Mild Acidic Catalyst for Heavy Crude Oil Hydroprocessing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydrocracking catalysts for heavy crude oil and residues face rapid deactivation due to high metal concentrations and contaminants, leading to reduced efficiency and shortened catalyst life, while also failing to effectively produce high yields of gasoline and middle distillates.
Innovation Solution
A mild acidic catalyst with a high macro-porosity support system, comprising amorphous silica-alumina or ultra-stable Y zeolite with peptized alumina, and active metal components from Group VIB and Group VIII, designed to maintain stability and enhance hydrocracking efficiency by effectively removing Ni, V, sulfur, and nitrogen contaminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hydrocracking catalysts are used for heavy crude oil and residues, then initial catalytic activity is achieved, but rapid deactivation occurs due to high metal concentrations and contaminants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a support system with high macro-porosity (large pores) that prevents rapid deactivation by contaminants. The large pore structure allows better resistance to metal deposition and maintains catalyst accessibility, solving the contradiction between initial activity and long-term stability in heavy crude oil hydrocracking
Solution Approach 2:
The catalyst combines multiple components including amorphous silica-alumina or ultra-stable Y zeolite with peptized alumina and active metal components from Group VIB and Group VIII. This composite structure provides both high initial activity and enhanced resistance to deactivation by metals and contaminants
2Productivity
If high surface area catalyst material is used to increase catalytic sites, then reaction effectiveness is improved, but pore diffusion resistance increases for heavy fractions
Solution Approach 1:
The support system is designed with high macro-porosity featuring large pores that facilitate rapid diffusion of heavy crude oil molecules and contaminants. This large pore structure maintains high catalytic site accessibility while enabling efficient mass transfer, resolving the contradiction between reaction effectiveness and diffusion speed
Solution Approach 2:
The catalyst structure provides different pore sizes in different regions - large macro-pores for bulk diffusion and high surface area regions for catalytic reactions. This hierarchical pore structure allows heavy molecules to access catalytic sites efficiently while maintaining high reaction effectiveness
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
The catalyst achieves long unit life, high metal retention capacity, and upgraded oil quality with improved hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, hydrodemetallization, and hydrodenitrogenation performance, maintaining activity over extended time-on-stream periods.
Implementation Method 1
The catalyst synthesized in the present invention has high amount of large pores (macro-porosity), which are not deactivated quickly by the contaminants
Implementation Method 2
A mild acidic catalyst with a high macro-porosity support system, comprising amorphous silica-alumina or ultra-stable Y zeolite with peptized alumina, and active metal components from Group VIB and Group VIII, designed to maintain stability and enhance hydrocracking efficiency
Implementation Method 3
The catalyst for hydroprocessing of heavy crude oil and residue has been developed particularly to hydrocrack crude bottom-of-barrel to enhance the yields of gasoline and middle distillates along with the optimum removal of metals (Ni and V), sulfur and nitrogen
Data Source
AI summary
This invention reveals a method for synthesizing a hydrotreating catalyst wherein the support is prepared by mixing of peptized alumina with an amorphous silica or crystalline aluminum silicate as one component of the catalyst. The catalyst comprises a group VI metal and/or a group VIII metal of the periodic table. The catalyst exhibits improved hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodemetallization activities and has a relatively stable life with time on stream. Thus, the invention concerns a method for developing a catalyst for hydroprocessing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks which is characterized by two steps: the first step consists of the optimization of a catalyst formulation with respect to the textural properties, number of acid sites, active metal incorporation. The second step consists of the evaluation with real feedstock and catalyst stability with time-on-stream.