Hydroprocessing Catalyst Regeneration via Supercritical Fluid Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The petroleum industry faces challenges in upgrading heavy oils and residua due to high sulfur and nitrogen content, as well as metal contaminants like nickel, vanadium, and iron, which lead to equipment build-up and increased costs, necessitating more effective catalysts and processes for hydrotreating.
Innovation Solution
A catalyst feed system comprising a deoiled spent catalyst with reduced catalytic activity and a fresh slurry catalyst is used to trap metal contaminants, reducing deposits and maintaining catalytic activity, while also employing a method to prepare this catalyst feed by deoiling spent catalysts and treating them to remove contaminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high catalyst dosage is used to improve conversion rate and reduce solid accumulation, then conversion efficiency improves, but capital and operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the catalyst by treating spent catalyst with supercritical fluids to remove deposited materials while preserving the active phase. This regeneration process restores catalytic activity without requiring additional fresh catalyst, thereby maintaining high conversion rates while reducing the quantity of catalyst needed in the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent recovers valuable components from spent catalyst by using supercritical fluid extraction to remove deposited materials. The regenerated catalyst is then reused in the hydroprocessing system, eliminating the need to discard it. This recovery process allows continuous operation with reduced catalyst make-up requirements, addressing both productivity and cost concerns.
2Reliability
If high catalyst dosage is used to reduce solid accumulation in equipment, then equipment reliability improves, but operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by continuously or periodically treating the spent catalyst with supercritical fluids to prevent the accumulation of deposited materials before they can cause equipment problems. This proactive regeneration maintains catalyst performance and prevents solid buildup in equipment, ensuring reliability without requiring excessive catalyst dosage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a self-service mechanism where the spent catalyst is automatically regenerated in situ or offline using supercritical fluid extraction. The catalyst essentially cleans itself of deposited materials, maintaining its effectiveness for equipment protection without requiring additional catalyst feed, thus improving reliability while controlling costs.
3Quantity of substance
If spent catalyst is reused without treatment to reduce costs, then operating costs decrease, but metal contaminant build-up increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses supercritical fluid extraction to selectively remove metal contaminants and deposited materials from the spent catalyst. This extraction process separates the harmful metal components from the active catalyst phase, allowing the catalyst to be reused without the metal build-up problems that would otherwise occur with direct reuse of untreated spent catalyst.
Solution Approach 2:
The supercritical fluid acts as an intermediary medium that facilitates the removal of metal contaminants from the spent catalyst. This intermediary substance enables selective extraction of harmful metals while preserving the catalyst's active components, allowing cost-effective reuse without the negative effects of direct spent catalyst recycling.
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 approach effectively reduces metal contaminant deposits in the upgrading process, maintains catalytic activity, and lowers costs by utilizing a less expensive spent catalyst, achieving high conversion rates and improved process efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The deoiled spent catalyst is present in an amount of at least 10% the catalyst feed system to trap metal contaminants in the system and reduce metal deposits
Implementation Method 2
The upgrading of heavy oil feedstock is accomplished by hydrotreating processes, i.e., treating with hydrogen of various hydrocarbon fractions, or whole heavy feeds, or feedstocks, in the presence of hydrotreating catalysts to effect conversion of at least a portion of the feeds
Data Source
AI summary
A method to prepare an improved catalyst feed to a system to upgrade heavy oil. The method comprises: providing a spent catalyst that has been used in a hydroprocessing operation has with a solid content ranging from 5 to 50 wt. % in soluble hydrocarbons and having less than 80% but more than 10% of original catalytic activity; removing at least 50% of the soluble hydrocarbons removed in a deoiling step; treating the deoiled spent catalyst with a treating solution containing at least one of plain water, a mineral acid, an oxidizing agent, and combinations thereof to reduce the concentration of at least one metal contaminant in the deoiled spent catalyst by at least 40%. After treatment, the treated deoiled spent catalyst is slurried in a hydrocarbon medium, and fed to the heavy oil upgrade system as part of the catalyst feed system with a fresh slurry catalyst.