction oil (HTL oil).

32. The process of claim 31, wherein lipids comprise vegetable oils, used cooking oil, tallow, animal fats, or greases.

33. The process of any of the preceding claims, wherein the non-fossil feedstock is pretreated physically or chemically via filtration, water washing, hydrothermal cleanup, hydrotreating, or combinations thereof.

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