Process and method for fuels production utilizing a suspended catalyst

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for producing hydrocarbon products through reactor platforms utilizing a catalyst suspended in the reacting fluids, where the feedstock to the reactor may be a renewable feedstock, circular feedstock, and / or a blend of renewable and circular feedstocks. The disclosed methods and processes include a recycle pump system within the ebullated bed reactor vessel. This internal recycle dilutes olefins, thereby mitigating explosive olefin hydrogenation without limiting the flow of fresh feedstock to the ebullated bed reactor. The disclosed methods and processes include catalyst recovery systems for recovering the suspended catalyst and returning it to the reactor feed.

Description

Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001PROCESS AND METHOD FOR FUELS PRODUCTION UTILIZING A SUSPENDED CATALYSTCROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 725,777, filed November 27, 2025, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Conventional renewable fuels production is often based on coker naphtha hydrotreating. Such processes utilize a potentially large product recycle to facilitate the large amounts of heat involved in hydrogenating highly olefinic biogenic feedstocks (for example, feedstocks such as fats, oils, and greases (FOG)) and to impede explosive olefins hydrogenation. In such traditional fixed bed technologies, the exceedingly fast olefin hydrogenation may trigger oligomerization and polymerization, which may further lead to gum formation and a pressure drop. Ebullated Bed (EB) reactor platforms, such as LC-FINING, are widely used to hydrocrack heavy fossil oil feedstock, but have not traditionally been applied to renewable and / or circular feedstocks. Typical EB reactors contain zones free of catalyst. Further, rapid olefin hydrogenation in traditional fixed-bed EB reactors may trigger oligomerization and polymerization, leading to gum formation and pressure drop within the reactor vessel. Processes and methods for applying reactor platforms to the processing of renewable and circular feedstocks to produce fuels (for example, fuels for transportation and / or power / steam generation), where the reactors contain no zones free of catalyst and are not prone to gum formation may be desired in the industry.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Disclosed herein are methods and systems for producing hydrocarbon products (and, in some examples, fuels) through reactor platforms, where the feedstock to the reactor for hydrotreatment may be a renewable feedstock, circular feedstock, and or a blend of renewable and circular feedstocks. In some examples, feeding 100% circular and / or renewable feedstocks to a reactor as disclosed can result in effective, efficient, and complete or near-complete conversion of the circular and / or renewableAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 feedstocks into hydrocarbon products. The disclosed methods and processes include a recycle pump system within the reactor. This internal recycle dilutes olefins, thereby mitigating explosive olefin hydrogenation without limiting the flow of fresh feedstock to the reactor. The disclosed methods and processes utilize a catalyst that is suspended in the reacting fluids, which is circulated within the reactor and to external unit operations for recovery. This circulating, suspended catalyst eliminates catalyst-free zones within the reactor and disperses heat within the system.

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0005] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples are described with reference to the following Figures.

[0006] FIG. 1 depicts an example process including at least one reactor system and a catalyst recovery system, according to an example.

[0007] FIG. 2 depicts an example reactor system of the process of FIG. 1, utilizing a suspended catalyst.

[0008] FIG. 3 depicts an example method for processing circular feedstocks, renewable feedstocks, or a mix of both renewable and circular feedstocks, according to an example.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustrations specific embodiments or examples. These aspects may be combined, other aspects may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the present disclosure. Examples may be practiced as methods, systems, or devices. It should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular methodology, protocols, and reagents, etc., described herein and as such may vary. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only. TheAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0010] For the purposes of this application the following terms shall have the following meanings:

[0011] As used herein and in the claims, the singular forms “a,” “an”, and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0012] Other than in the operating examples, or where otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients or reaction conditions used herein should be understood as modified in all instances by the term “about.” The term “about” when used herein in connection with numerical values means ± 20% and with percentages means ±1%.

[0013] As used herein, the term “comprising” refers to a composition, compound, formulation, or method that is inclusive and does not exclude additional elements or method steps.

[0014] As used herein, the term “consisting of’ refers to a compound, composition, formulation, or method that excludes the presence of any additional component or method steps.

[0015] As used herein, the term “consisting essentially of’ refers to a composition, compound, formulation, or method that is inclusive of additional elements or method steps that do not materially affect the characteristic(s) of the composition, compound, formulation, or method.

[0016] Disclosed herein are methods and processes for producing fuels through reactor platforms that include a recycle pump system within the catalyst reactor, instead of a more traditional external recycle system. Further, the methods and processes disclosed herein utilize a catalyst suspended in the reactor fluids instead of a traditional fixed bed reactor system. In particular, reactors as disclosed (for example, an LC- FINING reactor), treat hydrocarbons with a treat gas (for example, hydrogen) in the presence of a catalyst to produce reactor products. The products may be low-sulfur products. The products may further undergo downstream processing and refining. InAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 examples, one or more of the disclosed reactors may be integrated into a larger process / system.

[0017] The traditional fixed bed reactor systems may require a potentially large product recycle stream that dilutes the fresh feed to the reactor (in some examples, by about 50% to 70%). The disclosed reactor platforms that include an internal recycle pump system to impose fluid circulation greatly increases the rate of fresh feed to the reactor (for example, does not require a large dilution of the feed with product recycle). This more efficiently disperses heat within the reactor and dilutes the potentially explosive at-risk olefins, so that the reactor does not need to be de-rated. This enables a more consistent feed throughput and does not limit / reduce the flow of fresh feedstock. Additional efficiencies may be seen in the way of cost for these systems. For example, where feedstocks are expensive (e.g. renewable and / or biogenic feedstocks), the cost of the pump and associated systems / equipment and its operation may be less than the operational cost of operating a reactor with a high feed dilution rate.

[0018] Traditional fixed bed reactor systems and EB reactor systems utilize catalyst particles (for example, extrudates), for example, extrudates or beads, whose diameter may be about 1mm or larger, especially for an entrained-bed reactor. Such catalyst particles form a fixed or ebullated bed and may be supported on a catalyst support within the reactor and may be bounded at an upper end by an upper bed level.Traditional reactors may include reactor zones above and / or below the catalytic bed that are substantially free of catalyst. Because the reaction of reactor feedstocks with the treat gas occurs in the presence of the catalyst, reaction does not occur in the catalyst-free zones of the reactor. The disclosed reactor platforms include ultra-fine catalysts that are fed into the reactor feed stream and are suspended in the reactor fluids within the reactor to produce a fluid-catalyst slurry. This slurry may be circulated within the reactor, and there are no zones within the reactor that are substantially free of catalyst. This means that the desired reactions may take place in a larger percentage of the reactor volume, increasing efficiency and conversion and / or product yield (in some examples, conversion levels of 97 wt% or higher of feedstock to product). The increased circulation also disperses heat (in addition to at-risk / explosive olefins) within the reactor and provides an environment less likely for gum formation related to oligomerization and polymerization.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001

[0019] When the reactor effluent (including products) slurry exits the reactor, the catalyst is still suspended in the fluids. The catalyst is processed and recovered and / or rejuvenated at downstream systems and may be returned to the reactor feed stream. The ability to recirculate / reuse recovered catalyst and the associated increased productivity / conversion provided by the catalyst may provide cost savings, which may offset (or even improve upon) costs associated with the smaller / finer catalyst particles when compared to (relatively more inexpensive) larger extrudate catalyst particles typical of fixed bed or EB reactors.

[0020] The reactor as disclosed herein may be well-suited to handle many of the difficulties associated with processing a renewable and / or circular feedstocks. For example, renewable feeds may contain a large amount of oxygen that may need to be removed in order to make a suitable fuel. The disclosed reactors operate in a manner wherein gases such as hydrogen are typically well mixed throughout the fluidized bed. This effective mixing may reduce the amount of excess hydrogen needed in order to achieve full reaction with the oxygen in the renewable feed. Removing oxygen from a renewable feed is an exothermic reaction, and the heat generated has the potential to overwhelm the temperature control systems of a standard hydrotreatment (fixed bed) reactor. However, the mixing properties of the disclosed reactor minimize hot spots within the bed. Further, a recycle loop, such as the internal pumped recycle as disclosed herein, minimizes temperature increases due to reaction with a high oxygen content feedstock.

[0021] In accordance with principles of this disclosure, FIG. 1 depicts an example process 100 including at least one reactor system 102, 104 and a catalyst recovery system 116. Fresh catalyst FC is added to a fresh feed stream FF, which is a mixture of liquid feedstock (e.g. hydrocarbon) and treat gas (e.g. hydrogen gas). The resulting feed stream FS enters reactor 102. Reactor 102 may include an internal pump system, as is described below with regards to FIG. 2.

[0022] In some examples, feedstock liquids may include a circular feedstock, renewable feedstock, or a mix of circular and renewable feedstock. Circular feedstock is understood as generally referring to any feedstock that is considered as a waste or processing residue that has not been energetically used. In some examples, circular feedstock comprises liquified waste plastic (LVP), plastic pyrolysis oil, tire-derived oil (TDO), waste plastics, and any combinations thereof. Renewable feedstock isAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 understood generally as referring to any feedstock that replenishes itself during certain processes. In some examples, the renewable feedstock comprises bio crudes such as fast-pyrolysis bio-oil (pyoil or FPBO) and hydrothermal liquefaction oil (HTL oil), lipids such as vegetable oils, used cooking oil, tallow, animal fats and greases, bioresidual oils from other conversion process, or any combinations thereof. The mix of circular and renewable feedstocks is understood generally as referring to any combination of circular and renewable feedstocks. In some examples, the mix of circular and renewable feedstocks comprises a combination of at least one of any circular and at least one of any renewable feedstocks disclosed in any aforementioned example.

[0023] The reactor fluid (including a mixture of gasses and liquids, including the hydrogen and feedstock liquids) and the catalyst particles (which are suspended in the reactor fluid) may be in the form of a slurry. This slurry circulates within the reactor 102 during operation and may ultimately move upward in the reactor toward a reactor outlet. The feedstock(s) and treat gas (hydrogen) react within the reactor in the presence of the suspended catalyst to form products, including liquid phase products and gas phase products. In some examples, the resulting reaction comprises hydrogenation, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenization, hydrodemetallization, hydrodeoxygenation, decarbonylation, or decarboxylation, depending on the catalyst used. Preferable processing conditions involve a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.1 to 1 hr- 1 , pressure in the range of 800 - 300psig, temperature of 650 to 850 °F, and a Ha to feed ratio in the range of 1000-8000 SCF / bbl.

[0024] The suspended catalysts may be in the form of particles, with a diameter less than about 1mm. The properties (size, shape, density, etc.) of the catalyst particles enable the catalyst to be suspended within the reactor fluids. The catalyst particles may have a high pore volume, which may capture feed metals and coke precursors, and may lessen or eliminate fouling concerns within the reactor. The catalysts may contain at least one catalytically active element (for example, an hydro-dehydrogenating element) deposited on an amorphous support particle. The catalysts may be a bimetallic, high- activity catalyst. In some examples, the supported catalyst comprises a group VIII metal chosen from the group formed by Ni, Pd, Pt, Co, Rh, and / or Ru, optionally a group of VIB metal chosen from the group Mo and / or W, on an amorphous mineral support chosen from the group formed by alumina, silica, silica-aluminas, magnesia,Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 clays, and mixtures of at least two of these minerals. In some examples, the catalysts may include CoMo / alumina and / or NiMo / alumina combinations. In some examples, other catalyst types and catalyst support particles may be contemplated.

[0025] Because the catalyst particles are kept in suspension and the slurry is kept in agitation by the movement of the fluids within the reactor (including flow of the fluids / slurry as driven by the internal recycle pump, for example), a pressure drop over the reactor vessel remains low and constant, and the reaction exotherms may be rapidly averaged over the reactor volume.

[0026] The catalyst, as part of the slurry, is discharged with the products in effluent stream SI from the outlet of reactor 102. In some examples, a single reactor 102 may be present in a process. In other examples, more than one reactor system may be utilized in conjunction with other unit operations and systems in a wide variety of process configurations. Example process 100 illustrates just one of these examples. In example process 100, two reactor systems 102 and 104, which may have the properties of reactor system 200 as described below, operate in series. In some example, one, two, or more than two such reactor systems may operate in series or in parallel in various processes.

[0027] In the example depicted, the effluent stream SI from reactor system 102 enters a second reactor system 104 and is processed therein. This increases the overall conversion of the feedstock to desired product. The effluent stream S2 from reactor system 104 enters a downstream system 106 (in some examples, a separator, other reactor type, or other unit type as desired). A bottoms stream S3 from system 106, which contains spent catalyst from the slurry as well as heavier components of the slurry, is processed at a system 110 (for example, a heavy oil stripper system). The effluent stream S4 from system 106, which contains lighter components of the slurry and essentially no catalyst particles and is combined with an effluent stream S5 from system 110 to form a stream S6.

[0028] Stream S6 is processed at a system 108 (for example, an integrated hydrotreater reactor). A bottoms stream S7 from system 108 is processed at a system 112. An effluent stream S8 (for example, including light hydrocarbons or “light ends”) of system 112 may be stored, transported, or processed further at downstream systems. A bottoms stream S9 from system 112 is processed at a system 114 (for example, a fractionator or other type of distillation or separation system) to produce various cuts ofAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 hydrocarbons. An effluent stream S10 from system 114 may include the lightest component(s) of original stream S9 (for example, naphtha or others), and may be stored, transported, or processed further at downstream systems. A bottoms stream S 17 from system 114 may include the heaviest component(s) of original stream S9 (for example, vacuum gas oil or others). Side cut stream(s) SI 1 from system 114 may represent one or more side cut streams taken from various desired points of system 114 and may include other grades of mid-weight hydrocarbon products (for example, diesel or others); each may be stored, transported, or processed further at downstream systems.

[0029] A bottoms stream S12 from system 110 that includes catalyst particles is processed at a catalyst recovery system 116. Catalyst recovery system 116 may include one or more unit operations that process the catalyst. The catalyst may be recovered and / or rejuvenated at catalyst recovery system 116. In some examples, (un-spent) active catalyst is recovered and separated from spent catalyst at catalyst recovery system 116. In some examples, catalyst recovery system 116 includes a rejuvenation process in which a treatment is performed that improves the activity of the catalyst (for example, presulfurtization, additivation, etc.). Recovered catalyst (in some examples, recovered active (un-spent) catalyst; in some examples, rejuvenated catalyst; in some examples, a combination) is circulated back to feed stream FS to reactor 102.Unrecovered / spent catalyst stream S13 from catalyst recovery system 116 may be further processed downstream for example, at metals recovery processes. In FIG. 1 , streams FS, SI, S2, S3, SI 2, and RC are shown as broken (dash-dot-dot) lines to illustrate that these streams represent a circulation loop / flow path for the catalyst as it is reacted, recovered, and fed back into the feed stream FS back to the reactor 102.

[0030] Hydrocarbons recovered from catalyst recovery system 116 (for example, heavy oils) are processed at system 118 (for example, a heavy oil hydrotreater reactor). A portion (stream SI 6) of outlet stream S15 (for example, heavy oils) from system 118 may be stored, transported, or processed further at downstream systems (for example, a low sulfur fuel oil system). A portion (stream SI 8) of outlet stream SI 5 may be combined with stream S17 and the resulting stream S19 may be stored, transported, or processed further at downstream systems (for example, a fluid catalytic cracking or residue fluid catalytic cracking system).Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001

[0031] FIG. 1 depicts just one example of several reactor systems as disclosed integrated into a larger process. Incorporating one or more reactor systems as disclosed herein into a process may increase the overall efficiency and conversion rates of feedstocks in the process. In other examples, the systems downstream of the reactors may differ.

[0032] In some examples, optional pretreatment steps may be performed on the feedstock prior to entering into reactor system 102. In such a pretreatment step, the circular, renewable, or mix of circular and renewable feedstocks may be pretreated physically or chemically via filtration, water washing, hydrothermal cleanup, or mild- hydrotreating. This enables the removal of large solids or contaminants from the circular, renewable, or mix of circular and renewable feedstocks and stabilizes said feedstocks by saturating the olefins.

[0033] In some examples, unreacted hydrogen (treat gas) may be recycled back to the fresh feedstock stream FF and reactor system 102.

[0034] FIG. 2 depicts an example reactor system 200 (for example, a reactor system such as reactor 102, 104 of FIG. 1), utilizing a suspended catalyst. In some examples, reactor system 200 includes an internal pump system.

[0035] Feed stream FS, a mixture of liquid feedstock (hydrocarbon) and treat gas (i.e., hydrogen gas) including fresh catalyst and / or recycled catalyst, enters reactor vessel 202 at an inlet nozzle 204. In some examples, feed stream FS enters into a bottom end of reactor vessel 202. The catalyst particles are suspended in the reactor fluid (including a mixture of gasses and liquids, including the hydrogen and feedstock liquids) to form a slurry. The slurry is circulated in the reactor vessel 202 and has an overall upwards path of travel.

[0036] At least some of the slurry (including catalyst particles and reactor fluid containing at least some reaction product of the feedstock (the product being generated by reaction of the feedstock and the treat gas in the presence of the catalyst)) exits the reactor at an outlet nozzle 208 as effluent stream ES. In some examples, gas phase effluent product may be a combination of desired products, unreacted treat gas (hydrogen), and / or byproduct gases, which may include contaminant gases such as H2S or NH3 formed during the reaction. In some examples, all or a portion of liquid phase effluent product may be returned to the bottom of the reactor system 200, to anotherAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 reactor system downstream of reactor system 200 for further reaction / conversion, or to another type of process.

[0037] A fraction of the slurry may be continuously and / or periodically recycled within the reactor vessel 202. Such recycled slurry enters a pump inlet apparatus 210 (in some examples, a downcomer pipe) as recycle flow RF. Recycle flow RF flows downward within pump inlet apparatus 210 to an inlet of a pump 212. Pump 212 pumps the slurry as pumped recycle stream PR into the bottom of reactor vessel 202, where pumped recycle stream PR mixes with the incoming slurry of feed stream FS. Pump 212 provides an additional driving force for the slurry of streams PR and FS to move upward through reactor vessel 202. Additional driving force, in some examples, may be provided by reactor vessel 202 and / or feed stream FS pressure.

[0038] In some examples, pump 212 may be operated such that its outlet flow (pumped recycle stream PR) is maintained at a steady state, constant, flow rate. In some examples, pump 212 may be operated to maintain a steady state, constant, driving force. The internal recycle flow contributes to the reactor system 200 operating at near isothermal conditions with only a slight axial temperature gradient.

[0039] In some examples, reactor system 200 includes a thermowell nozzle 214, via which a thermocouple may be inserted into thermowell 216. Thermowell 216 extends into the interior volume of reactor vessel 202. The inserted thermocouple may be utilized to measure a temperature of the slurry.

[0040] In some examples, reactor system 200 includes one or more skin thermocouples (for example, skin temperature indicators, transmitters, or indicating controllers) 224a, 224b, 224c. Skin thermocouples 224a, 224b, 224c may be located on an external surface of reactor vessel 202 for measurement of the external temperature of the reactor vessel 202.

[0041] In some examples, reactor system 200 includes a radiation source nozzle 218, via which a density detector radiation source may be inserted into radiation source well 220. Radiation source well 220 extends into the interior volume of reactor vessel 202. One or more density detectors 222a, 222b, 222c may function in conjunction with the density detector radiation source to measure the density of the contents of the reactor vessel 202 at points along the reactor vessel 202, and in some examples to determine fill levels of the reactor vessel 202 (for example, during startup and shutdown operations, and to identify problems such as leaks or flow issues).Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001

[0042] FIG. 3 depicts an example method for processing circular feedstocks, renewable feedstocks, or a mix of both renewable and circular feedstocks. At operation 302, a feed stream is introduced to a reactor (for example, feed stream such as FS of FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 2 may be introduced to a reactor system such as reactor system 102 and / or 200 as described above). The feed stream comprises a mixture of a feedstock and a treat gas (for example, hydrogen) and catalyst particles (for example, as stream FC of FIG. 1) suspended in the mixture to form a slurry. In some examples, the feedstock may be the circular feedstocks, renewable feedstocks, or a mix of both renewable and circular feedstocks.

[0043] In some examples, within the reactor, a driving force provided at least partially by a pump within the reactor causes the slurry to flow upwards within the reactor. The pump may have a pump outlet located in a bottom of the reactor. A pump inlet apparatus within the reactor, may receive a portion of the product slurry, wherein the pump inlet apparatus provides a flow path for the portion of the product slurry to flow into a pump inlet of the pump. The portion of the product slurry may be pumped into the reactor via the pump outlet.

[0044] At operation 304, the feedstock is reacted with the treat gas within the reactor in the presence of the catalyst to produce at least a reaction product.

[0045] At operation 306, a product slurry is received at an outlet of the reactor (for example, outlet 208), and the product slurry may comprise at least the reaction product, unreacted feedstock, unreacted treat gas, and both spent and unreacted active catalyst particles. In some examples, the product slurry also comprises undesired or unintended reaction byproducts.

[0046] In some examples, the product slurry is processed further at one or more subsequent reactors and / or other unit operations / processes.

[0047] At operation 308, the catalyst particles (including the spent catalyst particles and unreacted active catalyst particles) are separated from the product slurry. At operation 310, the active catalyst particles are recovered from the mix of spent and active catalyst particles. In some examples, operation 308 and / or 310 maybe performed at a catalyst recovery system 116).

[0048] In some examples, spent catalyst particles are rejuvenated to generate rejuvenated active catalyst particles that may be introduced into the feed stream of theAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WOU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 reactor. In some examples, the spent catalyst particles are further processed at one or more systems to recover metals.

[0049] At operation 312, the recovered active catalyst particles are introduced into the feed stream of the reactor (for example, as stream RC of FIG. 1).

[0050] Although specific aspects were described herein, the scope of the technology is not limited to those specific aspects. One skilled in the art will recognize other aspects or improvements that are within the scope of the present technology. Therefore, the specific structure, acts, or operations are disclosed only as illustrative aspects. The scope of the technology is defined by the following claims and any equivalents therein. Therefore, the specific structure, acts, or operations are disclosed only as illustrative aspects. The scope of the technology is defined by the following claims and any equivalents therein. Examples of the disclosure may be described according to the following aspects.

[0051] While particular uses of the technology have been illustrated and discussed above, the disclosed technology can be used with a variety of environments in accordance with many examples of the technology. The above discussion is not meant to suggest that the disclosed technology is only suitable for implementation within the environments shown and described above. As should be appreciated, the various aspects described with respect to the figures herein are not intended to limit the technology to the particular aspects described. Accordingly, additional configurations can be used to practice the technology herein and / or some aspects described can be excluded without departing from the methods and systems disclosed herein.

[0052] This disclosure described some aspects of the present technology with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which only some of the possible aspects were shown. Other aspects can, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the aspects set forth herein. Rather, these aspects were provided so that this disclosure was thorough and complete and fully conveyed the scope of the possible aspects to those skilled in the art.

[0053] Similarly, where operations of a process are disclosed, those operations are described for purposes of illustrating the present technology and are not intended to limit the disclosure to a particular sequence of operations. For example, the operations can be performed in differing order, two or more operations can be performed concurrently, additional operations can be performed, and disclosed operations can beAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 excluded without departing from the present disclosure. Further, each operation can be accomplished via one or more sub-operations. The disclosed processes can be repeated.

[0054] Although specific aspects were described herein, the scope of the technology is not limited to those specific aspects. One skilled in the art will recognize other aspects or improvements that are within the scope of the present technology. Therefore, the specific structure, acts, or operations are disclosed only as illustrative aspects. The scope of the technology is defined by the following claims and any equivalents therein.

Claims

Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001What is claimed is:

1. A method for processing circular feedstocks, renewable feedstocks, or a mix of both renewable and circular feedstocks, the method comprising: introducing a feed stream to a reactor, the feed stream comprising: a mixture of a feedstock and a treat gas; and catalyst particles suspended in the mixture to form a slurry; reacting the feedstock with the treat gas in the presence of the catalyst particles within the reactor to produce at least a reaction product; receiving a product slurry at an outlet of the reactor, the product slurry comprising at least the reaction product, unreacted feedstock, unreacted treat gas, and catalyst particles; separating the catalyst particles from the product slurry, the separated catalyst particles comprising spent catalyst particles and active catalyst particles; recovering the active catalyst particles; and introducing the recovered active catalyst particles into the feed stream to the reactor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the treat gas comprises hydrogen.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing, via a driving force provided at least partially by a pump, the slurry to flow upwards within the reactor, wherein a pump outlet of the pump is located in a bottom of the reactor; receiving, at a pump inlet apparatus within the reactor, a portion of the product slurry, wherein the pump inlet apparatus provides a flow path for the portion of the product slurry to flow into a pump inlet of the pump; and pumping the portion of the product slurry into the reactor via the pump outlet.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the circular, renewable, or mix of circular and renewable feedstocks are pretreated physically or chemically.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W0015. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rejuvenating the spent catalyst particles to generate rejuvenated active catalyst particles; and introducing the rejuvenated active catalyst particles into the feed stream to the reactor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the catalyst particles of the feed stream comprise at least two of fresh active catalyst particles, recovered catalyst particles, and rejuvenated catalyst particles.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: processing the spent catalyst particles to recover metals.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst particles have a diameter less than about 1 mm.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the feed stream contains a sufficient wt% or vol% catalyst particles.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the circular feedstock comprises at least one of liquified waste plastic (LVP), plastic pyrolysis oil, tire-derived oil (TDO), or waste plastics.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the renewable feedstock comprises at least one of bio crudes, lipids, or bio-residual oils.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein bio crudes comprise at least one of fastpyrolysis bio-oil (pyoil or FPBO) or hydrothermal liquefaction oil (HTL oil).

13. The method of claim 11, wherein lipids comprise at least one of vegetable oils, used cooking oil, tallow, animal fats, or greases.Attorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W00114. A system for processing circular feedstocks, renewable feedstocks, or a mix of both renewable and circular feedstocks, comprising: a reactor; a feed stream that flows into the reactor, the feed stream comprising: a mixture of a feedstock and a treat gas; and catalyst particles suspended in the mixture to form a slurry, the feedstock reacting with the treat gas in the presence of the catalyst particles within the reactor to produce at least a reaction product; a product slurry that flows out of the reactor, the product slurry comprising at least the reaction product, unreacted feedstock, unreacted treat gas, and catalyst particles; at least one catalyst recovery system, the at least one catalyst recovery system separating the catalyst particles from the product slurry, the separated catalyst particles comprising spent catalyst particles and active catalyst particles, the catalyst recovery system further recovering the active catalyst particles; and; a recycle stream that flows the recovered active catalyst particles into the feed stream.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the treat gas comprises hydrogen.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the catalyst particles comprises at least one catalytically active element deposited on an amorphous support particle.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the circular feedstock comprises at least one of liquified waste plastic (LVP), plastic pyrolysis oil, tire-derived oil (TDO), or waste plastics.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the renewable feedstock comprises at least one of bio crudes, lipids, or bio-residual oils.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising: a pump inlet apparatus located within the reactor, the pump inlet apparatus receiving a portion of the product slurry; andAttorney Docket No. 70205.0703WQU1 | T-12420-P2-W001 a pump having a pump inlet and a pump outlet, wherein: the pump inlet apparatus defines a flow path for the portion of the product slurry to flow into the pump inlet, and the pump outlet directs the portion of the product slurry into the reactor.

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