Method for producing a liquid transport fuel component

Abstract

A process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component is provided. In a first mode of carrying out one of the processes, a hydrocarbon feedstock containing nitrogen impurities is subjected to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreating effluent A, and this effluent A is, after degassing, subjected to catalytic hydrotreating in reactor B to obtain a hydrotreating effluent B, and this hydrotreating effluent B is fractionated, optionally after degassing, to obtain at least one liquid transportation fuel component, preferably at least an aviation fuel component. In this process, parameters indicating deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A are monitored, and when these reach a predetermined value, the process is switched to a second operating mode in which the order of reactors A and B is changed such that the degassed hydrotreating waste liquid B is fed to reactor A.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to processes for manufacturing renewable fuel components. The present disclosure particularly relates to, but is not exclusive to, processes for manufacturing at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components, preferably at least aviation fuel components. Also disclosed is a computer program that can be used to carry out the present process.

Background Art

[0002] This section describes useful background information without admitting that any of the techniques described herein represents the state of the art.

[0003] There is an increasing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and / or carbon dioxide emissions in transportation, particularly in air transportation. Therefore, there is a growing interest in renewable aviation fuels and aviation fuel components.

[0004] Catalytic processes for manufacturing aviation fuel components from renewable feedstocks have been proposed. However, in this process, deactivation of the catalyst is inevitable, so the yield of aviation fuel components is relatively low (compared to other fuel components). Also, it is necessary to reduce the quality degradation at the end of the use of renewable aviation fuel components. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand to manufacture fuel components from a wider range of renewable feedstocks including feedstocks with high impurity content without compromising the catalyst life.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] It is an object to solve or at least mitigate at least some of the problems associated with the prior art. The object is to improve the quality of an aviation fuel component obtainable from renewable resources. A further object is to enable an increase in the yield of the aviation fuel component. Another object is to extend the operating time or the life of the hydrotreating catalyst in a process for producing a renewable liquid transportation fuel component. Further, the object is to enable the use of a wider range of renewable feedstocks in a process for producing a renewable liquid transportation fuel component, particularly an aviation fuel component.

[0006] The appended claims define the scope of protection. Examples and descriptions of devices, products, systems, and / or methods not encompassed by the claims in this specification and / or the drawings are presented as useful examples for understanding the present invention.

[0007] In a first exemplary aspect, a process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component is provided, the process comprising: providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) subjecting a reactor A feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, and separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A; ii) subjecting a reactor B feed containing the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B to obtain a hydrotreated effluent B; iii) optionally separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent B and then feeding the hydrotreated effluent B to fractionation and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and When the received value reaches the predetermined value, from steps i), ii), and iii) to the following: I) To obtain a hydrotreated effluent B, subject a reactor B feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B, and to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent B, separate at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent B; II) To obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, subject a reactor A feed containing the degassed hydrotreated effluent B to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A; III) Optionally, after separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A, feed the hydrotreated effluent A to fractional distillation and recover at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractional distillation Switch to the process including.

[0008] In a second exemplary embodiment, a process for producing at least one liquid transport fuel component is provided, the process comprising: Providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) To obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, subject a reactor A feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A, subject the hydrotreated effluent A to fractional distillation, and separate a recycle stream having at least a T5 temperature of 270 °C or higher (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) and optionally containing C16 n-paraffin from the fractional distillation; ii) To obtain a hydrotreated effluent B, subject a reactor B feed containing the recycle stream to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B; iii) Feeding the hydrotreated effluent B as a co-feed with the hydrotreated effluent A to fractional distillation and recovering at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractional distillation; and Monitoring a parameter indicating deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; A step of comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and When the received value reaches the predetermined value, from steps i), ii), iii) to the following: I) To obtain a hydrotreated effluent B, a reactor B feed containing the hydrocarbon feed is subjected to hydrotreatment in reactor B in the presence of a hydrotreatment catalyst B, the hydrotreated effluent B is subjected to fractional distillation, and a recycle stream having a T5 temperature of at least 270 °C or higher (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405 - 2019) and optionally containing C16 n - paraffin is separated from the fractional distillation; II) A step of subjecting a reactor A feed containing the recycle stream to hydrotreatment in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreatment catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A; III) A step of feeding the hydrotreated effluent A as a co - feed with the hydrotreated effluent B to fractional distillation and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractional distillation Switching to the step is included.

[0009] In a third exemplary embodiment, a process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component is provided, the process comprising the following: i) A step of providing a reactor A feed containing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities, wherein the reactor A feed is expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629 - 17) and contains at least 0.4 w - ppm, or at least 0.6 w - ppm, or at least 1.0 w - ppm, or even at least 1.5 w - ppm, or at least 2.0 w - ppm of nitrogen based on the total weight of the reactor A feed; ii) A step of subjecting the reactor A feed to hydrotreatment in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreatment catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, and optionally separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A; iii) feeding the hydrogenated effluent A or the degassed hydrogenated effluent A to fractionation, and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, from steps i), ii), iii) to the following: I) providing a reactor A feed comprising a hydrocarbon feed, the reactor A feed being essentially free of nitrogen impurities; II) subjecting the reactor A feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrogenated effluent A, and optionally separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrogenated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrogenated effluent A; III) feeding the hydrogenated effluent A or the degassed hydrogenated effluent A to fractionation, and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation switching to including.

[0010] In the present disclosure, references to a process, this process, or any feature thereof relate to any of the processes in the first, second, and / or third exemplary embodiments, unless specifically indicated to relate only to a particular exemplary embodiment or unless it is clear from the context that it relates only to a particular exemplary embodiment(s).

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the hydrocarbon feed contains nitrogen impurities of at least 0.4 w-ppm, or at least 0.6 w-ppm, or at least 1.0 w-ppm, or even at least 1.5 w-ppm, or at least 2.0 w-ppm, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed.

[0012] In certain embodiments, in steps iii) and III), at least one or more of an aviation fuel component, a diesel fuel component, a gasoline fuel component, and / or a marine fuel component are preferably recovered from the fractionation, at least the aviation fuel component, more preferably at least the aviation fuel component and the diesel fuel component, or at least the aviation fuel component and the gasoline fuel component.

[0013] In certain preferred embodiments, in steps iii) and III), a density at 15 °C (EN ISO 12185-1996) within the range of 730 to 772 kg / m 3 ³, a T10 temperature (EN ISO 3405-2019) of up to 205 °C, an end boiling point (EN ISO 3405-2019) of up to 300 °C, a flash point (IP 170-2013, Avel close-cup method) of up to 38 °C, and a pour point (IP 529-2016) of up to -40 °C, an aviation fuel component is at least recovered from the fractionation.

[0014] The process of the present invention is particularly useful for producing liquid transportation fuel components from a wider range of feeds, including more impure and optionally also heavier feeds, especially feeds containing a high content of nitrogen impurities, compared to conventional processes for producing fuel components by hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydroisomerization (HI) of renewable oils. Further, the process of the present invention may provide a longer runtime of the process or a longer lifespan of the hydrotreating catalyst compared to the above conventional processes. This process is particularly suitable for the production of aviation fuel components. By this process, aviation fuel components can be obtained in a higher yield. Also, the process of the present invention makes it possible to produce aviation fuel components with improved quality that can be used in a greater amount in aviation fuel than the aviation fuel components produced by the above conventional processes from the same feed, or even used as is when appropriately additives are added.

[0015] According to a fourth exemplary aspect, when executed by a processor of a control device in a system for manufacturing at least one liquid transportation fuel component, in the process according to the first, second, or third exemplary aspect, the control device is caused to compare a received value with a predetermined value, and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, to switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), and optionally to return from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii). A computer program product is provided that includes instructions to cause the control device to perform at least, in the process according to the first, second, or third exemplary aspect, a step of comparing a received value with a predetermined value, a step of switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), and optionally a step of returning from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii).

[0016] The computer program product according to the fourth exemplary aspect enables more accurate operation of the process according to the first, second, and / or third exemplary aspects, monitors more different parameters, compares the obtained values with a large dataset, uses the obtained values in a complex model, adjusts and / or switches the process more quickly based on the comparison, improves or adjusts, as necessary, the yield and / or quality of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component, and improves the safety of the process, but these are only some of the advantages.

[0017] The foregoing has illustrated various exemplary aspects and embodiments without limitation. The foregoing embodiments are merely used to illustrate selected aspects or steps that may be utilized in various implementations. Some embodiments may be presented only with reference to specific exemplary aspects. It should be understood that corresponding embodiments may also be applicable to other exemplary aspects.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] Some exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019]

Figure 1

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Figure 4

Figure 5

[0020] In the following description, like reference numerals denote like elements or steps.

[0021] All standards referred to in this document are the latest revised versions available at the filing date, unless otherwise specified.

[0022] Unless otherwise specified, for distillation characteristics such as initial boiling point (IBP), final boiling point (FBP), T5 temperature (5 vol-% recovery), T95 temperature (95 vol-% recovery), and boiling range, EN ISO 3405-2019 is referred to. The IBP is the temperature at the moment when the first drop of condensate drips from the lower end of the condenser tube, and the FBP is the maximum reading of the thermometer obtained during the test, usually occurring after all the liquid has evaporated from the bottom of the flask. For boiling point distribution, a GC-based method (simdis) ASTM D2887-19e1, or for hydrocarbons in the gasoline range, ASTM D7096-19 may be referred to.

[0023] As used in the context of the present disclosure, an aviation fuel component refers to a hydrocarbon composition suitable for use in a fuel composition that meets the standard specifications of aviation fuel, such as those specified in ASTM D7566-21. Typically, such an aviation fuel component boils, i.e., has an IBP and an FBP, within a range of about 100 °C to about 300 °C, for example within a range of about 150 °C to about 300 °C, as measured in accordance with EN ISO 3405-2019.

[0024] As used in the context of the present disclosure, a diesel fuel component refers to a hydrocarbon composition suitable for use in a fuel composition that meets the standard specifications of diesel fuel, such as those specified in EN 590:2022 or EN 15940:2016+A1:2018+AC:2019. Typically, such a diesel fuel component boils, i.e., has an IBP and an FBP, within a range of about 160 °C to about 380 °C, as measured in accordance with EN ISO 3405-2019.

[0025] As used in the context of the present disclosure, a gasoline fuel component or naphtha refers to a hydrocarbon component suitable for use in a fuel composition that meets the standard specifications of gasoline fuel, such as those specified in EN 228-2012+A1-2017. Typically, such a gasoline fuel component boils, i.e., has an IBP and an FBP, within a range of about 25 °C to about 210 °C, as measured in accordance with EN ISO 3405-2019.

[0026] As used in the context of the present disclosure, a marine fuel component refers to a hydrocarbon component suitable for use in a fuel composition that meets the standard specifications of marine fuels, such as the specifications defined in ISO 8217-2017. Typically, such a marine fuel component boils, i.e., has an IBP and an FBP, within a range of from about 180°C to about 600°C, such as from about 180°C to about 400°C, as measured in accordance with EN ISO 3405-2019.

[0027] As used herein, hydrocarbon refers to a compound containing carbon and hydrogen. Hydrocarbons of particular interest herein include paraffins, n-paraffins, i-paraffins, mono-branched i-paraffins, multi-branched i-paraffins, olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics. As used herein, oxygenated hydrocarbon refers to a hydrocarbon containing covalently bonded oxygen.

[0028] As used herein, paraffin refers to an acyclic alkane, i.e., an acyclic open-chain saturated hydrocarbon that is linear (normal paraffin, n-paraffin) or branched (isoparaffin, i-paraffin). In other words, paraffin as used herein refers to n-paraffins and / or i-paraffins.

[0029] In the context of the present disclosure, i-paraffins refer to branched open-chain alkanes, i.e., acyclic open-chain saturated hydrocarbons having one or more alkyl side chains. Here, an i-paraffin having one alkyl side chain or branch is referred to as a monobranched i-paraffin, and an i-paraffin having two or more alkyl side chains or branches is referred to herein as a multi-branched i-paraffin. In other words, in this specification, i-paraffins refer to monobranched i-paraffins and / or multi-branched i-paraffins. The alkyl side chains of i-paraffins may be, for example, C1-C9 alkyl side chains, preferably methyl side chains. The amounts of monobranched and multi-branched i-paraffins may be given separately. The term "i-paraffins" means, when present, the total amount of any monobranched i-paraffin and any multi-branched i-paraffin, which indicates the total amount of i-paraffins present regardless of the number of branches. Correspondingly, "paraffins" means, when present, the total amount of any n-paraffin, any monobranched i-paraffin, and any multi-branched i-paraffin.

[0030] In the context of the present disclosure, an olefin refers to an unsaturated, straight-chain, branched, or cyclic hydrocarbon excluding aromatic compounds. In other words, an olefin refers to a hydrocarbon having at least one unsaturated bond excluding the unsaturated bonds in the aromatic ring.

[0031] In this specification, cyclic hydrocarbons refer to all hydrocarbons containing a cyclic structure, including cyclic olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics. In this specification, naphthenes refer to cycloalkanes, i.e., saturated hydrocarbons containing at least one cyclic structure regardless of the presence or absence of side chains. Since naphthenes are saturated compounds, they are compounds that do not contain an aromatic ring structure. In this specification, aromatics refer to hydrocarbons containing at least one aromatic ring structure, i.e., hydrocarbons having a cyclic structure with delocalized alternating π bonds over the entire circumference of the cyclic structure.

[0032] In the context of the present disclosure, for a composition that boils at 36 °C or higher (under standard atmospheric pressure), the content of n-paraffin, i-paraffin, mono-branched i-paraffin, various multi-branched isoparaffins, naphthenes, and aromatics is expressed as weight % (wt-%) relative to the degassed weight of the feed, stream, effluent, product, component, or sample in question, or, when so defined, as weight % (wt-%) relative to the (total) weight of paraffin or the (total) weight of i-paraffin in the feed, stream, effluent, product, component, or sample in question. The content can be determined by the GC×GC-FID / GC×GC-MS method, preferably carried out as follows: The GC×GC (2D GC) method was carried out with the following modifications as generally disclosed in UOP 990-2011 and as described in the experimental section of the master's thesis of Nousiainen M., Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometric and flame ionization detectors in petroleum chemistry, University of Helsinki, August 2017. GC×GC was carried out in reverse mode, first using a semi-polar column (R×i17Sil), then a non-polar column (R×i5Sil), followed by an FID detector, using the following run parameters: Carrier gas helium 31.7 cm / sec (column flow rate at 40 °C 1.60 mL / min), split ratio 1:350, injector 280 °C, column T program 40 °C (0 min) - 5 °C / min - 250 °C (0 min) - 10 °C / min - 300 °C (5 min), runtime 52 min, modulation time 10 sec, detector 300 °C with H2 40 mL / min and air 400 mL / min, makeup flow helium 30 mL / min, sampling rate 250 Hz, and injection size 0.2 microliter. Individual compounds were identified using GC×GC-MS with the following MS parameters: Ion source 230 °C, interface 300 °C, scan range 25 - 500 amu, event time (seconds) 0.05, scan speed 20000.Data processing including the identification of the detected compounds or hydrocarbon groups, and the measurement of mass concentration by applying the response factor to n-heptane to the volume of the detected peak and normalizing to 100 w-% were performed using commercially available tools (LabSolutions from Shimadzu Corporation, GC Image from Zoex). Olefins and naphthenes, and heteroatomic species and aromatics were grouped together unless reported separately. The quantification limit for individual compounds by this method is 0.1 wt-%.

[0033] In the context of the present disclosure, various properties of feeds, streams, effluents, products, components, or samples are determined according to standard methods referred to or disclosed herein, appropriately prepared. For example, cloud point is determined from a degassed feed, stream, effluent, product, component, or sample according to ASTM D 5771-17.

[0034] Typically, the various hydrocarbon feeds, streams, effluents, and recovered products or fuel components as fractions thereof referred to herein can include, in addition to hydrocarbons, various trace amounts of, for example, heteroatom-containing hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds as impurities, and oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feeds can include various amounts of, for example, other heteroatom-containing hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds as impurities. Generally, impurity levels in the main process streams are highest in the first part of the process and then are negligible or even reduced below the detection limit in the recovered liquid transportation fuel components.

[0035] As used herein, the term hydroprocessing refers to a treatment in the presence of added hydrogen molecules and a solid hydroprocessing catalyst. Typically, the solid hydroprocessing catalyst is selective for the desired reaction under common reaction conditions. The term hydroprocessing includes herein not only processes that consume hydrogen, but also processes that do not involve substantial hydrogen consumption. Examples of hydroprocessing include hydroisomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodearomatization, and hydrocracking, and may involve various reactions such as isomerization, cracking, (de)hydrogenation, desulfurization, denitrification, deoxygenation, etc., depending on the feed components and impurity species, the selected catalyst, and the reaction conditions.

[0036] Isomerization converts at least a certain amount of n-paraffins to i-paraffins, particularly mono-branched i-paraffins. By increasing (further) the degree of isomerization, for example, by increasing the severity of hydroisomerization as described below, more n-paraffins can be converted to i-paraffins, and mono-branched i-paraffins can be converted to i-paraffins having multiple branches, such as di-branched and / or tri-branched i-paraffins, and even i-paraffins containing three or more branches. As used herein, particularly in the context of embodiments where hydrocracking in reactor A and / or B is hydrocracking, the degree of effective cracking refers to cracking that results in non-gaseous (NTP) cracking products, and in particular, as shown herein, cracking as the ratio of the C8-C14 hydrocarbon content in the effluent of each reactor to the C8-C14 hydrocarbon content in each reactor feed.

[0037] In this specification, when a reaction step is defined as being carried out in a "reactor", such as reactor A and / or reactor B for example, the expression is used mainly for illustrative purposes. One skilled in the art will understand that any "reactor" may actually be implemented as a reactor system composed of one or more reactors. Whether the reactor is actually arranged in a single reactor or in multiple reactors is an engineering issue and may be affected by practical issues such as the maximum height of the facility at the site, the diameter of the reactor, regulatory and maintenance issues at the site, wind conditions at the site, and / or available equipment. Similarly, "fractionation" can typically be carried out in a fractionation system including, for example, separation and distillation units, which can be arranged according to conventional engineering practices in the art.

[0038] Catalyst properties, such as the total number of acidic sites for example, refer in the context of the present disclosure to the catalyst properties at the start of the process, in an immediately usable state.

[0039] In this specification, the term "catalyst deactivation" refers to the decreased activity of the catalyst (reflected by an increased amount of unconverted feed in the reactor effluent) and / or the decreased selectivity of the catalyst (reflected by a decreased amount of the desired reaction product in the reactor effluent) at a given time point (t n ) compared to the activity and / or selectivity of the catalyst at the start of the process (t0). As used herein, the term "catalyst deactivation" is not limited to a particular deactivation type or mechanism, but the catalyst deactivation observed in this process is generally considered to be due to poisoning and fouling phenomena and includes both reversible and irreversible deactivation. However, since the process of the present invention uses a hydrocarbon feed containing at least nitrogen impurities, the term "catalyst deactivation" includes at least reversible deactivation in this specification.

[0040] In the context of the present disclosure, the feeds to the reactors, particularly reactors A and / or B, are defined such that H2 that may be supplied to each reactor, e.g., H2 supplied to a hydrogenation process, is excluded from the definition of the feed.

[0041] As used herein, the term renewable refers to compounds or compositions that are obtainable, derivable, or derived from plants and / or animals, including in whole or in part compounds or compositions that are obtainable, derivable, or derived from fungi and / or algae. As used herein, renewable compounds or compositions may include genetically engineered compounds or compositions. Renewable feeds, ingredients, compounds, or compositions may also be referred to as biological feeds, ingredients, compounds, or compositions, or bio-based feeds, ingredients, compounds, or compositions.

[0042] As used herein, the term fossil refers to compounds or compositions that are obtainable, derivable, or derived from naturally occurring non-renewable compositions such as, for example, crude oil, petroleum oil / gas, shale oil / gas, natural gas, or coal deposits, and combinations thereof, including hydrocarbon-rich deposits available from subterranean / underground sources.

[0043] The term recycled generally refers to recycled materials derived from non-renewable resources. For example, the term recycled may refer to recycled materials derived from waste plastics. The renewable, recycled, and fossil compounds or compositions are considered to be different from each other based on their origin and impact on environmental issues. As such, they may be subject to different treatment within the framework of laws and regulations. Typically, renewable, recycled, and fossil compounds or compositions are distinguished based on their origin and the information provided by their producers.

[0044] The renewable or fossil origin of any organic compound containing hydrocarbons can be determined chemically by appropriate methods for analyzing the carbon content of renewable origin, such as DIN 51637 (2014), ASTM D6866 (2020) or EN 16640 (2017). The method is based on the fact that renewable or biogenic carbon atoms have a higher number of unstable radiocarbon ( 14 C) atoms compared to fossil-derived carbon atoms. Thus, 12 by analyzing the isotope ratio of C and 14 C, it is possible to distinguish renewable or biogenic carbon compounds from non-renewable or fossil-derived carbon compounds. Thus, a specific ratio of said isotopes can be used as a "tag" to identify renewable carbon compounds and distinguish them from non-renewable carbon compounds. The isotope ratio does not change during the course of a chemical reaction. Therefore, the isotope ratio can be used to identify renewable compounds, components, compositions, and to distinguish them from non-renewable fossil materials in reactor feeds, reactor effluents, separated product fractions, and various blends thereof. Numerically, the biogenic carbon content can be expressed as the amount of biogenic carbon in the material as a weight percentage of the total carbon (TC) in the material (in accordance with ASTM D6866 (2020) or EN 16640 (2017)). As used herein, the term renewable preferably refers to a material having a biogenic carbon content of 50 wt-% or more, particularly 60 wt-% or more or 70 wt-% or more, preferably 80 wt-% or more, more preferably 90 wt-% or more or 95 wt-% or more, and even more preferably about 100 wt-%, based on the total weight of carbon in the material (EN 16640 (2017)).

[0045] In a first exemplary embodiment, a process for producing at least one liquid transport fuel component is provided herein, the process comprising: providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent A, subject the reactor A feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A, and to obtain the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, separate at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A; ii) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent B, subject the reactor B feed containing the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B; iii) Optionally, after separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent B, feed the hydrotreated effluent B to fractional distillation and recover at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractional distillation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, from steps i), ii), iii) to the following: I) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent B, subject the reactor B feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B, and to obtain the degassed hydrotreated effluent B, separate at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent B; II) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent A, subject the reactor A feed containing the degassed hydrotreated effluent B to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A; III) Optionally, after separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A, feed the hydrotreated effluent A to fractional distillation and recover at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractional distillation switching to; is included.

[0046] In a second exemplary embodiment, provided herein is a process for producing at least one liquid transport fuel component, the process comprising: providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent A, subject the reactor A feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A, subject the hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation, and separate a recycle stream having at least a T5 temperature of 270 °C or higher (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) and optionally containing C16 n-paraffin from the fractionation; ii) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent B, subject the reactor B feed containing the recycle stream to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B; iii) Feed the hydrotreated effluent B as a co-feed with the hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation and recover at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, switching from steps i), ii), iii) to the following: I) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent B, subject the reactor B feed containing the hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B, subject the hydrotreated effluent B to fractionation, and separate a recycle stream having at least a T5 temperature of 270 °C or higher (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) and optionally containing C16 n-paraffin from the fractionation; II) To obtain the hydrotreated effluent A, subject the reactor A feed containing the recycle stream to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A; III) Feed the hydrotreated effluent A as a co-feed with the hydrotreated effluent B to fractionation and recover at least one or more liquid transport fuel components from the fractionation switching step including.

[0047] In a third exemplary embodiment, a process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component is provided herein, the process comprising the following: i) providing a reactor A feed comprising a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities, the reactor A feed being expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17) and containing at least 0.4 w-ppm, or at least 0.6 w-ppm, or at least 1.0 w-ppm, or even at least 1.5 w-ppm, or at least 2.0 w-ppm of nitrogen relative to the total weight of the reactor A feed; ii) subjecting the reactor A feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, and optionally separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A; iii) feeding the hydrotreated effluent A or the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, from steps i), ii), iii) to the following: I) providing a reactor A feed comprising a hydrocarbon feed, the reactor A feed being essentially free of nitrogen impurities; II) subjecting the reactor A feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, and optionally separating at least gaseous compounds at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A; III) feeding the hydrotreated effluent A or the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation switching to is included.

[0048] Preferably, the processes according to the first, second, and third exemplary embodiments are continuous processes.

[0049] The process operated according to steps i), ii), iii) may be referred to as the initial / first mode of the process / operation, and the process operated according to steps I), II), III) may be referred to as the switched / second mode of the process / operation.

[0050] During the continuous operation of the catalytic hydrogenation treatment, the hydrogenation treatment catalyst is gradually deactivated, for example, by impurities and coking in the process stream. Catalyst deactivation can be either reversible or irreversible. A typical example of reversible deactivation is the deactivation of the acidic sites of the catalyst by nitrogen impurities in the feed. The effect is severe but temporary, and generally, it is removed within several hours to several days, and in some cases, within several weeks after the nitrogen source is removed from the feed.

[0051] Nitrogen is a typical impurity, for example, in a hydrocarbon feed obtained by subjecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed to catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). This may be due to leakage of nitrogen in the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed through the catalyst HDO step, regardless of whether it is caused by a particularly high nitrogen content in the feed and / or a decrease in the activity and efficiency of the (HDO) catalyst for cleaving heteroatoms, and this can occur especially at the end-of-run. Other examples of reversibly bound impurities may include carbonaceous impurities such as coke, especially soft coke.

[0052] In the first operating mode, the hydrotreating catalyst A is exposed to most, and in many embodiments all, of the impurities in the hydrocarbon feed. Switching the process from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), i.e., from the first mode of the process to the second mode of the process, results in feeding a stream to the hydrotreating reactor A that is purer (contains fewer nitrogen impurities) than the hydrocarbon feed supplied thereto in the first mode. The deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A that occurs in the first mode of the present process is caused at least by the nitrogen impurities present in the hydrocarbon feed, so the higher purity stream fed to the hydrotreating reactor A in the second mode serves to flush the hydrotreating catalyst A and liberate the reversibly bound impurities therefrom, thereby at least partially reversing the deactivation. In other words, in this way, reversibly bound nitrogen can be flushed from the hydrotreating catalyst A and its deactivation can be at least partially reversed. Nitrogen is liberated from the hydrotreating catalyst A as NH3, which is then separated from the hydrotreating effluent A by degassing or fractionation. The liberation of nitrogen from the hydrotreating catalyst A can be facilitated by operating the reactor A at high pressure and / or high temperature.

[0053] In the processes according to the first and second exemplary embodiments, in the first operating mode, the hydrotreating catalyst B in reactor B is protected by the cleaning effect of the hydrotreating catalyst A in the upstream reactor A, and thus the hydrotreating catalyst B is expected to deactivate more slowly than the hydrotreating catalyst A in reactor A. The cleaning effect of catalyst A includes converting impurities to gaseous compounds with NTP, particularly converting nitrogen impurities to NH3, and to a lesser extent, the binding or deposition of impurities on the hydrotreating catalyst A. Separating or removing the gaseous compounds with NTP from the hydrotreating effluent A removes the converted impurities from the process stream and thus from the reactor B feed (and vice versa in the second operating mode). In the first exemplary embodiment, the purer stream fed to reactor A in the second operating mode is achieved by feeding the hydrocarbon feed to reactor B and, after separation of the gaseous compounds with NTP, feeding the hydrotreating effluent B to reactor A, i.e., by reversing the order of reactors A and B in the process such that the hydrotreating catalyst A in reactor A is protected by the cleaning effect of the hydrotreating catalyst B in the upstream reactor B. In the second exemplary embodiment, the purer stream fed to reactor A in the second mode is similarly achieved by reversing the order of reactors A and B such that the hydrocarbon feed is fed to reactor B and a recycle stream containing a fraction of the hydrotreating effluent B is fed to reactor A.

[0054] In the third exemplary embodiment, the purer stream fed to reactor A in the second operating mode is achieved, for example, by providing a purer hydrocarbon feed (a hydrocarbon feed with fewer or essentially no nitrogen impurities) and / or by diluting the hydrocarbon feed to provide a reactor A feed essentially free of nitrogen impurities.

[0055] The object of the present disclosure is to improve the overall efficiency of the process by extending the runtime of the process, or extending the life of the hydrotreating catalyst, and / or enabling a higher impurity content in the process feed. By doing so, the raw materials can be subjected to less labor and / or milder pretreatment methods and can be procured with much higher flexibility with respect to quality. Further, embodiments using a hydrocarbon feed obtained by subjecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed to HDO have, as an additional or alternative object, the ability to use the catalytic HDO for a longer time and thus to deactivate the HDO catalyst more than conventionally before replacing the HDO catalyst.

[0056] Thus, in certain preferred embodiments of the process according to the first and second exemplary aspects, and in certain preferred embodiments of the first mode of the process according to the third exemplary aspect, the hydrocarbon feed contains nitrogen impurities and is expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17) and contains nitrogen of at least 0.4 w-ppm, or at least 0.6 w-ppm, or at least 1.0 w-ppm, even at least 1.5 w-ppm, or at least 2.0 w-ppm relative to the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. The present process is particularly suitable for the treatment of hydrocarbon feeds with a high or increased nitrogen content. Preferably, the hydrocarbon feed is expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17) and contains up to 40.0 w-ppm of nitrogen. The increased amount of nitrogen in the hydrocarbon feed typically promotes the deactivation of the catalyst. As described above, the deactivation of the acidic sites of the catalyst by nitrogen impurities is a reversible deactivation, which can be reversed at least to some extent by switching the mode of the present process.

[0057] When the process according to the third exemplary embodiment is executed in the second mode, the reactor A feed is essentially free of nitrogen impurities, i.e., a reactor A feed essentially free of nitrogen impurities is provided. Preferably, this means that the reactor A feed contains, in the second mode, a maximum of 0.3 w-ppm, more preferably less than 0.3 w-ppm of nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), based on the total weight of the reactor A feed. This is preferably achieved in the process according to the third exemplary embodiment by a hydrocarbon feed containing, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, a maximum of 0.3 w-ppm, more preferably less than 0.3 w-ppm of nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17).

[0058] At least one or more liquid transportation fuel components recovered from the fractional distillation can be one or more of an aviation fuel component, a diesel fuel component, a gasoline fuel component, and / or a marine fuel component. Preferably, at least the aviation fuel component is recovered, more preferably at least the aviation fuel component and the diesel fuel component, or at least the aviation fuel component and the gasoline fuel component, are recovered.

[0059] By the process of the present invention, it is possible to obtain a higher yield of liquid transportation fuel components, particularly aviation fuel components, throughout the runtime of the process or the life of the hydrotreating catalyst A, without reducing the hydrogen treating capacity in reactor A and / or improving the quality of the aviation fuel component, as compared to conventional processes for the production of fuel components by, for example, hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydroisomerization (HI) of renewable oils and fats.

[0060] By the process of the present invention, even near the end of operation, it is possible to produce aviation fuel components that have excellent low-temperature properties and can thus be used in aviation fuel at high mixing ratios or, if appropriately additives are added, as such without being mixed. Further, the process of the present invention makes it possible to extend the life of the hydrotreating catalyst and allows for the use of a wider range of feedstocks that contain more impurities and are heavier feeds compared to conventional processes for the production of fuel components by HDO and HI of renewable fats and oils.

[0061] Furthermore, this process allows for a flexible adjustment of product selectivity for various liquid transport fuel components, such as gasoline fuel components, aviation fuel components, diesel fuel components, and / or marine fuel components, even near the end of a run, for example based on market dynamics.

[0062] This process is very flexible and has various possibilities to adjust the yield and / or quality of the recovered liquid transport fuel components and to extend the process runtime or the life of the hydrotreating catalyst, especially the life of hydrotreating catalyst A. The various possibilities of the process of the present invention to compensate for the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst allow for the use of hydrocarbon feeds with higher impurity contents compared to conventional processes for the production of liquid fuel components by HDO and HI of renewable fats and oils. Further, when using a hydrocarbon feed obtained by subjecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed to catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), this process can tolerate the leakage of nitrogen through the HDO step, which can occur especially towards the end of the HDO catalyst life, and as a result, can operate the HDO for a longer time compared to conventional processes where HI follows HDO, for example.

[0063] This process includes a step of monitoring a parameter indicating the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value, a step of comparing the received value with a predetermined value, and a step of switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) when the received value reaches or equals the predetermined value, that is, a step of switching from the first mode of the process to the second mode of the process. Preferably, the received value is compared with the corresponding predetermined value. The switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) makes it possible to compensate for the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst (especially the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A), and enables a good yield and quality of at least one recovered liquid transportation fuel component for a longer period before the need to replace or regenerate the hydrotreating catalyst A arises. Also, switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) results in a stream of higher purity than the hydrocarbon feed being supplied to the hydrotreating reactor A, which flushes at least to some extent the hydrotreating catalyst A supplied thereto in the first mode and causes the reversibly bound impurities to be released therefrom, that is, in a sense, at least to some extent, the regeneration of the hydrotreating catalyst A is caused. Initially, at the beginning of the process operation, typically, the activity of the hydrotreating catalyst A is good or sufficient, and the received value from the monitoring is not equal to the (corresponding) predetermined value. However, at some point during the process execution, the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A typically reaches the point when the received value from the monitoring reaches the (corresponding) predetermined value, and this predetermined value is specified to indicate that the performance of the hydrotreating catalyst A is insufficient or close to an insufficient state, for example, regarding the volume (yield), and / or composition, and / or physicochemical properties of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component. At that point when the value received from the monitoring reaches the (corresponding) predetermined value, typically, the switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) can be carried out to recover the target minimum value of the process performance and preferably exceed it. By switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), the process can be operated to produce the desired liquid transportation fuel component in the desired amount and / or quality for a longer time.Optionally, when operating according to I), II), III), this process may include monitoring a parameter that indicates reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value, comparing the received value with a predetermined value, and optionally switching back from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii) when the received value reaches the predetermined value. For example, when sufficient reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A is achieved, the process may be switched to return from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii).

[0064] Neither reactor A nor reactor B is typically bypassed during the execution of this process. Typically, a process run of this process, including at least one switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), is carried out without replacing the hydrotreating catalyst A and / or the hydrotreating catalyst B, or bypassing reactors A and / or B to regenerate the catalysts therein. In other words, reactors A and B typically remain in fluid communication with each other throughout the process execution, including during and / or immediately before the switch. Similarly, in the aspect of the third example, the supply of the reactor feed to reactor A is typically not interrupted during the process execution.

[0065] In certain embodiments, the process may include adjusting one or more operating conditions of Reactor A and / or Reactor B to reach, maintain, or even exceed a target minimum value of process performance, in addition to switching from a first mode to a second mode. In such embodiments, switching from the first mode to the second mode may be performed one or more times at some point after the operating conditions of Reactor A and / or Reactor B have been adjusted. The operating conditions may be adjusted to achievable limits and then the switch may be performed, alternatively, the operating conditions may be adjusted to some extent and the switch may be performed already before reaching the limits. Adjusting the one or more operating conditions may be based on the same parameters as the switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), or on different parameters. Preferably, one or more operating conditions of Reactor A and / or Reactor B, particularly of Reactor A, are first adjusted to compensate for catalyst deactivation, and if compensating for catalyst deactivation by simply adjusting the operating conditions of Reactor A and / or Reactor B is no longer feasible (or no longer desired), the switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) is performed. In certain embodiments, after the switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) is substantially complete, the operating conditions of Reactor A may be relaxed, and thus, the target yield and / or quality of the recovered fuel components may be achieved in Reactor A, for example, at a lower temperature and / or higher WHSV than just before the switch. In these embodiments, it may be beneficial to increase the temperature of Reactor B to compensate for the typically increased WHSV after the switch. During the course of the second operating mode, one or more operating conditions of Reactor A and / or Reactor B may be (again) adjusted to compensate for further catalyst deactivation, particularly the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A in Reactor A.

[0066] When the process is operated for a sufficiently long time and switched between at least a first mode and a second mode, and the operating conditions of reactor A and / or reactor B are optionally adjusted to their achievable limits, for example, with respect to the yield, and / or composition, and / or physicochemical properties of the recovered liquid transport fuel component, the targeted performance of the process can no longer be achieved due to the degree of catalyst deactivation. Thereafter, typically, before optionally starting the operation of the process in the first mode (starting a new process run), i.e., before executing sequences i), ii), iii), the catalyst is either replaced with a new one or regenerated, which typically means the end of a process run in this process.

[0067] In certain embodiments, the process does not include adjustment of operating conditions to compensate for catalyst deactivation, i.e., is carried out without compensating for catalyst deactivation, and the deactivation of the catalyst in reactor A is compensated for by the switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), and optionally the return from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii). In such embodiments, the total executable operating time of the process may be shorter than in embodiments where, in addition to switching between modes, the operating conditions of at least reactor A are also adjusted.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment, the process includes performing I), II), and III), i.e., executing the process in a second mode, monitoring a parameter indicating the reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A for receiving a value (where the parameter indicating the reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A preferably includes at least two or more parameters selected from items a. to i. defined later), comparing the received value with a corresponding predetermined value, and when the received value reaches the corresponding predetermined value, returning from I), II), and III) to i), ii), and iii). When monitoring a parameter indicating the reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A, the parameter indicating the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A and the parameter indicating the reversal of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A may be the same, but the predetermined value may be different from the predetermined value when monitoring the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A.

[0069] These variations of the process may include adjusting the operating conditions of reactor A and / or reactor B to compensate for the catalyst deactivation after switching from I), II), and III) to i), ii), and iii). Also in this case, the operating conditions may be adjusted to the achievable limit and then switched from i), ii), and iii) to I), II), and III), or the operating conditions may be adjusted to some extent and switched from i), ii), and iii) to I), II), and III) before reaching the limit.

[0070] An exemplary sequence for applying these variations is to operate the process in a first mode and adjust the operating conditions of reactor A and / or reactor B to their maximum practicable limits, then switch to a second mode and adjust the operating conditions of reactor A and / or reactor B to their maximum practicable limits, then switch again i.e., from i), ii), iii) to i), ii), iii) and operate until the target performance of the process is no longer met even after adjusting the operating conditions, then switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) and operate until the target performance of the process is no longer met even after adjusting the operating conditions (this leads to catalyst regeneration or replacement).

[0071] The first and second operating modes, in combination with appropriate temperatures and other operating conditions in reactor A and reactor B (where applicable), provide the possibility to flexibly adjust the process in order to meet and even optimize the target yields and / or qualities of the various recovered components. In the process according to the third exemplary aspect, the operating conditions of reactor A can be adjusted as described above.

[0072] In certain preferred embodiments, when performing i), ii), iii), a portion of the hydrocarbon feed is supplied as part of the reactor B feed to the hydrotreating in reactor B; and / or when performing I), II), III), a portion of the hydrocarbon feed is supplied as part of the reactor A feed to the hydrotreating in reactor A. In these embodiments, said portion can be obtained, for example, by simply dividing the hydrocarbon feed between reactor A and reactor B using a fixed or preferably stepwise adjusted ratio. These embodiments provide additional flexibility in operating the process of the present invention and offer the possibility of more precisely adjusting the process to meet the target yields and qualities of multiple recovered components at once. By doing so, it is possible to avoid situations where the target yield and quality of one recovered fuel component are met at the expense of an excessive quality of another recovered fuel component (e.g., producing a diesel fuel component with an unnecessarily low cloud point). Dividing the hydrocarbon feed is also beneficial when switching the process from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) or from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii), providing a smooth transition between modes.

[0073] In these embodiments, the amount of the portion of the hydrocarbon feed supplied to reactor B in the first mode or to reactor A in the second mode can vary, but generally is only a small portion (outside of the switch). For example, the portion of the hydrocarbon feed optionally supplied to reactor B in the first mode or to reactor A in the second mode can be less than 50 wt-%, preferably less than 30 wt-%, more preferably less than 10 wt-% based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed.

[0074] In a preferred embodiment of the process according to the first exemplary aspect, when performing i), ii), iii), the switching involves supplying to reactor A a portion of the hydrocarbon feed that gradually decreases and a portion of the degassed hydrotreated effluent B that gradually increases as parts of the reactor A feed until the process is carried out according to I), II), III), and simultaneously, supplying to reactor B a portion of the hydrocarbon feed that gradually increases and a portion of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A that gradually decreases as parts of the reactor B feed. In a preferred embodiment of the process according to the second exemplary aspect, when performing i), ii), iii), the switching involves supplying to reactor A a portion of the hydrocarbon feed that gradually decreases and a portion of the recycle stream that gradually increases as parts of the reactor A feed until the process is carried out according to I), II), III), and simultaneously, supplying to reactor B a portion of the hydrocarbon feed that gradually increases and a portion of the recycle stream that gradually decreases as parts of the reactor B feed.

[0075] In this process, a parameter indicating the deactivation of hydrotreating catalyst A is monitored to receive a value, and in addition to the initiation of any switching, a comparison of that value to a predetermined value can be used to select appropriate adjustments for the operating conditions in reactor A and optionally further process units.

[0076] The parameter indicating the deactivation of hydrotreating catalyst A can be freely selected. Preferably, at least two of the parameters being monitored belong to one or more of the following items a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, and / or i. For example, two of the parameters can be selected from one item, and optionally further parameters can be selected from other items, or one parameter can be selected from one item, and at least two or more parameters can be selected from other items. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the parameter indicating the deactivation of hydrotreating catalyst A includes at least two of the following: a. The content of nitrogen impurities (evaluated as elemental nitrogen) in the Reactor A feed or in the hydrocarbon feed, and optionally, the content of at least one or more additional impurities selected from S, O, P, Si, Cl, Fe, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and / or coke-forming compounds in the Reactor A feed or in the hydrocarbon feed; all said species or impurities are known catalyst deactivators, particularly deactivators of non-sulfided bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts containing noble metals. Also, said species or impurities are generally present in varying amounts in feeds originating from vegetable oils, animal fats, microbial oils, thermally and / or enzymatically liquefied organic wastes and residues, and feeds derived from Fischer-Tropsch processes, and therefore, in certain embodiments, are carried over in varying amounts into the hydrocarbon feed and can be present therein. Typically, the elemental impurities do not exist as such in the hydrocarbon feed, but their content indicates the presence of the compounds containing them. The elemental impurities and the coke-forming compounds are measured by standard laboratory analysis. An increase in the content of any of these impurities can lead to increased catalyst deactivation. b. The content of NH3 and optionally H2S in the gas phase of the hydrotreated effluent A; typically, an increased content of, for example, NH3 in the gas phase of the hydrotreated effluent indicates an increased exposure of the catalyst to nitrogen impurities and can therefore be a sign of increased catalyst deactivation. Similarly, an increased content of H2S in the gas phase of the hydrotreated effluent indicates an increased exposure of the catalyst to sulfur and can be a sign of increased catalyst deactivation. c. The physicochemical properties of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, preferably at least one or more of the cloud point, pour point, flow point, plugging point, kinematic viscosity, density, and / or distillation characteristics; an increase in any of the cloud point, pour point, flow point, plugging point, kinematic viscosity, and / or density can indicate increased catalyst deactivation. Distillation characteristics that may indicate catalyst deactivation include T5, T50, FBP, etc. As further distillation characteristics, a shift in the boiling point distribution towards higher boiling compounds may indicate catalyst deactivation. d. The compositional characteristics of the degassed hydroprocessing effluent A, preferably, at least one or more of the content of isoparaffin, the content of C8 - C14 hydrocarbons, the content of multi-branched isoparaffin, and / or the content of C1 - C4 hydrocarbons in the degassed hydroprocessing effluent A; a decrease in the content of isoparaffin, multi-branched isoparaffin, and / or C8 - C14 hydrocarbons may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. The content of C1 - C4 hydrocarbons may decrease together as the catalyst deactivation increases. However, increasing the operating temperature to compensate for catalyst deactivation may lead to an increase in the content of C1 - C4 hydrocarbons. e. The yield of at least one or more of the recovered liquid transport fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably the yield of the aviation fuel component; an increase in the yield of high-boiling hydrocarbons and the amount of the recovered recycle stream may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. f. The physicochemical properties of at least one or more of the recovered liquid transport fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably at least one or more of the cloud point, freezing point, pour point, clogging point, kinematic viscosity, density, research octane number (RON), cetane number, and / or distillation characteristics; a decrease in cetane may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. Among the distillation characteristics, an increase in, for example, T5, T50, T95, FBP, etc. may indicate catalyst deactivation. As further distillation characteristics, a shift in the boiling point distribution to high-boiling compounds may suggest catalyst deactivation. The physicochemical properties may, to some extent, indicate or be correlated with the content of isoparaffin or multi-branched isoparaffin in the recovered liquid transport fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream. g. At least one or more compositional characteristics of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component and / or recycle stream, preferably, the content of isoparaffin and / or the content of multi-branched isoparaffin in one or more of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component and / or separated recycle stream; A decrease in the content of isoparaffin, multi-branched isoparaffin, and C8-C14 hydrocarbons may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. The content of isoparaffin or multi-branched isoparaffin may, to some extent, indicate or correlate with the physicochemical properties of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component and / or separated recycle stream. h. The temperature difference in reactor A or in one or more catalyst beds therein; said temperature difference can be monitored relatively easily, and a decrease in the temperature difference may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. and / or i. The operating conditions in reactor A selected from temperature, pressure, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), H2 ratio relative to the reactor A feed, and / or H2 partial pressure at the inlet of reactor A. For example, temperature and / or WHSV and / or pressure may already need to be adjusted during the continuous operation of the process to compensate for the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst, so an increase in temperature, a decrease in WHSV, and / or an increase in pressure may indicate an increase in catalyst deactivation. Conveniently, the temperature in the reactor is measured at the inlet of the reactor.

[0077] The active sites of the hydrotreating catalyst can be occupied by impurities and coke, and the catalyst pores can be blocked, such that the sites are no longer available as a catalyst. For example, coke is caused by coke-forming compounds such as olefins, aromatics, and naphthenes, and coke formation can be promoted by additional impurities if additional impurities are present in the hydrocarbon feed or reactor feed. For impurities that cause reversible catalyst deactivation, it may be sufficient to monitor the content of such an impurity or the total content of a plurality of such impurities in the feed, as it may indicate the expected catalyst deactivation. For other impurities, particularly those that cause irreversible catalyst deactivation, it may be necessary to monitor the content of one or more impurities in the hydrocarbon feed and calculate the cumulative amount of impurities encountered by the hydrotreating catalyst at a predetermined point in time from the start of the run as the received value, and compare the received value to a predetermined value based on, for example, past data or a model based on past data, in order to reflect deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst that is so high that it can no longer be predicted to meet the target yield and / or quality of the desired fuel component.

[0078] In one preferred embodiment, the process involves monitoring at least two, or at least three, of the above-described parameters indicative of the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A. For example, when the hydrotreating in reactor A is HI, the good low-temperature properties (e.g., cloud point, pour point, sub-freezing viscosity) of the degassed hydrotreating effluent A may be achieved due to an increase in the amount of short-chain carbon caused by an increase in cracking occurring in reactor A instead of a sufficient degree of isomerization. Therefore, in order to gain a better understanding of the deactivation state of the HI catalyst, it may be beneficial to monitor at least two or three, or more, parameters. For example, one or more operating conditions in reactor A, and one or more physicochemical properties and / or yields of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components are conveniently monitored and provide a more improved understanding of the deactivation state of the hydrotreating catalyst A. In one exemplary embodiment, the monitored parameters that may indicate the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A include the temperature in reactor A and optionally the WHSV, and for the recovered diesel fuel component yield, at least one or more distillation characteristics, and / or cloud point, and for the recovered jet fuel component yield, at least one or more distillation characteristics, and / or freezing point.

[0079] Monitoring of a parameter indicative of deactivation of a hydrotreating catalyst, or a parameter indicative of reversal of deactivation of a hydrotreating catalyst, can be carried out continuously, repeatedly, continuously, periodically, intermittently, discontinuously, or as a one-time monitoring. Monitoring of a parameter indicative of deactivation of a hydrotreating catalyst, or a parameter indicative of reversal of deactivation of a hydrotreating catalyst, can be performed online, for example, using a sensor or sensors provided in any of a process stream, a feed tank, and / or a product tank, including a slipstream arrangement, or can be performed offline based on a sample taken from any of a process stream, a feed tank, and / or a product tank. The frequency and method of monitoring one or more parameters can be carried out independently of other monitored parameters, i.e., one parameter can be monitored continuously online, for example, and another parameter can be monitored periodically offline, for example.

[0080] A method for selecting hydrotreating conditions is known to those skilled in the art, taking into account the selected hydrotreating catalyst, the composition of the reactor feed, and the type of targeted hydrotreating such as hydroisomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodearomatization, and / or hydrotreating polishing. When selecting or adjusting the operating conditions in reactors A and B (if applicable), to some extent, catalyst aging or catalyst deactivation can also be considered. This is equally applicable to the operating conditions in reactor A of the embodiment of the third example. During continuous operation, the hydrotreating catalyst gradually deactivates due to, for example, impurities or coking in the process stream. When the catalyst deactivates, the catalyst activity decreases, the selectivity is affected, and typically at some point, the desired properties of the hydrotreating effluent and / or the recovered liquid transportation fuel components cannot be achieved. When such a situation occurs, at least one or more operating conditions of reactors A and / or B, including, for example, the temperature, pressure, WHSV, and / or H2 partial pressure at the inlets of reactors A and / or B, can be adjusted, for example, within the range of operating conditions defined below, to compensate for catalyst deactivation so that the desired properties of the hydrotreating effluent and / or the recovered liquid transportation fuel components can be reached again. Typically, this means increasing the temperature and / or decreasing the WHSV and / or adjusting the ratio of H2 to the hydrocarbon feed or reactor feed and / or increasing the pressure. However, there are limits, for example, where it is not possible to increase the temperature and / or decrease the WHSV without compromising the yield and / or quality of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components. For example, if the operating temperature is increased to a sufficiently high value, the thermal decomposition side reaction increases, the production of gaseous hydrocarbons increases, and thus the yield of the liquid product decreases. Therefore, usually, at the initial stage of operation, it is beneficial to start operating the reactor at a low temperature, for example, using the lowest temperature feasible within a specific range, to provide the widest window for increasing the temperature under stepwise catalyst deactivation.Also, the hydrotreating catalyst B typically deactivates at a slower pace compared to the hydrotreating catalyst A that is subjected to higher impurity levels, but deactivates gradually during continuous operation in the first mode of the process in the first and second exemplary embodiments. During the continued operation in the second mode of the process according to the first and second exemplary embodiments, the hydrotreating catalyst B is exposed to higher impurity levels, and the hydrotreating catalyst A typically deactivates at a slower pace compared to the hydrotreating catalyst B. Thus, similar considerations apply to adjusting the operating conditions of reactor B.

[0081] In certain preferred embodiments, the process includes, when performing i), ii), iii), supplying a portion of the hydrocarbon feed as part of the reactor B feed to the hydrotreating in reactor B; and / or, when performing I), II), III), supplying a portion of the hydrocarbon feed as part of the reactor A feed to the hydrotreating A in reactor A; and / or, when performing i), ii), iii) or I), II), III), separating a side cut from the fractionation and supplying the side cut as part of the respective reactor feed to reactor A and / or B. In addition to being able to adjust the operating conditions in reactor A and / or reactor B, these embodiments provide further improved flexibility for operating the process, including being able to adjust the process, for example, in response to variations in the characteristics of the hydrocarbon feed, in response to the demand and / or quality of one or more recovered liquid transportation fuel components, and / or in response to the activity and / or selectivity of the hydrotreating catalyst that varies over their lifetime.

[0082] Desired properties of the hydrotreated effluent, recovered liquid transportation fuel components, and / or separated recycle streams include compositional and / or physicochemical properties such as, for example, wt-% of isoparaffin, wt-% of multi-branched isoparaffin, wt-% of hydrocarbons within a particular carbon number range, cloud point, freezing point, pour point, clogging point, kinematic viscosity, density, and / or distillation characteristics, among at least one or more of these. The properties of the hydrotreated effluent, recovered liquid transportation fuel components, and / or separated recycle streams can vary during the operation of the process due to reasons other than just deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst, such as changes in the hydrocarbon feed composition. Accordingly, one or more parameters indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst, and / or one or more parameters indicative of the properties of the hydrocarbon feed can be monitored to receive one or more values, and the received values can be compared to predetermined setpoints. The predetermined setpoints are typically closer to the initial process settings than the predetermined values typically used to trigger a switch from a first mode to a second mode.

[0083] Thus, in one embodiment, the process comprises monitoring at least one or more parameters indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive at least one or more values; and / or monitoring at least one or more parameters indicative of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst B to receive at least one or more values; and / or monitoring at least one or more parameters indicative of the characteristics of the hydrocarbon feed to receive at least one or more values; comparing the received values with predetermined setpoints, and based on said comparison, adjusting at least one or more operating conditions in reactor A and / or reactor B, and / or adjusting the composition of the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed, preferably adjusting at least one or more of temperature, pressure, and / or weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) in reactor A and / or reactor B, the H2 ratio to the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed, and / or the H2 partial pressure at the inlet of reactor A and / or reactor B, the split ratio of the hydrocarbon feed between reactor A and reactor B, and / or the weight ratio of the side cut optionally separated from the fractionation in the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed, more preferably increasing the temperature and / or pressure in reactor A and / or reactor B, and / or decreasing the WHSV in reactor A and / or reactor B, and / or adjusting the split ratio of the hydrocarbon feed between reactor A and reactor B.

[0084] Adjustment of operating conditions to obtain or maintain desired properties of the hydrogen-treated effluent, recovered liquid transport fuel components, and / or separated recycle streams can be based on, for example, past process data, models such as theoretical models or models based on past process data, and / or one or more parameters related to or indicative of one or more properties of the hydrogen-treated effluent A, hydrogen-treated effluent B, recovered liquid transport fuel components, and / or separated recycle streams. For example, the adjustment can be performed using similar qualitative and quantitative predictions for similar feeds and recovered liquid transport fuel components, such as using models and / or operating condition profiles based on past process data from previous processes performed using past process data.

[0085] The hydrocarbon feed used in this process contains nitrogen impurities, except for the hydrocarbon feed used in the second mode of the process in an embodiment with a third exemplary aspect.

[0086] The hydrocarbon feed used in the second mode of the process in the third exemplary aspect is preferably a hydrocarbon feed that is essentially free of nitrogen impurities (essentially does not contain nitrogen impurities). Alternatively, the hydrocarbon feed used in the second mode of the process in the third exemplary aspect may contain nitrogen impurities, and the low nitrogen content of the reactor A feed in the second mode of the process in the third exemplary aspect is achieved, for example, by diluting the hydrocarbon feed with a side cut or recycle stream from fractionation. Preferably, in the process of the third exemplary aspect, the reactor A feed consists essentially of a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities in the first mode and a hydrocarbon feed essentially free of nitrogen impurities in the second mode. The hydrocarbon feed used in the second mode of the process in the third exemplary aspect, other than nitrogen impurities, is the hydrocarbon feed described herein.

[0087] Nitrogen impurities are known to deactivate the acid sites of the catalyst in a reversible manner. As other and possible impurities besides nitrogen, the hydrocarbon feed may contain paraffins, naphthenes, aromatics and / or olefins. Typically, the hydrocarbon feed contains at least 90 wt-%, preferably at least 95 wt-%, more preferably at least 98 wt-%, even more preferably at least 99 wt-% hydrocarbons, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. Preferably, the hydrocarbon feed contains, expressed as elemental oxygen (ASTM D5622-2017), at most 1.0 wt-%, preferably at most 0.8 wt-%, more preferably at most 0.5 wt-% oxygen, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. In certain preferred embodiments, the hydrocarbon feed contains at least 60 wt-% paraffins, of which at most 30 wt-% are isoparaffins, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. This means that when the hydrocarbon feed contains 60 wt-% paraffins of the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, at most 30 wt-% of the total weight of the paraffins in the hydrocarbon feed, i.e., at most 18 wt-% of the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, are isoparaffins. The hydrocarbon feed may be a highly paraffinic hydrocarbon feed. The hydrocarbon feed may contain at least 60 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 80 wt-%, even more preferably at least 90 wt-% paraffins, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. The hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure may contain at least 95 wt-% paraffins, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, or may consist essentially of paraffins. The hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure may contain olefins, preferably less than 5 wt-%, more preferably less than 1 wt-%, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, and may contain aromatics and / or naphthenes, preferably in small amounts.

[0088] The advantage of using a highly paraffinic hydrocarbon feedstock in this process is that paraffins can be subjected to hydrotreating processes such as isomerization or hydrocracking under relatively easy and mild conditions compared to, for example, cyclic hydrocarbons.

[0089] Of the paraffins in the hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure, preferably at most 30 wt-%, more preferably at most 25 wt-%, still more preferably at most 20 wt-%, and even more preferably at most 15 wt-% are isoparaffins. For example, of the paraffins in the hydrocarbon feed, 1 wt-% to 30 wt-%, or 1 wt-% to 20 wt-%, or 2 wt-% to 30 wt-%, or 2 wt-% to 20 wt-% can be isoparaffins.

[0090] A high weight ratio (wt-%:wt-%) of n-paraffins to isoparaffins in the hydrocarbon feed, since n-paraffins tend to be more resistant to cracking compared to isoparaffins of the same carbon number, depending on the mode in which the process is operated and exemplary embodiments, can contribute to the suppression of cracking side reactions during HI as a hydrotreating process in, for example, the reactor to which the hydrocarbon feed is supplied, i.e., Reactor A or Reactor B. However, the presence of a certain amount of isoparaffins in the hydrocarbon feed is still beneficial. A hydrocarbon feed containing a certain amount of isoparaffins can result in a liquid transportation fuel component containing more multi-branched isoparaffins compared to a similar feed without isoparaffins.

[0091] Preferably, the hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure comprises hydrocarbons having a carbon number in the range of C12 to C30 of at least 70 wt-%, preferably at least 80 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, even more preferably at least 95 wt-%, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the hydrocarbon feed comprises hydrocarbons having a carbon number in the range of C14 to C22 of at least 70 wt-%, preferably at least 80 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, even more preferably at least 95 wt-%, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. A hydrocarbon feed rich in C12 to C30 hydrocarbons is preferred because it allows for good yields of various types of two or more liquid transportation fuel components. C14 to C22 hydrocarbons are particularly preferred for the same reason and also because they are readily available from conventional HDO of vegetable oils, animal fats and / or microbial oils, including for example, fatty acids.

[0092] To increase the yield of aviation fuel components and / or diesel fuel components, it is particularly preferred that the hydrocarbon feed contains at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 60 wt-%, more preferably at least 70 wt-%, even more preferably at least 80 wt-% or at least 90 wt-% of C16+ paraffins (paraffins having at least 16 carbon atoms) based on the total weight of the paraffins in the hydrocarbon feed. In certain embodiments, the hydrocarbon feed contains at least 50 wt-% of C17+ paraffins (paraffins having at least 17 carbon atoms) based on the total weight of the paraffins in the hydrocarbon feed. Compositions of this kind can be achieved by appropriately selecting the heavier hydrocarbon feeds from which they are produced, particularly by appropriately selecting feedstocks such as oxygen-containing hydrocarbons. Examples of suitable heavy oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feeds include oils from energy crops such as cruciferous plants, algal oils, crude tall oil (CTO), tall oil fatty acids (TOFA), tall oil pitch (TOP), and / or lignocellulosic origin feeds. C17+ paraffins can also be obtained by Fischer-Tropsch conversion of syngas.

[0093] The hydrocarbon feed may include any suitable hydrocarbon composition or combinations thereof. Preferably, in this process, the step of providing the hydrocarbon feed is the step of subjecting a hydrotreating feed to catalytic hydrotreating to obtain a hydrotreated effluent, preferably the step of subjecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed to catalytic hydrodeoxygenation, wherein the hydrotreating feed preferably includes at least one or more of vegetable oils, animal fats, microbial oils, thermally liquefied organic wastes and residues, and / or enzymatically liquefied organic wastes and residues, and / or the step of subjecting syngas to Fischer-Tropsch (FT) conversion to obtain an FT effluent; the step of subjecting the hydrotreated effluent and / or the FT effluent to gas-liquid separation, optionally to hydrocarbon feed fractionation, to provide the hydrocarbon feed. Gas-liquid separation means removing compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP. Examples of thermally liquefied organic wastes and residues and / or enzymatically liquefied organic wastes and residues include thermally and / or enzymatically liquefied biomass wastes and residues, municipal solid wastes and / or waste plastics.

[0094] For example, FT effluents of fossil origin are readily available (in addition to FT effluents of renewable origin), but preferably, the hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure is at least partially renewable, i.e., contains a biogenic component. In one preferred embodiment, the biogenic carbon content of the hydrocarbon feed is preferably measured according to EN 16640 (2017) and is at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, still more preferably at least 95 wt-%, or even about 100 wt-% based on the total weight of carbon (TC) of the hydrocarbon feed.

[0095] In one embodiment, the hydrocarbon feed comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of a degassed Fischer-Tropsch effluent, or a fraction thereof. The Fischer-Tropsch process typically involves the catalytic conversion of syngas, which contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen, into a Gaussian distribution of substantial hydrocarbon chains that are mainly n-paraffins with a wide carbon chain length distribution, such as C2-C100+, typically about C5-about C50. The FT effluent is typically highly paraffinic, mainly containing n-paraffins. The catalytic FT conversion of syngas results in a minor degree of isomerization, and the FT effluent typically contains up to about 10 wt-% isoparaffins relative to the total weight of the FT effluent. The syngas used in the FT process can be produced from renewable materials, natural gas, coal, or combinations thereof.

[0096] Preferably, the hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure is obtained, in particular, by subjecting a hydrotreated feed comprising at least one or more of vegetable oil, animal fat, microbial oil, thermally liquefied organic waste and residue and / or enzymatically liquefied organic waste and residue, more preferably at least one or more of vegetable, animal fat and / or microbial oil, to catalytic hydrotreating to obtain a hydrotreated effluent, then subjecting the hydrotreated effluent to gas-liquid separation, and optionally subjecting the hydrocarbon feed to fractional distillation to provide a degassed hydrotreated effluent or a fraction thereof, and comprises, consists essentially of, or consists of a degassed hydrotreated effluent or a fraction thereof. Nitrogen impurities are generally present in varying amounts in the hydrotreated feed comprising vegetable oil, animal fat, microbial oil, thermally liquefied organic waste and residue and / or enzymatically liquefied organic waste and residue, and are carried over and can be present in varying amounts in the degassed hydrotreated effluent or a fraction thereof.

[0097] The term "catalytic hydrotreatment" means a catalytic process for treating organic materials using hydrogen molecules. Preferably, catalytic hydrotreatment removes oxygen from organic oxygen compounds as water, i.e., hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), removes sulfur from organic sulfur compounds as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), i.e., hydrodesulfurization (HDS), removes nitrogen from organic nitrogen compounds as ammonia (NH3), i.e., hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), removes halogen such as chlorine from organic chlorinated compounds as hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrodechlorination (HDCl), and / or removes metals by hydrodemetallation, and / or hydrogenates olefin bonds if present in the hydrotreating feed. Depending on the composition of the hydrotreating feed, various reactions can occur or become dominant.

[0098] Preferably, the hydrocarbon feed of the present disclosure is a degassed hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) effluent, or a fraction thereof, obtained by catalytic HDO of an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed comprising at least one or more of vegetable oil, animal fat, and / or microbial oil to obtain an HDO effluent, then subjecting the HDO effluent to gas-liquid separation, and optionally subjecting the hydrocarbon feed to fractional distillation to provide the degassed HDO effluent or a fraction thereof. Nitrogen impurities are generally present in varying amounts in the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed comprising vegetable oil, animal fat, and / or microbial oil, and are carried over and can be present in varying amounts in the degassed HDO effluent or a fraction thereof.

[0099] In one embodiment, providing a hydrocarbon feed comprises subjecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed to hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) in the presence of a hydrodeoxygenation catalyst, preferably in a hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) reactor, to obtain a hydrodeoxygenation effluent, and subjecting the hydrodeoxygenation effluent to gas-liquid separation, optionally hydrocarbon feed fractionation, to obtain a degassed hydrodeoxygenation effluent or a fraction thereof as the hydrocarbon feed, wherein the hydrodeoxygenation is preferably carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 500°C, a pressure in the range of 1 MPa to 20 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the inlet of the reactor in the range of 1 MPa to 20 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.1 to 10 kg of oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed in the range of 50 to 2000 normal liters of H2 / liter of oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed. Preferably, the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed comprises at least one or more of vegetable oil, animal fat, and / or microbial oil. The hydrodeoxygenation is preferably carried out as described in prior art documents such as Finnish Patent Invention No. 100248, European Patent Application Publication No. 1741768, European Patent No. 2155838, or Finnish Patent Invention No. 129220.

[0100] Optional hydrocarbon feed fractionation is typically carried out in a fractionation device different from the fractionation device used to recover liquid transport fuel components and / or separate recycle streams. Optional hydrocarbon feed fractionation can be considered separate from the fractionation of this process, where the fractionation of this process refers to or includes fractionation to recover liquid transport fuel components and / or separate recycle streams.

[0101] Preferably, the HDO catalyst is a sulfided catalyst containing at least one or more metals from Group VIII of the periodic table and / or Group VIB of the periodic table, preferably at least one or more of Ni, Mo, W, and / or Co, more preferably at least one or more of Ni, and / or Co and Mo, and / or W, such as at least one or more of NiMo, CoMo, NiCoMo, NiW, NiMoW, etc. These catalysts are efficient, readily available, and sufficiently resistant to typical impurities in fatty acid feedstocks. When a catalyst having dewaxing properties, such as a catalyst containing NiW, is used in hydrodeoxygenation as a hydrodeoxygenation catalyst or as a cocatalyst, an HDO effluent having a somewhat high isoparaffin content can be obtained.

[0102] Preferably, in the first mode of the present process, the reactor A feed is essentially composed of a hydrocarbon feed and optionally one or more streams from the process. In the context of the present disclosure, hydrogen molecules (H2) supplied to the reactor for hydrotreating are excluded from the definition of the reactor feed, i.e., are not considered part of the reactor A feed or reactor B feed herein.

[0103] Preferably, in the first mode of the process according to the first exemplary embodiment, the reactor B feed is essentially composed of the degassed hydrotreating effluent A and optionally one or more additional streams from the process and / or a portion of the hydrocarbon feed. Preferably, in the first mode of the process according to the second exemplary embodiment, the reactor B feed is essentially composed of a recycle stream and optionally one or more additional streams from the process and / or a portion of the hydrocarbon feed.

[0104] Preferably, in the second mode of the process according to the first exemplary embodiment and the second mode of the process according to the second exemplary embodiment, the reactor B feed is essentially composed of a hydrocarbon feed and optionally one or more streams from the process.

[0105] Preferably, in the second mode of the process according to the first exemplary embodiment, the reactor A feed is essentially composed of the degassed hydrotreated effluent B and, optionally, one or more additional streams from the process and / or a portion of the hydrocarbon feed. Preferably, in the second mode of the process according to the second exemplary embodiment, the reactor A feed is essentially composed of the recycle stream and, optionally, one or more additional streams from the process and / or a portion of the hydrocarbon feed.

[0106] Said one or more (additional) streams from the process can be, for example, side cuts and / or recycle streams from fractionation and / or a portion of the degassed hydrotreated effluents A and / or B, depending on the process mode and exemplary embodiment. Preferably, in the process according to the first and / or second exemplary embodiments, the feed to the first reactor in the process mode (reactor A in the first mode and reactor B in the second mode) contains nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), of at least 0.4 w-ppm, or at least 0.6 w-ppm, or at least 1.0 w-ppm, further at least 1.5 w-ppm, or at least 2.0 w-ppm, based on the total weight of the reactor feed.

[0107] In one embodiment, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and reactor B is independently selected from at least one or more of hydrogen isomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodearomatization, and / or hydrogen polishing; preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and reactor B is hydrogen isomerization, or the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and reactor B is hydrocracking, or the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is hydrogen isomerization and the hydrogenation treatment in reactor B is hydrocracking, or the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is hydrocracking and the hydrogenation treatment in reactor B is hydrogen isomerization; more preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and reactor B is hydrogen isomerization. In other words, preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and the hydrogenation treatment in reactor B are independently selected from at least one or more of hydrogen isomerization and / or hydrocracking.

[0108] Similarly, in one embodiment of the process according to the third exemplary aspect, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is selected from at least one or more of hydrogen isomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodearomatization, and / or hydrogen polishing, preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is hydrogen isomerization or hydrocracking, and more preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is hydrogen isomerization. The hydrogenation treatment in reactor A in the process according to the third exemplary aspect may be as described herein for reactor A and / or reactor B.

[0109] When the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor B are of the same type, the change in the quality and / or yield of the liquid transportation fuel component recovered after the switch is small or even imperceptible (compared to the embodiment where the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor B are of different types). When the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and Reactor B is hydrocracking, even near the end of the life of the hydrogenation treatment catalyst, an improvement in the yield of aviation fuel and gasoline fuel components may be obtained. When the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and Reactor B is hydroisomerization, even near the end of the life of the hydrogenation treatment catalyst, an improvement in the quality and yield of aviation fuel and diesel fuel components may be obtained. When the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A is hydroisomerization and the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor B is hydrocracking, or vice versa, even near the end of the life of the hydrogenation treatment catalyst, improved aviation and diesel fuel component quality and improved aviation and gasoline fuel component yields may be obtained.

[0110] In a preferred embodiment, the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydroisomerization. Preferably, the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydroisomerization carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 500°C, preferably 230°C to 500°C, more preferably 250°C to 450°C, even more preferably 280°C to 400°C, a pressure in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, preferably 2 MPa to 8 MPa, or 3 MPa to 10 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the reactor inlet in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, preferably 2 MPa to 8 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity of 0.1 to 10, preferably 0.2 to 8, more preferably 0.4 to 6 kg of reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 10 to 2000, preferably 50 to 1000 normal liters of H2 per liter of reactor feed.

[0111] In one embodiment, the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydroisomerization carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 500°C, a pressure in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the reactor inlet in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.1 to 10 kg of reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 10 to 2000 normal liters of H2 / reactor feed. These conditions are particularly advantageous for hydroisomerization.

[0112] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the hydrogenation treatment in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydroisomerization carried out at a temperature in the range of 230°C to 500°C, a pressure in the range of 2 MPa to 8 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the reactor inlet in the range of 2 MPa to 8 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.2 to 8 kg of reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 50 to 1000 normal liters of H2 / reactor feed. These conditions are particularly advantageous for hydroisomerization.

[0113] The degree of isomerization of the hydrotreated effluent can be improved, for example, by increasing the severity of HI by at least one or more of the following: a decrease in WHSV, an increase in temperature, and / or an increase in pressure. When using a fresh hydrotreating catalyst, very severe HI conditions can be achieved at a lower temperature, and / or a lower pressure, and / or a higher WHSV (compared to operation when the hydrotreating catalyst is at least somewhat deactivated). As the life of the hydrotreating catalyst approaches its end, a higher temperature, and / or a higher pressure, and / or a lower WHSV may be required to achieve even moderately severe HI. As used herein, in terms of wt-% of paraffin in the liquid effluent, a total i-paraffin content in the range of 50 wt-% to 85 wt-% and a multi-branched i-paraffin content of up to 25 wt-%, or a total i-paraffin content in the range of 85 wt-% to 95 wt-% and a multi-branched i-paraffin content in the range of 25 wt-% to 55 wt-%, or a total i-paraffin content of 95 wt-% and a multi-branched i-paraffin content greater than 55 wt-% in the liquid effluent produced by HI are generally considered to have a low degree of severity, or a moderate degree of severity, or a high degree of severity, respectively, although these content ranges are for illustrative purposes only in terms of order of magnitude, may overlap to some extent, and may vary depending on the case.

[0114] Preferably, when the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydroisomerization, each reactor has a ratio of the wt-% amount of isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each reactor feed to the wt-% amount of isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent of at least 2, or at least 4, or at least 6, or at least 8, or at least 10, or at least 12, and / or a ratio of the wt-% amount of branched isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each reactor feed to the wt-% amount of branched isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent of at least 2, or at least 4, or at least 6, or at least 8, or at least 10, or at least 12, and / or each (total) hydrotreating effluent contains less than 20 wt-%, or less than 10 wt-%, preferably less than 5 wt-%, more preferably less than 3 wt-% C1-C4 hydrocarbons relative to the total weight of each hydrotreating effluent, and is operated. These can be achieved particularly when each reactor is operated within HI operating conditions and / or when using an HI catalyst and / or hydrocarbon feed as defined herein.

[0115] Depending on the process mode and embodiment, when the hydrotreating effluent (or a portion of the hydrotreating effluent) A and / or B is fed to a subsequent hydrotreating, i.e., contacted with a subsequent hydrotreating catalyst, compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP are separated or removed from each hydrotreating effluent. This can be done, for example, as a gas-liquid separation, which can be carried out as an integral step within each reactor, or in a separate gas-liquid separation unit, or as part of a fractionation. In particular, in relation to the process according to the second exemplary embodiment, the separation of compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP can be regarded as part of a fractionation.

[0116] The degassing removes, for example, gaseous impurities from the hydrotreated effluent. This can protect the subsequent reactor from impurities in the hydrocarbon feed and extend the life of the catalyst in the subsequent reactor. Preferably, the separation or removal of compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP includes the separation or removal of NH3 from the hydrotreated effluent A and / or B. The degassed hydrotreated effluent A and / or B may contain small or trace amounts of compounds that are gaseous at NTP, since the separation does not necessarily achieve complete removal of all compounds that are gaseous at NTP. The degassing also increases the hydrogen partial pressure in the subsequent reactor, and, if the reactor feed is less heterogeneous, the operating conditions in the subsequent reactor are more easily optimized.

[0117] When using a highly paraffinic hydrocarbon feed, the hydrotreated effluent A and / or B may contain at least 60 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 80 wt-%, even more preferably at least 90 wt-% or at least 95 wt-% paraffin, based on the total weight of the hydrotreated effluent A and / or B. In certain embodiments, the hydrotreated effluent A and / or B may consist essentially of paraffin.

[0118] Typically, when the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydroisomerization, each hydrotreating effluent contains at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 60 wt-%, more preferably at least 70 wt-%, even more preferably at least 80 wt-% isoparaffin, based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent, and optionally at least 5 wt-%, more preferably at least 10 wt-%, even more preferably at least 15 wt-%, or at least 20 wt-% multi-branched isoparaffin, based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent. Typically, when the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or B is hydroisomerization, each hydrotreating effluent may contain at most 75 wt-%, or at most 70 wt-%, or at most 60 wt-%, for example at most 50 wt-%, or at most 40 wt-%, in some cases at most 30 wt-%, or even at most 20 wt-% multi-branched isoparaffin, based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent. Typically, when the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydroisomerization, each hydrotreating effluent may have a cloud point (ASTM D 5771-17) of less than 0 °C, preferably less than -5 °C, more preferably less than -8 °C, even more preferably less than -10 °C, or less than -15 °C.

[0119] The presence of multi-branched isoparaffins in the first obtained hydrotreated effluent in the process mode is considered beneficial, for example, when the subsequent hydrotreatment is hydrocracking, as it can beneficially contribute to the degree of effective cracking in the subsequent hydrotreatment in the reactor. In particular, an effective cracking to a desired degree to C8 - C14 hydrocarbons, but also to lighter non-gaseous hydrocarbons, can be achieved in the hydrotreatment in the subsequent reactor under milder operating conditions, excessive cracking can be avoided, and the formation of gaseous hydrocarbons can be reduced. Without being bound by any theory, multi-branched isoparaffins are likely to form two branched paraffin molecules upon cracking in the hydrotreatment in the subsequent reactor, instead of one branch and one n-paraffin, and thus are considered to increase the isoparaffin content of the second obtained hydrotreated effluent. An increase in the content of multi-branched isoparaffins in the hydrotreated effluent A and / or B is considered beneficial in that it can improve the low-temperature properties of the recovered liquid transportation fuel composition, particularly the low-temperature properties of the aviation fuel component and / or diesel fuel component, and / or the RON of the gasoline fuel component.

[0120] In one embodiment, the hydrotreatment in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking. Preferably, the hydrotreatment in reactor A and / or reactor B is carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 450°C, preferably 220°C to 430°C, more preferably 280°C to 350°C, a pressure in the range of 0.4 MPa to 8 MPa, preferably 1 MPa to 7 MPa, more preferably 2.5 MPa to 7 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the inlet of the reactor in the range of 0.4 MPa to 8 MPa, preferably 1 MPa to 7 MPa, more preferably 2.5 MPa to 7 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.1 to 10, preferably 0.2 to 8, more preferably 0.4 to 6, still more preferably 0.5 to 1.5 kg reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 10 to 2000, preferably 50 to 1000 normal liters of H2 / liter of reactor feed.

[0121] According to one embodiment, the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking carried out at a temperature in the range of 220°C to 430°C, a pressure in the range of 1 MPa to 7 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.2 kg to 8 kg of reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 50 to 1000 normal liters of H2 / liter of reactor B feed. In a preferred embodiment, the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking carried out at a temperature in the range of 280 to 350°C, a pressure in the range of 2.5 to 7 MPa, an H2 partial pressure at the reactor inlet in the range of 2.5 to 7 MPa, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.4 to 6 kg reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 50 to 1000 normal liters of H2 / liter of reactor B feed. These conditions are particularly advantageous for hydrocracking.

[0122] When the hydrotreating is carried out at a lower temperature and a sufficiently high pressure, side reactions of aromatization are better suppressed, or even promotion of dearomatization can occur.

[0123] Preferably, when the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking, each reactor is operated such that the ratio of the wt-% amount of isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each reactor feed to the wt-% amount of isoparaffin based on the total weight of paraffins in each hydrotreating effluent is at least 0.5, or at least 0.7, or at least 0.8, or at least 0.9, or at least 1.0; and / or the ratio of the C8 - C14 hydrocarbon content in each reactor feed to the C8 - C14 hydrocarbon content in each hydrotreating effluent is at least 1.1, preferably at least 1.3, more preferably at least 1.5, still more preferably at least 1.8, or at least 2.0.

[0124] In a preferred embodiment, when the hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydrocracking, each reactor is operated such that the ratio of the wt-% amount of C1-C4 hydrocarbons formed during hydrocracking in each hydrotreating effluent to the wt-% amount of C1-C4 hydrocarbons in the (total) respective reactor feed is from 1.1 to 5.0, preferably from 1.1 to 4.0, more preferably from 1.2 to 3.0; and / or, each hydrotreating effluent contains less than 20 wt-%, or less than 10 wt-%, or less than 5 wt-% C1-C4 hydrocarbons, based on the total weight of each hydrotreating effluent.

[0125] These can be achieved, in particular, when using the reactor feeds specified above, and / or when operating the reactors within the hydrocracking operating conditions specified above, and / or in the presence of an HC catalyst as defined below, in particular in the presence of a non-sulfided bifunctional HC catalyst as defined below, preferably containing at least one or more Group VIII noble metals, more preferably a non-sulfided bifunctional HC catalyst containing Pt and / or Pd.

[0126] In an embodiment where the hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is hydrocracking and a highly paraffinic hydrocarbon feed is used, each hydrotreating effluent can contain at least 60 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 80 wt-%, even more preferably at least 90 wt-% or at least 95 wt-% paraffin, based on the total weight of each hydrotreating effluent, or the hydrotreating effluent may consist essentially of paraffin.

[0127] A preferred feed to the fractionation in step iii) and / or III) can include at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 60 wt-%, more preferably at least 70 wt-%, still more preferably at least 80 wt-% isoparaffin, based on the total weight of the feed to the fractionation, and / or at least 3 wt-%, or at least 5 wt-%, or at least 10 wt-%, or at least 15 wt-%, or at least 20 wt-% multi-branched isoparaffin, based on the total weight of the feed to the fractionation. Such a feed to the fractionation can be achieved, for example, when the hydrotreating in reactor A is HI and the hydrotreating in reactor B is HC, or when the hydrotreating in reactor A is HC and the hydrotreating in reactor B is HI.

[0128] Preferably, when comparing the temperatures at the inlets of the reactors, reactor A is operated at a higher temperature than reactor B. The temperatures being compared are the temperatures at the inlets of reactor A and reactor B, respectively, at a given point in time including a short time interval. In other words, the comparison is not made over the entire run from the start to the stop of the process at the highest temperatures. Particularly preferably, reactor A is operated at a higher temperature than reactor B, and reactors A and B are operated within the range of operating conditions specified herein for the hydrogenation process in question.

[0129] Operating reactor A at a higher temperature than reactor B, particularly within the range of operating conditions specified herein, can better compensate for the deactivation of hydrotreating catalyst A. This is beneficial because hydrotreating catalyst A is subjected to higher impurity levels, particularly higher nitrogen impurity levels, in the first mode and may remain in a more deactivated state compared to hydrotreating catalyst B also during the second mode. Further, operating reactor A at a higher temperature in the second mode can promote the release of reversibly bound impurities from hydrotreating catalyst A.

[0130] In certain embodiments, the hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or Reactor B may be hydrodearomatization. This can be beneficial, for example, when the hydrocarbon feed has a high aromatic content, and / or when aromatics are formed during hydrotreating, and / or when a very low aromatic content is desired for all or part of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components, or for other product fractions that can be recovered from the process. Examples of such other product fractions include product fractions intended for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and / or other applications involving close contact with humans. In embodiments where the hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or Reactor B is HDA, the level of aromatic hydrocarbons can be reduced, for example, to less than 5000 w-ppm, or less than 300 w-ppm, preferably less than 100 w-ppm, or less than 50 w-ppm, as measured according to UOP 495-03.

[0131] HDA is preferably carried out at a temperature in the range of 80°C to 350°C, a pressure in the range of 3 MPa to 16 MPa, a liquid hourly space velocity in the range of 0.2 to 8 h -1 -1, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 50 to 2000 normal liters of H2 per liter of reactor feed.

[0132] The hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or Reactor B may, in certain embodiments, be a hydrofinishing. This can be beneficial, for example, when the hydrocarbon feed contains at least one or more of organic oxygen impurities, organic sulfur impurities, olefins and / or metal impurities in addition to nitrogen impurities, and / or, for example, for all or part of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components, or for other product fractions that may be recovered from the process, etc., when a very low content or even removal of nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, olefins and / or metals is desired. In embodiments where the hydrotreating in Reactor A and / or B is hydrofinishing, in each hydrotreating effluent, the levels of these impurities can be reduced, for example, to less than 50% of their content prior to hydrofinishing, or completely removed, i.e., below the detection limit of each analytical method.

[0133] Preferably, the hydrofinishing is carried out at a temperature in the range of about 150 °C to 400 °C, a pressure in the range of 0.5 MPa to 15 MPa, a liquid hourly space velocity in the range of 0.5 to 3 h -1 -1, and a ratio of H2 to reactor feed in the range of 50 to 2000 normal liters of H2 per liter of reactor feed.

[0134] In particular, when the run is carried out in the second exemplary mode, the process may include subjecting the hydrotreating effluent A (in the first mode) and / or the hydrotreating effluent B (in the second mode) to fractional distillation to separate a recycle stream having a T5 temperature (5 vol-% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) of at least 270 °C or higher from the hydrotreating effluent. The total feed subjected to fractional distillation in the second exemplary mode is initially the hydrotreating effluent A (in the first mode) or the hydrotreating effluent B (in the second mode), and optionally, after being integrally subjected to gas-liquid separation in Reactor A or B, when the process continues to operate, the total feed subjected to fractional distillation includes the hydrotreating effluent A and the hydrotreating effluent B, and the effluents may preferably be combined.

[0135] Also, variations or embodiments of the processes in the first and third exemplary embodiments benefit from separating the recycle stream from the fractional distillation while operating the process in the first mode or the second mode, or both the first and second modes, as disclosed herein. This can be particularly beneficial when the process is operated in the second mode, since separating the recycle stream and subjecting it to hydrotreating again helps to at least somewhat further compensate for the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst. In embodiments according to the first and third exemplary embodiments where the reactor A and / or B feed includes the recycle stream or a portion thereof, the amount of such portion or stream can vary, but generally is only a small part of each reactor feed. In embodiments according to the first and third exemplary embodiments, the reactor A and / or B feed can include less than 50 wt-%, preferably less than 30 wt-%, more preferably less than 10 wt-% of the recycle stream, based on the total weight of each reactor feed. In other words, the recycle stream or a portion thereof can constitute less than 50 wt-%, preferably less than 30 wt-%, more preferably less than 10 wt-% of the total weight of each reactor feed in embodiments according to the first and third exemplary embodiments.

[0136] Preferably, the recycle stream has a T5 temperature of 275 °C or higher. In certain preferred embodiments, the recycle stream has a T5 temperature in the range from 270 °C to less than 300 °C, preferably in the range from 270 °C to less than 295 °C, more preferably in the range from 270 °C to less than 290 °C; and / or an initial boiling point (IBP, EN ISO 3405-2019) of less than 290 °C, preferably less than 288 °C, more preferably less than 285 °C, or less than 280 °C. The recycle stream may have the FBP of the total feed subjected to the fractional distillation, i.e., the recycle stream may include the heavy bottoms of the total feed subjected to the fractional distillation.

[0137] The T5 temperature of the recycle stream is preferably selected, if present, such that the C16 n-paraffin present in the total feed to the fractionation is at least partially recovered in the recycle stream. Recovering C16 n-paraffin in the recycle stream can be achieved by appropriately selecting the T5 temperature and / or IBP of the recycle stream. The boiling point of C16 n-paraffin is 287 °C (at normal pressure), but fractionation such as distillation separation is not completely sharp, so C16 n-paraffin can be recovered over a temperature range near its boiling point. Preferably, the recycle stream contains C16 n-paraffin.

[0138] Since C16 n-paraffin has a relatively high melting point, it is beneficial to recycle at least a portion of the C16 n-paraffin to reactor A and / or B for re-hydrotreating. Thus, for example, the presence of any significant amount of C16 n-paraffin in the recovered aviation fuel component results in poor low-temperature properties, particularly a poor freezing point, and / or a poor kinematic viscosity at sub-zero temperatures such as -20 °C or -40 °C, i.e., high, which may even prevent the aviation fuel component from being used in an aviation fuel composition. In any case, the C16 n-paraffin in the recovered aviation fuel component has impaired low-temperature properties compared to an aviation fuel component with a low or no C16 n-paraffin content, i.e., one or more of the cloud point, freezing point, pour point, low-temperature plugging point, and / or sub-zero kinematic viscosity are increased. Preferably, the recycle stream contains at least 20 wt-% or at least 30 wt-%, more preferably at least 40 wt-% or at least 50 wt-% of the C16 n-paraffin in the total feed to the fractionation. The amount of n-paraffin containing C16 n-paraffin in the total feed to the fractionation can increase due to deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst and can also be formed by decomposition in reactor A and / or B.

[0139] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the recycle stream contains at least 85 wt-%, preferably at least 90 wt-%, more preferably at least 95 wt-% C16+ paraffins, based on the total weight of paraffins in the recycle stream. Subjecting the C16+ paraffins to hydrotreating again in reactor A and / or B is beneficial in that it can increase the yield of aviation fuel components and / or improve the quality. The C16+ n-paraffins (n-paraffins having at least 16 carbon atoms) are inferior in low-temperature properties, and the C18+ n-paraffins (n-paraffins having at least 18 carbon atoms) generally boil outside the aviation fuel boiling range.

[0140] Typically, the recycle stream contains at least 60 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 80 wt-%, even more preferably at least 90 wt-% or at least 95 wt-% paraffin, based on the total weight of the recycle stream, or the recycle stream can consist essentially of paraffin. This can be achieved especially when using a highly paraffinic hydrocarbon feed. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the recycle stream contains at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 60 wt-%, more preferably at least 70 wt-%, or at least 80 wt-%, and / or up to 100 wt-% or up to 98 wt-% isoparaffin, based on the total weight of the paraffin in the recycle stream, and / or at least 5 wt-%, or at least 10 wt-%, preferably at least 15 wt-%, or at least 20 wt-% multi-branched isoparaffin, based on the total weight of the paraffin in the recycle stream. Typically, the recycle stream contains up to 95 wt-%, or up to 90 wt-%, or up to 80 wt-%, or up to 70 wt-%, for example up to 60 wt-%, or up to 50 wt-%, or up to 40 wt-%, in some cases up to 30 wt-%, and further up to 20 wt-% multi-branched isoparaffin, based on the total weight of the paraffin in the recycle stream. Typically, the recycle stream contains multi-branched isoparaffin in the range of 5 wt-% to 95 wt-%, preferably 5 wt-% to 80 wt-%, or 5 wt-% to 70 wt-%, for example 10 wt-% to 70 wt-%, or 15 wt-% to 65 wt-%, based on the total weight of the paraffin in the recycle stream. Typically, the recycle stream has a cloud point of less than 0 °C, preferably less than -5 °C, more preferably less than -10 °C, even more preferably less than -20 °C, and even more preferably less than -30 °C (ASTM D 5771-17).

[0141] Generally, paraffin tends to be more easily decomposed and isomerized than cyclic hydrocarbons. Longer-chain paraffins tend to decompose more than shorter-chain paraffins, and have more room for more branching. Also, isoparaffins are expected to tend to decompose more than n-paraffins. And, since the relative uniformity of the recycle stream composition can make it easier to optimize subsequent hydrotreating conditions, this type of recycle stream has a beneficial composition from the perspective of efficient decomposition and / or degree of isomerization that forms more hydrocarbons boiling in the aviation fuel range and in the gasoline boiling range. Further, these embodiments facilitate easy separation by mere fractionation of several examples of components that can be separated from such a recycle stream and recovered as product streams, such as diesel fuel components, marine fuel components, base oil components, and / or transformer oil components. In such embodiments, a portion of the recycle stream is fed to hydrotreating in reactor A and / or B as described above, and another portion of the recycle stream is recovered. Preferably, the recycle stream is split into a portion fed to hydrotreating in reactor A and / or B and a portion that is recovered.

[0142] Both the hydrotreating catalyst A and the hydrotreating catalyst B can be disposed in one or more catalyst beds within their respective reactors. The hydrotreating catalyst A and the hydrotreating catalyst B can each be disposed in at least one or more fixed beds. The process according to the third exemplary embodiment typically does not include reactor B or hydrotreating catalyst B, but if so, the hydrotreating catalyst A within reactor A of the process according to the third exemplary embodiment is as described herein and can be disposed as described herein. Preferably, the hydrotreating catalyst A in reactor A and the hydrotreating catalyst B in reactor B are bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts, more preferably non-sulfided bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts. In certain preferred embodiments, the hydrotreating catalyst A and the hydrotreating catalyst B are independently selected from any conventionally used bifunctional HI catalyst and any conventionally used bifunctional HC catalyst.

[0143] The HI catalyst is selective for isomerization, i.e., it can convert at least an amount of n-paraffin to i-paraffin, particularly mono-branched i-paraffin, and / or can convert mono-branched i-paraffin to multi-branched i-paraffin, such as 2-branched, and / or 3-branched i-paraffin, and even i-paraffin containing more than three branches. The HC catalyst can decompose hydrocarbon molecules. Particularly desired in this step is an HC catalyst capable of effective decomposition, i.e., decomposition that results in non-gaseous (NTP) decomposition products, as specifically represented herein as the ratio of the C8 - C14 hydrocarbon content in the reactor effluent to the C8 - C14 hydrocarbon content in the respective reactor feed.

[0144] For example, bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts such as bifunctional HI catalysts and bifunctional HC catalysts include a metal site for catalyzing a (de)hydrogenation reaction and an acid site for catalyzing an isomerization reaction and a decomposition reaction. Bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts such as bifunctional HI catalysts and bifunctional HC catalysts are well known in the petroleum refining field and the renewable fuel production field. The bifunctional hydrotreating catalyst is preferred because it has excellent catalytic performance that brings about a synergistic effect between the metal site and the acid site. The bifunctional hydrotreating catalyst is also beneficial in that it can control the access and diffusion of molecules to the catalyst sites by appropriately selecting the porous properties of the catalyst, particularly the pore size, pore dimension, and / or interconnectedness of the pores of the catalyst.

[0145] In certain particularly preferred embodiments, hydrotreating catalyst A and hydrotreating catalyst B are each independently selected from non-sulfided bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts comprising at least one or more noble metals of Group VIII of the Periodic Table, more preferably Pt and / or Pd, and at least one or more acidic porous materials, and wherein the reactor A feed and the reactor B feed each contain less than 50 wt-ppm, preferably less than 30 wt-ppm, more preferably less than 10 wt-ppm (weight ppm, calculated as elemental S) of sulfur as measured in accordance with ISO 20846-2019.

[0146] The sulfur content can be determined according to ISO 20846-2019 for liquids and ASTM-D6667 for gaseous fractions.

[0147] The non-sulfided bifunctional catalyst does not need to be sulfided during operation to maintain its activity and can therefore keep the sulfur content of various process streams low, and is preferred because it does not require the inefficient separation and recovery of H2S from various process streams. In particular, non-sulfided bifunctional catalysts containing noble metals can be more active at lower temperatures and show higher selectivity for isomerization reactions than sulfided catalysts, but are more susceptible to deactivation by H2S.

[0148] Preferably, the reactor A feed and the reactor B feed each contain sulfur measured in accordance with ISO 20846-2019 and less than 50 wt-ppm, preferably less than 30 wt-ppm, more preferably less than 10 wt-ppm (weight ppm, calculated as elemental S).

[0149] Similarly, the reactor A feed of the process according to the third exemplary embodiment can be a low-sulfur feed as described above.

[0150] The very low sulfur content of the stream entering reactor A is beneficial because in most catalytic processes containing metal catalysts, sulfur impurities are known to adsorb to essentially irreversible high coverage levels and cause multiple problems. In such embodiments, there is an increased degree of freedom in catalyst selection and a very low sulfur content liquid transportation fuel component is obtained. Furthermore, since there will be less H2S present, less corrosion is expected over the long term and even less stringent corrosion resistance requirements may apply for some of the equipment materials.

[0151] For example, various types of bifunctional hydrotreating catalysts are commercially available, such as HI catalysts and HC catalysts, having various metals or combinations of metals, various metal loadings, various acid strengths, and / or total acid values, and / or various porosities.

[0152] A bifunctional hydrogenation catalyst containing a bifunctional HC catalyst and a bifunctional HI catalyst is similar in that it contains a metal site capable of catalyzing the (de)hydrogenation of corresponding n / i-olefins from n / i-paraffins, and an acid site capable of catalyzing the protonation of n / i-olefins to n / i-carbocations, the isomerization of n-carbocations and further i-carbocations, and / or the decomposition of n / i-carbocations to lighter n / i-olefins and lighter n / i-carbocations, and the deprotonation of n / i-carbocations to n / i-olefins. The hydrogenation of various n / i-olefins is catalyzed again by the metal sites of these bifunctional catalysts to form n / i-paraffins. Whether an isomerization reaction or a decomposition reaction is dominant, for example, under any operating conditions and any feed composition, can be influenced particularly by the properties of the bifunctional catalyst contacted with the feed. Such properties of the bifunctional catalyst include, for example, the total acid value of the catalyst, the number of Bronsted acid sites, the strength and / or density of the acid sites, and the metal content in the catalyst.

[0153] Preferably, hydrogenation catalyst A and hydrogenation catalyst B each independently contain at least one or more metals selected from Group VIII of the Periodic Table, preferably selected from the noble metals of Group VIII, more preferably selected from Pt and / or Pd. Noble metals are preferred because they can provide higher selectivity for the desired reaction under operating conditions compared to catalysts containing only non-noble metals, and have high activity at lower operating temperatures. High activity at lower temperatures provides a wider temperature range within which the temperature can be adjusted (usually increased) during operation. The gradual deactivation of the catalyst that occurs when the process is operated for a longer time can be compensated to some extent by increasing the temperature in the reactor.

[0154] Preferably, the hydrotreating catalyst A and the hydrotreating catalyst B each independently contain at least one or more porous acidic materials having a microporous, mesoporous, or hierarchical structure (micro-mesoporous). Various zeolite-type materials such as SAPO and zeolite are available, which provide the desired acidity and porous properties.

[0155] In a preferred embodiment, the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydroisomerization, and the hydrotreating catalyst A and / or the hydrotreating catalyst B (when the hydrotreating in each reactor is HI) each independently at least one or more metals selected from Group VIII of the Periodic Table, preferably noble metals of Group VIII, more preferably at least one or more metals selected from Pt and / or Pd; and at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from zeolite and / or zeolite-type materials, preferably at least one or more of the zeolite and / or zeolite-type materials being acidic porous materials having a framework type selected from AEL, ATO, AFO, MRE, MTT, MTW, TON, MRT, MOR, FER, and / or MWW, preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-11, SAPO-31, SAPO-41, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-48, NU-10, ZBM-30, IZM-2, EU-2, and / or mordenite, more preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-11, SAPO-41, ZSM-23, and / or ZSM-48; and optionally at least one or more of alumina, silica, amorphous silica-alumina, titanium alumina, titania, and / or zirconia is selected from bifunctional hydroisomerization catalysts, preferably non-sulfided bifunctional hydroisomerization catalysts.

[0156] This catalyst selection has been found to provide a higher isomerization selectivity that further contributes to achieving a greater amount of multi-branched isoparaffins, which is highly beneficial for the properties of isoparaffins, particularly liquid transportation fuel components. The aforementioned SAPO and zeolites have acidity and porosity characteristics that enable the isomerization of n-paraffins, including those with multi-branches, such as long-chain n-paraffins like C16+ paraffins, and are commercially available.

[0157] In certain embodiments, the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking, and the hydrotreating catalyst A and / or hydrotreating catalyst B are, independently of each other (when the hydrotreating in each reactor is HC), the following at least one or more metals selected from Group VIII of the Periodic Table, Mo, Co, and / or W, preferably from Ni, Mo, Co, W, Pt, and / or Pd, more preferably from Pt and / or Pd; and at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from zeolites, zeolite-type materials, and / or amorphous silica-alumina, preferably at least one or more of the zeolites or zeolite-type materials being acidic porous materials having a framework type selected from MFI, BEA, FAU, MOR, FER, AEL, AFI, ATO, AFO, MRE, MTT, MTW, TON, and / or MRT, preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-5, SAPO-11, SAPO-31, SAPO-41, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-43, ZSM-48, IZM-2, mordenite, β-zeolite, Y-type zeolite, and / or amorphous silica-alumina, more preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-5, SAPO-11, ZSM-23, β-zeolite, Y-type zeolite, and / or amorphous silica-alumina; and optionally at least one or more of alumina, silica, titania alumina, titania, and / or zirconia It is selected from bifunctional hydrocracking catalysts, preferably non-sulfided bifunctional hydrocracking catalysts.

[0158] The selection of this catalyst has been found to be very beneficial because they have isomerization activity in addition to cracking activity and can be particularly effective in effective cracking. As a further advantage, bifunctional HC catalysts containing at least one or more metals selected from Group VIII noble metals, preferably Pt and / or Pd, provide high activity at relatively low temperatures compared to HC catalysts containing non-noble metals and thus even better control of thermal cracking has been found. At low temperatures, the thermodynamic equilibrium tends to shift towards dearomatization, thus reducing aromatic formation by side reactions. By feeding a bifunctional HC catalyst to the reactor, a good isoparaffin content can be achieved, with the isoparaffin content in the reactor effluent (wt-% of isoparaffin relative to the total weight of paraffins) being close to that obtained with a bifunctional HI catalyst.

[0159] In this process, the hydrocarbon feed is subjected to hydrotreating in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A, and optionally, the hydrotreating effluent A or recycle stream is subjected to hydrotreating in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B. Hydrotreating catalyst A and hydrotreating catalyst B can have similar or identical components. According to a preferred embodiment, hydrotreating catalyst A and hydrotreating catalyst B are different from each other. Hydrotreating catalyst A and hydrotreating catalyst B may be different from each other by at least one or more selections of, for example, catalyst components, acid value, and / or metal loading, but it is also possible to use the same catalyst as hydrotreating catalyst A in reactor A and as hydrotreating catalyst B in reactor B. Not only the catalyst but also the operating conditions and the composition of the feed contribute to which reaction is favored. When the hydrotreating effluent A or recycle stream is contacted with hydrotreating catalyst B under hydrotreating conditions in reactor B (the first mode of the process according to the first and second exemplary embodiments, respectively), the hydrotreating effluent B is expected to have a different composition and properties compared to the composition and properties of the hydrotreating effluent A obtained by contacting the hydrocarbon feed with hydrotreating catalyst A under hydrotreating conditions in reactor A, even if the catalysts are the same.

[0160] In one embodiment, the hydrogenation catalyst A in reactor A and the hydrogenation catalyst B in reactor B have different acid-related properties. For example, the acid-related properties of an acidic porous material such as zeolite can include the nature, number, and distribution according to the relative strength of acid sites, and can be determined by well-known methods, such as the adsorption-desorption method in which the release of an adsorbed basic substance such as ammonia or pyridine at high temperature indicates the presence of strong acid sites. As an example of an available adsorption-desorption method, for example, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia performed according to the procedure described by Niwa et al. (Niwa, M., Katada, N. Measurements of acidic property of zeolites by temperature programmed desorption of ammonia. Catalysis Surveys from Asia 1, 215-226 (1997)) can be mentioned. Yet another well-known method for measuring the acidic properties of zeolites, including the strength of the acid, is, for example, carried out according to the method described by Heeribout et al. (Heeribout L., Semmer V., Batamack P., Doremieux-Morin C., Fraissard J. Bronsted acid strength of zeolites studied by 1H NMR: scaling, influence of defects. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, Volume 21, Issues 4-6, May 1998, Pages 565-570) 1 the 1H-NMR method.

[0161] In certain embodiments, particularly when the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is HI and the hydrogenation treatment in reactor B is HC, the bifunctional hydrogenation treatment catalyst B in reactor B has a greater number of Bronsted acid sites compared to the bifunctional hydrogenation treatment catalyst A in reactor A, as measured by NH3-TPD. In certain embodiments, particularly when the hydrogenation treatment in reactor A is HI and the hydrogenation treatment in reactor B is HC, the bifunctional hydrogenation treatment catalyst B has a greater total number of acid sites compared to the bifunctional hydrogenation treatment catalyst A, as measured by NH3-TPD.

[0162] The hydrogenation treatment catalysts A and B may be in a state where they can be used as they are, or they may be treated by any conventional method to adjust properties such as selectivity and / or activity before or during startup, for example, by reduction, sulfidation, and / or passivation with a nitrogen-containing compound such as an amine or ammonia to obtain a usable fresh or regenerated hydrogenation treatment catalyst A and / or B. As used herein, hydrogenation treatment catalyst A, hydrogenation treatment catalyst B, fresh catalyst, and regenerated catalyst generally mean catalysts in a usable state.

[0163] In certain embodiments, the hydrogenation treatment catalyst A in reactor A and the hydrogenation treatment catalyst B in reactor B include hydrocracking catalysts and hydroisomerization catalysts arranged in series, particularly in at least one or more separate catalyst beds. In these embodiments, it is preferred to use bifunctional HC and HI catalysts, more preferably non-sulfided bifunctional HC and HI catalysts.

[0164] In embodiments where the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or B is hydrodearomatization, each hydrotreating catalyst may be any catalyst conventionally used for hydrodearomatization. Noble metal-containing, preferably non-sulfided catalysts, more preferably non-sulfided bifunctional catalysts are used because they are already active for HDA at low temperatures, which is beneficial because the thermodynamic equilibrium tends to shift towards dearomatization at low temperatures. Further, in embodiments where both reactors A and B are operated using non-sulfided noble metal catalysts, there is no need to add sulfur to maintain catalyst activity, and little or no effort is required to separate sulfur-containing compounds, particularly H2S, from the gaseous fraction of the reactor effluent, and the recovered liquid transportation fuel components, and optionally other product fractions, are obtained with very low levels of both aromatics and sulfur content.

[0165] In embodiments where the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or B is hydropolishing, each hydrotreating catalyst may be any catalyst conventionally used for hydropolishing. Noble metal-containing, preferably non-sulfided catalysts, more preferably non-sulfided bifunctional catalysts are used because they are already active at low temperatures and thus provide the widest window for increasing the temperature to compensate for catalyst deactivation during continuous operation.

[0166] This process includes fractionation in which at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components can be recovered and recycle streams can be separated. In embodiments or aspects where recycle streams are separated, the amount of separated recycle stream and the amount of recycle stream fed to reactors A and / or B can vary within a wide range. Further liquid streams or cuts, such as sidecuts, can optionally be separated and / or recovered from the fractionation and optionally recycled to the process.

[0167] Preferably, in the process of the second exemplary embodiment, the weight ratio of the hydrotreated effluent B to the hydrotreated effluent A subjected to fractional distillation is 1:10 to 10:1, for example, 1:5 to 5:1. When performing i), ii), iii), that is, when performing in the first mode of the process, when treating a hydrocarbon feed that boils at a low temperature, a ratio approaching the lower limit is preferred, and when treating a hydrocarbon feed that boils at a high temperature, for example, a feed containing paraffin heavier than C18, a ratio approaching the upper limit is preferred.

[0168] In certain embodiments, the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed may include a side cut separated from the fractional distillation of the present process. The side cut is preferably included in the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed as a minor component. The side cut is preferably a fraction rich in C14 - 18 hydrocarbons, more preferably a fraction rich in C15 - C17 hydrocarbons. The side cut is preferably a relatively narrow fraction to allow for an accurate modification of the boiling point distribution of the total feed to the fractional distillation. By incorporating such a side cut into the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed, the quality of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component, or at least part of the quality of the recovered liquid transportation fuel component, particularly the aviation fuel component, can be improved. The side cut may have an increased isoparaffin content. Thus, the inclusion of the side cut in the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed can increase the isoparaffin content of each feed. Further, usually, the hydrotreating has the effect of removing impurities from the treated stream, especially when followed by gas-liquid separation. Therefore, the incorporation of the side cut into the reactor A feed and / or the reactor B feed can reduce or dilute the impurity content of each feed, even in small amounts, and delay the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst in each reactor.

[0169] The fractional distillation of the present process can be constituted by any fractional distillation technique conventionally used. Preferably, the fractional distillation includes distillation such as atmospheric distillation or vacuum distillation. Prior to fractional distillation, gas-liquid separation, such as that described below, may be performed.

[0170] Fractional distillation can be carried out in a fractional distillation system including one or more fractional distillation units. For example, gas and light naphtha can be separated in a pre-fractionator, while liquid transportation fuel components and recycle streams are recovered and separated from a main distillation unit downstream of the pre-fractionator. As an alternative example, a single distillation unit can also be used.

[0171] In the process according to the first exemplary embodiment, the hydrotreated effluent from the reactors (reactor A in the first mode and reactor B in the second mode) arranged first in each mode is subjected to separation of gaseous compounds at NTP, for example by gas-liquid separation, before feeding the degassed hydrotreated effluent to the reactors (reactor B in the first mode and reactor A in the second mode) arranged second in each mode, while the hydrotreated effluent from the reactors arranged second in each mode may be subjected to separation of gaseous compounds at NTP, for example by gas-liquid separation, within the fractional distillation. In the processes according to the second and third exemplary embodiments, the hydrotreated effluent may be subjected to separation of gaseous compounds at NTP, for example by gas-liquid separation, within the fractional distillation. In all exemplary embodiments and operating modes, the separation of gaseous compounds at NTP can be carried out, for example, as an integrated gas-liquid separation step within each reactor or in a separate gas-liquid separation unit that can follow each reactor.

[0172] Typically, the gas-liquid separation is carried out at a temperature within the range of 0 °C to 500 °C, such as 15 °C to 300 °C, or 15 °C to 150 °C, preferably 15 °C to 65 °C, such as 20 °C to 60 °C, and, preferably, at the same pressure as the pressure of the reactor from which the effluent is derived. Typically, the pressure during gas-liquid separation is within the range of 0.1 MPa to 20 MPa, preferably 1 MPa to 10 MPa, or 3 MPa to 7 MPa.

[0173] According to certain embodiments of the present process, different liquid transportation fuel components and additional products can be recovered from the fractionation, depending, for example, on the type of hydrogenation treatment in reactors A and B (or reactor A in the process according to the third exemplary embodiment), the selected operating conditions, the composition of the hydrocarbon feed used, the general mode of operation (first or second), the then-current performance of the hydrogenation catalysts A and B (or hydrogenation catalyst A in the process according to the third exemplary embodiment), and / or the existing or predicted market demand. In this context, different liquid transportation fuel components and additional products mean that different selected product fractions can be recovered from time to time and / or that the product fractions recovered from time to time can have different chemical compositions and / or properties.

[0174] Liquid transport fuel components and any further products separated and / or recovered from fractionation can include, for example, gasoline fuel components boiling in the range of about 25°C to about 200°C, aviation fuel components boiling in the range of about 100°C to about 300°C, such as about 150°C to about 300°C, recycle streams having a T5 temperature of at least 270°C, diesel fuel components boiling in the range of about 160°C to about 380°C, and / or marine fuel components boiling in the range of about 180°C to about 600°C, such as about 180°C to about 600°C (boiling within the range determined according to EN ISO 3405-2019). In certain embodiments, a gasoline fuel component boiling in the range of about 25°C to about 200°C, an aviation fuel component boiling in the range of about 100°C to about 300°C, such as about 150°C to about 300°C, and a recycle stream having a T5 temperature of at least 270°C are first recovered and / or separated from fractionation, and then a diesel fuel component boiling in the range of about 160°C to about 380°C, and / or a marine fuel component boiling in the range of about 180°C to about 600°C (boiling within the range determined according to EN ISO 3405-2019) is recovered from the separated recycle stream. Further products can be split or further separated from fractionation, for example, from gasoline fuel components, aviation fuel components, diesel fuel components, marine fuel components, and / or recycle streams and recovered. Examples of such further products include solvents, electro-technical fluids, and components of base oils.

[0175] Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present process, in steps iii) and III), at least one of the liquid transport fuel components recovered from fractionation has a density at 15°C of 730 to 772 kg / m

[0176] According to the present process, it is possible to produce a low-viscosity aviation fuel component having a lower freezing point and, in particular, a lower kinematic viscosity at -20°C compared to aviation fuel components produced by conventional HDO of fatty feedstocks followed by HI, having similar IBP and FBP and recovered at the same runtime, i.e., without switching from a first mode to a second mode as in the present process.

[0176] Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present process, in steps iii) and III), at least one of the liquid transport fuel components recovered from fractionation has a density at 15°C of 730 - 772 kg / m3 within the range of (EN ISO 12185-1996), the T10 temperature is at most 205 °C (EN ISO 3405-2019), the final boiling point is at most 300 °C (EN ISO 3405-2019), the flash point is at least 38 °C (IP 170-2013, Abel closed-cup method), and the freezing point is at most -40 °C (IP 529-2016), and it is an aviation fuel component. In these embodiments, the recovered aviation fuel component is of high quality and can be incorporated in a greater amount in the aviation fuel composition. Typically, the recovered aviation fuel component has T10 and T90 temperatures within the range of 120 °C to 295 °C, preferably within the range of 130 °C to 295 °C, as measured according to EN ISO 3405-2019.

[0177] The process of the present invention enables the recovery of at least aviation fuel components in surprisingly high yields even towards the end of the life of the hydrotreating catalyst A. In certain preferred embodiments of the process of the present invention, the aviation fuel components are recovered in a yield of at least 30 wt-%, preferably at least 40 wt-%, more preferably at least 50 wt-%, for example 30 wt-% to 90 wt-%, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed. In certain preferred embodiments, the aviation fuel components are measured in accordance with EN ISO3405-2019 and have a difference between the T90 temperature and the T10 temperature in the range of at least 70 °C, preferably at least 75 °C, more preferably at least 80 °C, even more preferably at least 85 °C, typically up to 180 °C, for example 80 °C to 150 °C, preferably 80 °C to 130 °C. In these embodiments, the aviation fuel components can be recovered in improved yields while achieving the desired low temperature properties, density and flash point properties. If the quality of the total feed supplied to the fractionation is poor, it is necessary to greatly limit the FBP to meet the requirements of the low temperature properties, which also limits the T90 temperature and narrows the T90-T10 difference. However, here, the process of the present invention provides excellent properties even towards the end of the life of the hydrotreating catalyst A, such as a high degree of isomerization, in particular a high content of highly branched i-paraffins, and modified distillation properties such that the amount of carbon atoms can be more evenly distributed especially in the range C6-C18.

[0178] Typically, in this process, in steps iii) and III), an aviation fuel component, a diesel fuel component, a gasoline fuel component, and / or a marine fuel component, preferably at least an aviation fuel component, more preferably at least an aviation fuel component and a diesel fuel component, or at least an aviation fuel component and a gasoline fuel component, even more preferably at least an aviation fuel component, a diesel fuel component, and at least one or more of a gasoline fuel component are recovered from the fractional distillation. Generally, in embodiments or aspects including separation and recycling of the recycle stream, it is preferred to at least periodically recover at least one heavy product such as a diesel fuel component, a marine fuel component, and / or a base oil component from the fractional distillation. In this way, the heaviest components can be removed from the recycle loop.

[0179] In certain preferred embodiments, the recovered liquid transport fuel components have a biogenic carbon content (EN 16640 (2017)) of at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 70 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, even more preferably at least 95 wt-%, or even about 100 wt-%, based on the total weight of carbon (TC) in each of the recovered liquid transport fuel components. The biogenic carbon content in the recovered liquid transport fuel components is mainly affected by the biogenic carbon content in the hydrocarbon feed and, in certain preferred embodiments, by the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed subjected to HDO. However, the amount of, for example, a fossil hydrocarbon diluent supplied to the HDO reactor can affect the biogenic carbon content of the recovered liquid transport fuel components.

[0180] The liquid transport fuel components recovered in this process have an improved (increased) isoparaffin content, particularly a multi-branched isoparaffin content, an increased C8-C14 hydrocarbon content, and / or a reduced aromatic content, compared to the corresponding components obtained by performing HI following conventional HDO of fatty feedstocks. The aviation fuel components recovered from this process may include at least 85 wt-%, preferably at least 87 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, still more preferably at least 92 wt-% of C6-C18 i-paraffins, based on the total weight of the aviation fuel components; and / or at least 58 wt-%, preferably at least 60 wt-%, more preferably at least 62 wt-% of C6-C18 multi-branched i-paraffins, based on the total weight of the aviation fuel components. The diesel fuel components recovered from this process may include at least 70 wt-%, preferably at least 75 wt-%, more preferably at least 80 wt-%, still more preferably at least 90 wt-% of C15-C22 i-paraffins, based on the weight of the diesel fuel components; and / or at least 60 wt-%, preferably at least 63 wt-%, more preferably at least 65 wt-% of C15-C22 multi-branched i-paraffins, based on the weight of the diesel fuel components. The gasoline fuel components recovered from this process may include at least 50 wt-%, preferably at least 55 wt-%, more preferably at least 60 wt-%, still more preferably at least 65 wt-% of C4-C9 i-paraffins, based on the weight of the gasoline fuel components; and / or at least 5 wt-%, preferably at least 6 wt-%, more preferably at least 7 wt-%, even more preferably at least 10 wt-% or at least 11 wt-% of C6-C9 multi-branched i-paraffins, based on the weight of the gasoline fuel components.

[0181] In this process, even if each of the gasoline fuel component, the aviation fuel component, and the diesel fuel component can be recovered simultaneously, they can be recovered as moderately broad fractions. When optimizing the yield of the aviation fuel component, the diesel fuel component may be recovered as a narrower cut or not recovered at all.

[0182] The products recovered from this production method have excellent properties. The recovered liquid transportation fuel components are suitable for use as blend components in fuel compositions and, when appropriately additives are added, can even be used directly as fuel, i.e., as unblended components. The recovered liquid transportation fuel components, and optionally further products, are suitable for various other uses, such as raw materials for industrial conversion processes, preferably pyrolysis raw materials, such as steam cracking raw materials, and / or catalytic cracking raw materials, heat transfer media, opening and closing device oils, shock absorber oils, insulating oils, hydraulic operating oils, gear oils, transmission oils, degreasing compositions, penetration oils, rust preventive compositions, multi-purpose oils, metalworking oils, rolling oils, especially for aluminum, cutting oils, drilling oils, solvents, lubricating oils, extender oils, carriers, dispersant compositions, demulsifiers, extractants, coating liquids or pastes in paint compositions, adhesives, resins, varnishes, printing pastes or inks, detergents, cleaning agents, plasticized oils, turbine oils, hydrophobized compositions, agriculture, crop protection liquids, construction, concrete release agents, electronic devices, medical devices, use in compositions for the automotive, electrical, textile, packaging, paper, cosmetics and / or pharmaceutical industries, and / or use in the manufacture of their intermediates. The relatively high degree of isomerization and the high proportion of shorter carbon chains obtained by this production method are expected to improve the fluidity, pumping and mixing characteristics, as well as the blendability of the recovered components and / or fractions. These are generally desirable beneficial properties, especially in a wide range of applications including spraying, injection, and / or miscibility with other components.

[0183] Outline of the process Figure 1 schematically shows a process according to an exemplary embodiment of a first exemplary aspect, which is executed according to the exemplary embodiments of i), ii), iii), i.e., before switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III). In Figure 1, an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed 110 is supplied to an HDO reactor 120, where it is hydrodeoxygenated in the presence of an HDO catalyst 130 to obtain a hydrodeoxygenation effluent (HDO effluent) 140. The obtained HDO effluent 140 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 150, and at least a compound that is gaseous at NTP 160 is separated from the HDO effluent to obtain a degassed HDO effluent 170. This degassed HDO effluent is, in this exemplary embodiment, a paraffinic hydrocarbon feed as defined herein. The degassed HDO effluent 170 is then supplied to reactor A 180 in Figure 1, where the degassed HDO effluent 170 is subjected to a hydrotreating process in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A 190 to obtain a hydrotreating effluent A 200, and the obtained hydrotreating effluent A 200 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 210, and a compound that is at least gaseous at NTP 220 is separated from the hydrotreating effluent A 200 to obtain a degassed hydrotreating effluent A 230. In Figure 1, the degassed hydrotreating effluent A 230 is supplied to reactor B 240, where a hydrotreating process is performed in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B 250 to obtain a hydrotreating effluent B 260. The hydrotreating effluent B 260 is, in Figure 1, subjected to gas-liquid separation 270, and a compound that is at least gaseous at NTP 280 is separated from the hydrotreating effluent B 260 to obtain a degassed hydrotreating effluent B 290. In Figure 1, the degassed hydrotreating effluent B 290 is supplied to a distillation unit 300. The distillation unit 300 may consist of a single column or may be composed of a pre-column and a main column, and a plurality of streams or cuts may be obtained therefrom. From the distillation in Figure 1, a gasoline fuel component 310, an aviation fuel component 320, and a diesel fuel component 330 are recovered. Further, preferably, a recycle stream 340 having a T5 boiling point of 270 °C or higher may be optionally separated, and in this case, a fuel component such as the diesel fuel component 330 may be separated and recovered as a part thereof.In Figure 1, the recycle stream 340 may be fed to reactor B240 and hydrotreated as a co-feed with the degassed hydrotreated effluent A230.

[0184] Figure 2 schematically shows a process according to an exemplary embodiment of a first exemplary aspect, after switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), i.e., after operating according to the exemplary embodiments of I), II), III) (second mode). In Figure 2, the process can proceed as schematically shown in Figure 1 to obtain a degassed HDO effluent 170 which is a paraffinic hydrocarbon feed as defined herein in this exemplary embodiment. In Figure 2, the degassed HDO effluent 170 is then fed to reactor B240, where in reactor B240, the degassed HDO effluent 170 is hydrotreated in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B250 to obtain a hydrotreated effluent B260. The resulting hydrotreated effluent B260 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 270 to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent B290, separating at least the compounds that are gaseous at NTP280 from the hydrotreated effluent B260. In Figure 2, the degassed hydrotreated effluent B290 is fed to reactor A180 to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A200 and is hydrotreated in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A190. The hydrotreated effluent A200 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 210 in Figure 2 to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A230, separating at least the compounds that are gaseous at NTP220 from the hydrotreated effluent A200. In Figure 2, the degassed hydrotreated effluent A230 is fed to a distillation unit 300 where it is fractionated into several streams or cuts. From the distillation in Figure 2, a gasoline fuel component 310, an aviation fuel component 320, and a diesel fuel component 330 are recovered. Further, a recycle stream 340 having a T5 boiling point of preferably 270 °C or higher may optionally be separated, in which case a fuel component such as the diesel fuel component 330 may be separated and recovered as part thereof. In Figure 2, the recycle stream 340 may be fed to reactor B240 and hydrotreated as a co-feed with the degassed HDO effluent 170.

[0185] Figure 3 schematically shows a process according to an exemplary embodiment of a second exemplary aspect, which is executed according to the exemplary embodiments of i), ii), iii), i.e., before switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III). In Figure 3, an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed 510 is supplied to an HDO reactor 520, where it is hydrodeoxygenated in the presence of an HDO catalyst 530 to obtain a hydrodeoxygenation effluent (HDO effluent) 540. The obtained HDO effluent 540 is subjected to a gas-liquid separation 550 to separate at least the compounds that are gaseous at NTP 560 from the HDO effluent, and in this exemplary embodiment, a degassed HDO effluent 570, which is a paraffinic hydrocarbon feed as defined herein, is obtained. The degassed HDO effluent 570 is then supplied to reactor A 580, where the degassed HDO effluent 570 is subjected to a hydrotreating process in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A 590 to obtain a hydrotreating effluent A 600. The obtained hydrotreating effluent A 600 is subjected to a gas-liquid separation 610 to obtain a degassed hydrotreating effluent A 630, and at least the compounds that are gaseous at NTP 620 can be separated from the hydrotreating effluent A 600. In Figure 3, the degassed hydrotreating effluent A 630 is supplied to a distillation unit 640. The distillation unit 640 may consist of a single column or a pre-column and a main-column, and a plurality of streams or cuts may be obtained therefrom. From the distillation in Figure 3, a gasoline fuel component 650, an aviation fuel component 660, and / or a diesel fuel component 670 are recovered, and further, a recycle stream 680 having a T5 boiling point of preferably 270 °C or higher is separated. The recycle stream 680 is supplied to reactor B 690 in Figure 3, where it is subjected to a hydrotreating process in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B 700 to obtain a hydrotreating effluent B 710. In Figure 3, the hydrotreating effluent B 710 is subjected to a gas-liquid separation 720 to obtain a degassed hydrotreating effluent B 740. At least the compounds that are gaseous at NTP 730 are separated from the hydrotreating effluent B 710.The degassed hydrotreated effluent B740 is then fed, in Figure 3, as a co-feed with the degassed hydrotreated effluent A630 to a distillation unit 640 from which, as described above, several streams or cuts are obtained.

[0186] Figure 4 schematically shows a process according to an exemplary embodiment of a second exemplary aspect, which is carried out according to the exemplary embodiments of I), II), III) after switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), i.e., in a second mode. In Figure 4, the process can proceed as schematically shown in Figure 3 to obtain a degassed HDO effluent 570 which is a paraffinic hydrocarbon feed as defined herein in this exemplary embodiment. In Figure 4, the degassed HDO effluent 570 is fed to a reactor B690 in which the degassed HDO effluent 570 is subjected to hydrotreating in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst B700 to obtain a hydrotreated effluent B710. The resulting hydrotreated effluent B710 is subjected to a gas-liquid separation 720 to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent B740 by separating compounds which are gaseous at least at NTP730 from the hydrotreated effluent B710. In Figure 4, the degassed hydrotreated effluent B740 is fed to a distillation unit 640 from which several streams or cuts are obtained. From the distillation in Figure 4, a gasoline fuel component 650, an aviation fuel component 660, and / or a diesel fuel component 670 are recovered and further a recycle stream 680 having a T5 boiling point of preferably 270 °C or higher is separated. The recycle stream 680 is fed in Figure 4 to a reactor A580 and is subjected to hydrotreating in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst A590 to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A600. In Figure 4, the hydrotreated effluent A600 is subjected to a gas-liquid separation 610 to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A630 by separating compounds which are gaseous at least at NTP620 from the hydrotreated effluent A600 and then the degassed hydrotreated effluent A630 is fed as a co-feed with the degassed hydrotreated effluent B740 to a distillation unit 640 from which, as described above, several streams or cuts may be obtained.

[0187] Figure 5 schematically shows a process according to an exemplary embodiment of a third exemplary aspect. In Figure 5, when switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), i.e., when operating according to the exemplary embodiments of i), ii), iii) (the first mode), the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed 810 is supplied to the HDO reactor 820 and hydrodeoxygenated therein in the presence of the HDO catalyst 830 to obtain a hydrodeoxygenation effluent (HDO effluent) 840. The obtained HDO effluent 840 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 850 to separate at least the NTP860 gaseous compounds from the HDO effluent to obtain a degassed HDO effluent 870. This degassed HDO effluent 870 is, in this exemplary embodiment, a paraffinic hydrocarbon feed as defined herein containing nitrogen impurities, and the degassed HDO effluent 870 is supplied as a reactor A feed. The degassed HDO effluent 870 is then supplied to reactor A 880 in Figure 5, where in reactor A 880, the degassed HDO effluent 870 is subjected to a hydrotreating process in the presence of the hydrotreating catalyst A 890 to obtain a hydrotreating effluent A 900. In Figure 4, the obtained hydrotreating effluent A 900 is subjected to gas-liquid separation 910 to separate at least the NTP920 gaseous compounds from the hydrotreating effluent A 900 to obtain a degassed hydrotreating effluent A 930. In Figure 5, the degassed hydrotreating effluent A 930 is supplied to a distillation unit 940. The distillation unit 940 may consist of a single column or may be composed of a pre-column and a main column, and a plurality of streams or cuts may be obtained therefrom. From the distillation in Figure 5, a gasoline fuel component 950, an aviation fuel component 960, and / or a diesel fuel component 970 are recovered. Further, a recycle stream 980 may optionally be separated and co-fed with the degassed HDO effluent 870 to reactor A 880 for hydrotreating. Preferably, the recycle stream 980 has a T5 boiling point of 270 °C or higher, in which case the diesel fuel component 970 can be recovered by separating a portion thereof.In FIG. 5, after switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), that is, when operating according to the exemplary embodiments of I), II), III) (second mode), the process may proceed as schematically shown in FIG. 5. At this time, except that a reactor A feed essentially free of nitrogen impurities 870' (ASTM D4629-17) is fed to reactor A880 and subjected to hydrotreating in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A890, the process may proceed as shown in FIG. 5 and described above for the first mode. The reactor A feed essentially free of nitrogen impurities (ASTM D4629-17) 870' can be obtained, for example, by selecting an oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed 810' having a lower nitrogen impurity content compared to the oxygen-containing hydrocarbon feed 810 used in the first mode, and / or by diluting the degassed HDO effluent 870 with an appropriate amount of the recycle stream 980 separated from the fractionation 940 to achieve the target level of nitrogen impurities. Separating the recycle stream 980 is an option also in the first aspect of the third exemplary aspect described above, but in the second aspect, it is a preferred option as it provides an easy way to perfect the nitrogen impurity level in the feed supplied to reactor A. Preferably, the recycle stream 980 has a T5 boiling point of 270 °C or higher and, when diesel fuel component 970 is recovered, can be separated as part from such a recycle stream, and the heavy hydrocarbon molecules present in such a recycle stream are repeatedly subjected to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A, thereby compensating at least to some extent for the deactivation level of hydrotreating catalyst A.

[0188] Without being limited to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures, in certain preferred embodiments of the present process in which at least an aviation fuel component is recovered from the fractionation, when operated in a first mode, the monitored parameters indicating deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A include two or more of the following: temperature, such as the temperature monitored at the inlet of reactor A, the WHSV within reactor A, the temperature difference across reactor A or on the catalyst bed of the hydrotreating catalyst A, the cloud point and / or pour point of the degassed hydrotreating catalyst A, the cloud point and / or pour point of the recycle stream or diesel fuel component, the freezing point and / or one or more distillation characteristics of the aviation fuel component, the corresponding received value compared to a predetermined value. When the monitored parameter is, for example, the temperature monitored at the inlet of reactor A, the predetermined value is, for example, a maximum of 450 °C; for the WHSV of reactor A, the predetermined value is, for example, 6 kg of hydrocarbon feed / kg catalyst / hour; for the cloud point of the degassed hydrocracked effluent A, the predetermined value is, for example, a maximum of -5 °C, the cloud point of the recycle stream or diesel fuel component is, for example, a maximum of -15 °C (ASTM D5771-2017); for the freezing point of the aviation fuel component, the predetermined value is, for example, a maximum of -40 °C (IP 529-201); for the distillation characteristics of the aviation fuel component, the predetermined value is, for example, T10 max. 205 °C or the difference between T90-T10 is, for example, a minimum of 22 °C (EN ISO 3405-2019); for the distillation characteristics of the diesel fuel component, the predetermined value is, for example, T95 max. 360 °C (EN ISO 3405-2019). When the received value of the monitoring parameter reaches the corresponding predetermined value, the process switches to and is executed in a second mode. After the switch, the monitored parameter and the predetermined value may be the same as in the first mode, or different parameters may be monitored and / or different predetermined values may be selected.

[0189] The processes described herein can be controlled by means in the art, particularly computer-implemented means. In one exemplary embodiment, the process further includes causing a control device to compare a received value with a predetermined value; and to perform at least a step of switching from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III). In a particular exemplary embodiment, when the process is executed by a processor of a control device in a system for manufacturing at least one liquid transport fuel component, as defined in a fourth exemplary aspect, the process is controlled by a computer program product including instructions that cause the control device to at least compare a received value with a predetermined value, and when the received value reaches the predetermined value, to switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III) of the process according to any of the exemplary aspects, and optionally, to switch back from I), II), III) to i), ii), iii) of the process according to any of the exemplary aspects. The control device executing the instructions of the computer program product may be, for example, a general-purpose computer or other electronic data processing device comprising a processor and a (non-transitory) memory. The instructions of the computer program product can be stored in the memory for execution by the processor to cause the operation of the control device.

[0190] Various embodiments are presented. It should be understood that in this specification, the terms comprise, include, and contain are each used as open-ended expressions that do not intend exclusivity.

[0191] The foregoing description has provided a complete and helpful explanation of the best mode currently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the invention, by way of an embodiment and non-limiting examples of embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the embodiments shown above, and that other embodiments, or combinations of different embodiments, can be implemented without departing from the features of the invention, using equivalent means.

[0192] Furthermore, some of the features of the foregoing disclosed exemplary embodiments can be advantageously used without the corresponding use of other features. Thus, the foregoing description is considered to merely illustrate the principles of the invention and not to limit it. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. 1. A process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component, said process comprising: providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) subjecting reactor A feed comprising said hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain hydrotreated effluent A, and separating compounds that are gaseous at at least NTP from said hydrotreated effluent A to obtain degassed hydrotreated effluent A; ii) subjecting the reactor B feed comprising the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B to obtain hydrotreated effluent B; iii) optionally after separating from said hydrotreated effluent B at least NTP gaseous compounds, feeding said hydrotreated effluent B to fractionation, and recovering from said fractionation at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of said hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and If the received value reaches the predetermined value, steps i), ii) and iii) are changed to the following steps: I) subjecting reactor B feed containing said hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B to obtain hydrotreated effluent B, and separating compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP from said hydrotreated effluent B to obtain degassed hydrotreated effluent B; II) subjecting the reactor A feed containing the degassed hydrotreated effluent B to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain hydrotreated effluent A; III) feeding said hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation, optionally after separating from said hydrotreated effluent A compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP, and recovering from said fractionation at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components; The process of switching to A process involving:

2. A process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component, said process comprising: providing a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities; i) subjecting reactor A feed comprising said hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain hydrotreated effluent A; subjecting said hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation; and separating from said fractionation at least a recycle stream having a T5 temperature of 270°C or greater (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) and optionally comprising C16 n-paraffins. ii) subjecting the reactor B feed comprising said recycle stream to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B to obtain hydrotreated effluent B; iii) feeding said hydrotreated effluent B as a co-feed with said hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation, and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from said fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of said hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and If the received value reaches the predetermined value, steps i), ii) and iii) are changed to the following steps: I) subjecting reactor B feed comprising said hydrocarbon feed to hydrotreating in reactor B in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst B to obtain hydrotreated effluent B; subjecting said hydrotreated effluent B to fractional distillation; and separating from said fractional distillation at least a recycle stream having a T5 temperature of 270°C or higher (5 vol% recovery, EN ISO 3405-2019) and optionally comprising C16 n-paraffins. II) subjecting the reactor A feed comprising the recycle stream to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain hydrotreated effluent A; III) feeding said hydrotreated effluent A as a co-feed with said hydrotreated effluent B to fractionation, and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from said fractionation; and The process of switching to A process involving:

3. The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the hydrocarbon feed comprises at least 0.4 wt-ppm, or at least 0.6 wt-ppm, or at least 1.0 wt-ppm, or even at least 1.5 wt-ppm, or at least 2.0 wt-ppm nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, and optionally at most 1.0 wt-%, preferably at most 0.8 wt-%, more preferably at most 0.5 wt-%, oxygen, expressed as elemental oxygen (ASTM D5622-2017), based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed.

4. The parameter indicating the deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A is a. the content of nitrogen impurities in the Reactor A feed or the hydrocarbon feed, and optionally the content of at least one or more of S, O, P, Si, Cl, Fe, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and / or coke forming compounds in the Reactor A feed or the hydrocarbon feed; b. NH in the gas phase of the hydrotreated effluent A 3 and optionally H 2 S content; c) the physicochemical properties of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, preferably at least one or more of cloud point, freezing point, pour point, cold filter plugging point, kinematic viscosity, density, and / or distillation properties; d. compositional characteristics of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, preferably at least one or more of the isoparaffin content, the C8 to C14 hydrocarbon content, the multi-branched isoparaffin content, and / or the C1 to C4 hydrocarbon content in the degassed hydrotreated effluent A; e. at least one or more yields of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably a yield of an aviation fuel component; f) measuring at least one or more physicochemical properties of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably at least one or more of cloud point, freezing point, pour point, cold filter plugging point, kinematic viscosity, density, research octane number (RON), cetane number, and / or distillation properties; g. at least one or more compositional characteristics of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the recycle stream, preferably the isoparaffin content and / or the hyperbranched isoparaffin content in one or more of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream; h. the temperature differential in reactor A or in one or more catalyst beds therein; i. Operating conditions in said reactor A selected from temperature, pressure, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), H2 to paraffinic feed ratio, and / or H2 partial pressure at the inlet of said reactor A.

3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising at least two or more of:

5. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hydrotreating in reactor A and reactor B is, independently of each other, a hydrotreating selected from at least one of hydroisomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodearomatization and / or hydropolishing, preferably, the hydrotreating in reactor A and reactor B is hydroisomerization, or the hydrotreating in reactor A and reactor B is hydrocracking, or the hydrotreating in reactor A is hydroisomerization and the hydrotreating in reactor B is hydrocracking, or the hydrotreating in reactor A is hydrocracking and the hydrotreating in reactor B is hydroisomerization, more preferably, the hydrocracking in reactor A and reactor B is hydroisomerization.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein when performing steps i), ii), and iii), the switching comprises feeding decreasing portions of the hydrocarbon feed and increasing portions of the degassed hydrotreated effluent B to reactor A as part of the reactor A feed, and simultaneously feeding increasing portions of the hydrocarbon feed and decreasing portions of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to reactor B as part of the reactor B feed, until the process is performed in accordance with steps i), II), and III); or 3. The process of claim 2, wherein when performing steps i), ii), and iii), the switching comprises feeding a decreasing portion of the hydrocarbon feed and an increasing portion of the recycle stream to reactor A as part of the reactor A feed, and simultaneously feeding an increasing portion of the hydrocarbon feed and a decreasing portion of the recycle stream to reactor B as part of the reactor B feed, until the process is operating in accordance with steps i), II), and III).

7. The hydrogenation treatment in reactor A and / or reactor B is carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 500°C, preferably 230°C to 500°C, more preferably 250°C to 450°C, and even more preferably 280°C to 400°C, a pressure in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, preferably 2 MPa to 8 MPa, or 3 MPa to 10 MPa, and a H at the reactor inlet in the range of 1 MPa to 10 MPa, preferably 2 MPa to 8 MPa. 2 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, carried out at a partial pressure, a weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.1 to 10, preferably 0.2 to 8, more preferably 0.4 to 6 kg reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and a H2 / reactor feed ratio in the range of 10 to 2000, preferably 50 to 1000 normal litres H2 / litre reactor feed.

8. The hydrocracking in reactor A and / or reactor B is carried out at a temperature in the range of 200°C to 450°C, preferably 220°C to 430°C, more preferably 280°C to 350°C, a pressure in the range of 0.4MPa to 8MPa°C, preferably 1MPa to 7MPa°C, more preferably 2.5MPa to 7MPa, and a H at the inlet of the reactor in the range of 0.4MPa to 8MPa, preferably 1MPa to 7MPa, more preferably 2.5MPa to 7MPa. 2 partial pressure, weight hourly space velocity in the range of 0.1 to 10, preferably 0.2 to 8, more preferably 0.4 to 6, even more preferably 0.5 to 1.5 kg reactor feed / kg catalyst / hour, and H 2 O 2 in the range of 10 to 2000, preferably 50 to 1000 normal liters H 2 / liter reactor feed. 2 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the process is carried out at a reactor feed ratio of 0.1 to 0.

5.

9. The process of claim 1, wherein reactor A is operated at a higher temperature than reactor B.

10. The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the hydrotreating catalyst A and / or the hydrotreating catalyst B are each independently selected from a non-sulfiding bifunctional hydrotreating catalyst comprising at least one or more noble metals from Group VIII of the Periodic Table, more preferably Pt and / or Pd, and at least one or more acidic porous materials, and wherein the reactor A feed and the reactor B feed each contain less than 50 wt-ppm, preferably less than 30 wt-ppm, more preferably less than 10 wt-ppm sulfur (ppm by weight, calculated as elemental S) of the combined total of the respective feeds, measured in accordance with ISO 20846-2019.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydrocracking, and the respective hydrotreating catalysts are independently selected from bifunctional hydrocracking catalysts, preferably non-sulfided bifunctional hydrocracking catalysts; at least one metal selected from Group VIII of the periodic table, Mo, Co, and / or W, preferably Ni, Mo, Co, W, Pt, and / or Pd, more preferably Pt and / or Pd; and At least one acidic porous material selected from zeolites, zeolite-type materials, and / or amorphous silica-alumina, preferably the zeolites or at least one zeolite-type material have a framework type selected from MFI, BEA, FAU, MOR, FER, AEL, AFI, ATO, AFO, MRE, MTT, MTW, TON, and / or MRT, preferably SAPO-5, SAPO-11, SAPO-2, SAPO-3, SAPO-4, SAPO-5, SAPO-6, SAPO-7, SAPO-8, SAPO-9, SAPO-10, SAPO-11, SAPO-12, SAPO-13, SAPO-14, SAPO-15, SAPO-16, SAPO-17, SAPO-18, SAPO-19, SAPO-20, SAPO-21, SAPO-22, SAPO-23, SAPO-24, SAPO-25, SAPO-26, SAPO-27, SAPO-28, SAPO-29, SAPO-30, SAPO-31, SAPO-32, SAPO-33, SAPO-34, SAPO-35, SAPO-36, SAPO-37, SAPO-38, SAPO-39, SAPO-40, SAPO-41, SAPO-42, SAPO-43, SAPO-44, SAPO-45, SAPO-46, SAPO-47, SAPO-48, SAPO-49, SAPO-50, SAPO-51, SAPO-52, SAPO-53, SAPO-54, SAPO-55, SAPO-56, SAPO-57, SAPO-58, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-56, SAPO-59, SAPO-59, SAPO-59 At least one or more acidic porous materials selected from APO-31, SAPO-41, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-43, ZSM-48, IZM-2, mordenite, β-zeolite, Y-type zeolite, and / or amorphous silica-alumina, more preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-5, SAPO-11, ZSM-23, β-zeolite, Y-type zeolite, and / or amorphous silica-alumina; and Optionally, at least one of alumina, silica, titanium alumina, titania, and / or zirconia.

3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the hydrotreating in reactor A and / or reactor B is hydroisomerization, and the respective hydrotreating catalysts are independently selected from bifunctional hydroisomerization catalysts, preferably non-sulfided bifunctional hydroisomerization catalysts; at least one metal selected from Group VIII of the Periodic Table, preferably from the noble metals of Group VIII, more preferably from Pt and / or Pd; at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from zeolites and / or zeolite-type materials, preferably the at least one or more zeolites and / or zeolite-type materials have a framework type selected from AEL, ATO, AFO, MRE, MTT, MTW, TON, MRT, MOR, FER, and / or MWW, preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-11, SAPO-31, SAPO-41, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-48, NU-10, ZBM-30, IZM-2, EU-2, and / or mordenite, more preferably at least one or more acidic porous materials selected from SAPO-11, SAPO-41, ZSM-23, and / or ZSM-48; and Optionally, at least one of alumina, silica, amorphous silica-alumina, titanium alumina, titania, and / or zirconia; 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

13. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hydrotreating catalyst A and the hydrotreating catalyst B are different from each other.

14. The hydrocarbon feed is at least 90 wt. %, preferably at least 95 wt. %, more preferably at least 98 wt. %, even more preferably at least 99 wt. % hydrocarbons, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed, and / or at least 60 wt. %, preferably at least 70 wt. %, more preferably at least 80 wt. %, even more preferably at least 90 wt. % paraffins, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed; and / or at most 30 wt. %, preferably at most 25 wt. %, more preferably at most 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising at most 20 wt-%, more preferably at most 15 wt-% isoparaffins; and / or at least 70 wt-%, preferably at least 80 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, even more preferably at least 95 wt-%, C12 to C30 hydrocarbons, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed; and / or at least 70 wt-%, preferably at least 80 wt-%, more preferably at least 90 wt-%, even more preferably at least 95 wt-%, C14 to C22 hydrocarbons, based on the total weight of the hydrocarbon feed.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a hydrocarbon feed comprises: subjecting the oxygenated hydrocarbon feed to catalytic hydrodeoxygenation to obtain a hydrotreated effluent; and subjecting said hydroprocessing effluent to gas-liquid separation and optionally hydrocarbon feed fractionation to provide said hydrocarbon feed; 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

16. The step of providing the hydrocarbon feed comprising: subjecting an oxygenated hydrocarbon feed to catalytic hydrotreating to obtain a hydrotreated effluent, wherein the oxygenated hydrocarbon feed preferably comprises at least one or more of vegetable oils, animal fats and oils, microbial oils, thermally liquefied organic wastes and residues, and / or enzymatically liquefied organic wastes and residues; and / or subjecting the synthesis gas to a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) transformation to obtain a FT effluent; subjecting said hydrotreating effluent and / or said FT effluent to gas-liquid separation and optionally hydrocarbon feed fractionation to provide said hydrocarbon feed; 3. The process of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

17. The process of claim 1 or 2, wherein the biogenic carbon content (EN 16640 (2017)) of the hydrocarbon feed is at least 50 wt%, preferably at least 70 wt%, more preferably at least 90 wt%, even more preferably at least 95 wt%, or about 100 wt%, based on the total weight of carbon (TC) in the hydrocarbon feed.

18. A process as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein in steps iii) and III) at least one or more of an aviation fuel component, a diesel fuel component, a gasoline fuel component, and / or a marine fuel component are recovered from the fractional distillation, preferably at least an aviation fuel component, more preferably at least an aviation fuel component and a diesel fuel component, or at least an aviation fuel component and a gasoline fuel component.

19. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in steps iii) and III), at least an aviation fuel component is recovered from the fractional distillation having a density at 15°C (EN ISO 12185-1996) in the range of 730 kg / m3 to 772 kg / m3, a T10 temperature (EN ISO 3405-2019) of at most 205, a final boiling point (EN ISO 3405-2019) of at most 300°C, a flash point (IP 170-2013, Abel closed cup method) of at least 38°C, and a freezing point (IP 529-2016) of at most -40°C.

20. A process for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component, said process comprising: i) providing a reactor A feed comprising a hydrocarbon feed containing nitrogen impurities, wherein the reactor A feed comprises at least 0.4 w-ppm, or at least 0.6 w-ppm, or at least 1.0 w-ppm, or even at least 1.5 w-ppm, or at least 2.0 w-ppm nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), based on the total weight of the reactor A feed; ii) subjecting reactor A feed to hydrotreating in reactor A in the presence of hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain hydrotreated effluent A, and optionally separating compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP from said hydrotreated effluent A to obtain degassed hydrotreated effluent A; iii) feeding the hydrotreated effluent A or the degassed hydrotreated effluent A to fractionation and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractionation; and monitoring a parameter indicative of deactivation of said hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value; comparing the received value with a predetermined value; and If the received value reaches the predetermined value, steps i), ii) and iii) are changed to the following steps: I) providing a reactor A feed comprising a hydrocarbon feed, wherein said reactor A feed is essentially free of nitrogen impurities; II) subjecting the reactor A feed to hydrotreating in the reactor A in the presence of the hydrotreating catalyst A to obtain a hydrotreated effluent A, and optionally separating compounds that are gaseous at least at NTP from the hydrotreated effluent A to obtain a degassed hydrotreated effluent A; III) feeding the hydrotreatment effluent A or the degassed hydrotreatment effluent A to fractional distillation, and recovering at least one or more liquid transportation fuel components from the fractional distillation. The process of switching to A process involving:

21. 21. The process of claim 20, wherein the Reactor A feed in step I) contains at most 0.3 w-ppm, preferably less than 0.3 w-ppm, nitrogen, expressed as elemental nitrogen (ASTM D4629-17), based on the total weight of Reactor A feed.

22. When carrying out steps I), II) and III), the process monitors a parameter indicative of a reversal of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A to receive a value, wherein the parameter indicative of a reversal of deactivation of the hydrotreating catalyst A is preferably one of the following parameters: a. the content of nitrogen impurities in the Reactor A feed or the hydrocarbon feed, and optionally the content of at least one or more of S, O, P, Si, Cl, Fe, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and / or coke forming compounds in the Reactor A feed or the hydrocarbon feed; b. the NH3 and optionally H2S content in the vapor phase of said hydrotreated effluent A; c) the physicochemical properties of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, preferably at least one or more of cloud point, freezing point, pour point, plugging point, kinematic viscosity, density, and / or distillation properties; d. compositional characteristics of the degassed hydrotreated effluent A, preferably at least one or more of the isoparaffin content, the C8 to C14 hydrocarbon content, the multi-branched isoparaffin content, and / or the C1 to C4 hydrocarbon content in the degassed hydrotreated effluent A; e. at least one or more yields of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably a yield of an aviation fuel component; f) measuring at least one or more physicochemical properties of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably at least one or more of cloud point, freezing point, pour point, plugging point, kinematic viscosity, density, research octane number (RON), cetane number, and / or distillation properties; g. at least one or more compositional characteristics of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream, preferably the isoparaffin content and / or the hyperbranched isoparaffin content in one or more of the recovered liquid transportation fuel components and / or the separated recycle stream; h. the temperature differential in reactor A or in one or more catalyst beds therein; i. Operating conditions in said reactor A selected from temperature, pressure, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), H2 to paraffinic feed ratio, and / or H2 partial pressure at the inlet of said reactor A. A process including at least two or more parameters selected from comparing said received value with a predetermined value; and optionally switching from step i), ii) or iii) to step I), II) or III) when said received value reaches said predetermined value; 21. The process of claim 1, 2 or 20, comprising:

23. 21. A computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a controller in a system for producing at least one liquid transportation fuel component, cause the controller to compare the received value with a predetermined value and, when the received value reaches the predetermined value, switch from i), ii), iii) to I), II), III), and optionally switch from I), II), III) back to i), ii), iii), in the process of claim 1, 2 or 20.

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