Top-Injected Ebullated Bed Hydroconversion for Heavy Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heavy feed hydroconversion methods in ebullated bed reactors require upstream distillation and are costly when upgrading crudes with significant heavy fractions, and they face inefficiencies due to gas retention and foaming issues.
Innovation Solution
Injecting the feed at the top of the ebullated-bed hydroconversion reactor into the gas overhead, where it is separated into vaporized and liquid fractions within the reactor, allowing for direct hydroconversion without initial fractionation, optimizing catalyst contact and reducing gas volume to prevent foaming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If feed is injected at the bottom of the reactor with hydrogen in a distribution box, then the feed is mixed with recycled liquid and flows through the catalyst bed, but this requires upstream distillation and increases device complexity and operational costs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the upstream distillation step from the conventional process. By injecting feed at the reactor top and utilizing the ebullated bed's natural gas-liquid separation, the process directly handles crude feeds without requiring separate distillation equipment, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining manufacturing ease
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional feed injection approach by injecting feed at the top of the reactor rather than at the bottom. This inversion allows the feed to be separated into vaporized and liquid fractions within the reactor itself, eliminating the need for upstream distillation and simplifying the overall process
2Productivity
If feed is injected at the bottom of the reactor, then hydrogen mixing and catalyst contact are achieved, but gas retention and foaming issues reduce conversion efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the feed injection location to the reactor top, the feed enters the gas overhead region where it is immediately separated into vaporized and liquid fractions. The liquid fraction then percolates through the catalyst bed, while gas is naturally vented, eliminating gas retention and foaming problems that plague bottom-injection designs
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the feed introduction process into two distinct phases: vaporized fraction separation in the gas overhead region, and liquid fraction catalytic conversion in the ebullated bed. This segmentation prevents gas-liquid mixing issues and eliminates foaming, thereby improving conversion efficiency
3Reliability
If upstream distillation is performed to separate vaporizable fractions, then feed composition is controlled, but operational costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the upstream distillation operation from the process flow and replaces it with in-reactor fractionation. The ebullated bed reactor itself performs the separation function, with vaporized fractions rising to the gas overhead and liquid fractions proceeding to catalytic conversion, thereby eliminating the energy-intensive distillation step while maintaining reliable feed composition control
Solution Approach 2:
The reactor system performs its own feed fractionation function through the natural ebullation process. The rising gas bubbles and liquid circulation automatically separate vaporizable from non-vaporizable fractions without requiring external distillation equipment, making the system self-sufficient and reducing operational costs
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enables higher conversion and desulfurization efficiency with lower catalyst usage and reduced operational costs by eliminating the need for upstream distillation, while maintaining or improving conversion levels and reducing gas retention, thus enhancing reactor performance.
Implementation Method 1
separation of the feed inside the reactor into a vaporized fraction and a liquid fraction
Implementation Method 2
fluidization of the catalyst and therefore expansion of the bed
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method of hydroconverting in ebullated bed mode a petroleum feed containing a significant amount of light fractions and, among other things, asphaltenes, sulfur-containing and metallic impurities.More precisely, the object of the invention is a hydroconversion method using at least one ebullated-bed reactor for which injection of the feed is carried out at the top of said reactor, in the gas overhead, and involving separation within said feed inside the reactor into a vaporized fraction and a liquid fraction.The invention also relates to the reactor allowing said method to be implemented.