JP2016138277A - Method and device for producing hydrocarbon fuel and composition - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive hydrocarbon fuel composition for an engine for a gas turbine and a vessel.SOLUTION: A heavy VGO flow and pitch flow are produced by the slurry hydrocracking of a heavy hydrocarbon feed flow, at least a part of the pitch flow is subjected to solvent deasphalting to generate a low vanadium deasphalted oil flow. The same is blended with at least a part of the heavy VGO flow to provide fuel for a turbine or a vessel having the characteristics of the burning grade in a gas turbine or the fuel grade for a vessel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to US applications 12 / 636,135; 12 / 636,137; and 12 / 636,142, all filed December 11, 2009.
[0002] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing hydrocarbon fuels by slurry hydrocracking (SHC) and solvent desulfurization (SDA).

  [0003] Since the reserves of conventional crude oil are decreasing, heavy oil must be reformed to meet the requirements. In reforming, heavier materials must be converted to lighter fractions to remove most of the sulfur, nitrogen, and metals. Crude oil is usually first processed in an atmospheric pressure crude distillation column to give fuel products such as naphtha, kerosene, and diesel fuel. The bottom stream of an atmospheric pressure crude distillation column is usually sent to a vacuum distillation column to obtain vacuum gas oil (VGO) that can be used as feed for FCC units or other applications. VGO typically boils in the range of 300 ° C. (572 ° F.) to 524 ° C. (975 ° F.).

  [0004] SHC is used for the primary reforming of heavy hydrocarbon feeds obtained from distillation of crude oil, such as hydrocarbon residues or light oil from atmospheric or vacuum column distillation. In SHC, these liquid feeds are mixed with hydrogen and solid catalyst particles as particulate metal compounds such as metal sulfides to provide a slurry phase. Exemplary SHC processes are described, for example, in US-5,755,955 and US-5,474,977. SHC produces light oils such as naphtha, diesel fuel, VGO, and low-value refractory pitch streams. The VGO stream provides a product that can be further purified, usually by catalytic hydrocracking or fluid catalytic cracking (FCC). Heavy VGO (HVGO) can be recycled to the SHC reactor to prevent excessive coking in the SHC reactor.

  [0005] SDA generally refers to a purification method that modifies a hydrocarbon fraction as described above using extraction in the presence of a solvent. SDA makes it possible to practically recover heavier oils at relatively low temperatures without causing the decomposition or degradation of heavy hydrocarbons. SDA separates hydrocarbons according to their solubility in liquid solvents as opposed to volatility in distillation. Lower molecular weight and more paraffinic components are preferentially extracted. The least soluble material is the high molecular weight and most polar aromatic component.

  [0006] Gas turbines have many applications such as aircraft propulsion, power generation, and ship propulsion. As gas turbine material technology has evolved, the temperature of the combustor has risen by several hundred degrees, which has allowed a significant increase in efficiency in the Brayton cycle. Most efficient gas turbines can have a hot section that operates at temperatures higher than 1093 ° C. (2000 ° F.), and thus can have much higher cycle efficiencies than older generation turbines. Higher efficiency gas turbines have created a need for more stringent fuel specifications.

[0007] According to a paper by Svensson, DNV APPROVES SIEMENS GAS TURBINE FOR HFO, 61 Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers 55 (2007) Has successfully endured dynamic testing and received DNV (Det Norske Veritas) approval from the Norwegian government for marine applications. At the time of this paper, IFO 180 heavy fuel oil was $ 200-250 USD cheaper than the medium temperature distillate oil normally combusted in shipboard gas turbines. The IFO 180 specification is also known as the RME 180 specification that can be applied to residual marine fuels used in non-turbine engines such as the low RPM diesel engines normally found in marine systems.

  [0008] Turbine is a peak power for power grids, ferries, ship propulsion for high speed ships such as military transport ships, and many other powers for generating electricity in small to medium sized applications such as other applications. There is a need for such fuel because it is more efficient than the source. Cogeneration equipment that recovers turbine exhaust heat to produce steam or other low levels of heat achieves high overall cycle efficiency, but other systems that require suitable fuel for the turbine It is an example.

  [0009] Many conventional efforts have produced suitable gas turbine fuels from low-value hydrocarbon residues. One method involves hydrotreating petroleum residues, where only a small percentage of sulfur and nitrogen is removed, but the “polishing process” adjusts conditions to remove most of the metal on the demetallization catalyst. . An example of this process is known as JGC Corporation's GEFINERY. The cost of this process is believed to be unreasonably high based on the limited modification range.

  [0010] Other processes have proposed to price residues from coal dissolution or "solvent refined" coal products by hydrotreating to produce vacuum distillates. Examples of this process are the SRC (Solvent Refined Coal) process and Hyper Coal process of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization. In other processes, residual petroleum is subjected to SDA to keep the yield of deoiled oil (DAO) relatively low and prevent organometallic compounds from being introduced into DAO. State-of-the-art processes combine SDA with downstream DAO purification or hydroprocessing to remove metals. These three types of processes are considered disadvantageous because of their limited ability to produce suitable fuels that meet the applicable specifications.

  [0011] The special fuel that is the subject of the present invention would be cheaper to produce than normal marine diesel or kerosene. Further, considering the need for pollution control downstream to remove SOx and NOx from the exhaust, it would be advantageous to burn such fuel in the turbine.

US-5,755,955 US-5,474,977

Svensson, DNV APPROVES SIEMENS GAS TURBINE FOR HFO, 61 Royal Belgian Institute of Marine Engineers 55 (2007)

  [0012] There is a continuing need for hydrocarbon fuel compositions that can be manufactured inexpensively and used in gas turbines and marine engines.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention includes a method for producing a hydrocarbon fuel that includes slurry hydrocracking a heavy feed stream to provide a slurry hydrocracking product. The slurry hydrocracking product is separated to provide a pitch stream and an HVGO stream. At least a portion of the pitch stream is mixed with the solvent, and a portion of the pitch is dissolved in the solvent. The dissolved portion of the pitch is blended with at least a portion of the HVGO stream to provide a blended product. In one form,
The blended product contains no more than 5 wppm sodium, no more than 50 wppm vanadium, and at least 80% by volume of the blended product boils at temperatures above 426 ° C. (800 ° F.).

  [0014] In another exemplary embodiment, the present invention includes a method of producing a hydrocarbon fuel that includes slurry hydrocracking a heavy feed stream to provide a slurry hydrocracking product. The slurry hydrocracking product is separated to provide a pitch stream and an HVGO stream. At least a portion of the pitch stream is solvent degassed to provide DAO. DAO is blended with at least a portion of the HVGO stream to provide a blended product.

  [0015] In a further exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides a hydrocarbon fuel comprising a slurry hydrocracking reactor in which a heavy feed stream and hydrogen are reacted over a catalyst to produce a slurry hydrocracking product. Includes an apparatus for manufacturing. At least a portion of the slurry hydrocracking product is fractionated by a fractionation section in communication with the slurry hydrocracking reactor. The fractionation section has a side or HVGO outlet for discharging the HVGO stream and a bottom or pitch outlet for discharging the pitch stream. A DAO stream discharged from the DAO outlet is produced by an SDA column in communication with the pitch outlet. At least a portion of the HVGO and DAO streams is blended by a vessel or line in communication with the side outlet and the DAO outlet.

[0016] In a further exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a separator for separating hydrogen from the slurry hydrocracking product in communication with the SHC reactor.
[0017] In a further exemplary embodiment, the fractionation section of the apparatus also includes a side outlet for discharging a diesel fuel stream and a side outlet for discharging a light VGO (LVGO) stream.

  [0018] In a further exemplary embodiment, the present invention includes a hydrocarbon composition comprising 73 wt% or more aromatic material, 5 wt% or less heptane insoluble matter, and 50 wppm or less vanadium. At least 80% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature above 426 ° C. (800 ° F.). In other forms, the composition may contain 75 wt% or more of aromatics and may contain 5 wt% or less of hexane insolubles or 5 wt% or less of pentane insolubles. In other forms, at least 90% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature above 426 ° C. In other forms, the composition has no more than 30 wppm, or no more than 10 wppm vanadium. In a further form, the composition has a viscosity of no greater than 180 Cst at 50 ° C. In a further form, the composition has no more than 5 wppm sodium.

[0019] These and other aspects and aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description.
[0020] The term "aromatic substance" means a substance that contains a ring-containing molecule as defined by ASTM-D2549.

[0021] The term "communication" means that a substance can be operatively flowd between the listed components.
[0022] The term "downstream communication" means that at least a portion of the material flowing to an object in downstream communication can be operatively flowed from the object with which it is in communication.

  [0023] The term "upstream communication" means that at least a portion of the material flowing from an object in upstream communication can be operatively flowed to the object it is in communication with.

  [0024] As used herein, the term "boiling point temperature" is calculated using the equation given in ASTM-D1160 Appendix A7 entitled "Method for Converting Observed Steam Temperature to Atmospheric Pressure Equivalent Temperature". And the atmospheric equivalent boiling point (AEBP) calculated from the observed boiling point and the distillation pressure.

  [0025] As used herein, "pitch" refers to 538 ° C (975 ° F) determined by any standard gas chromatography simulated distillation method such as ASTM-D2887, D6352, or D7169, all used by the petroleum industry. Means a hydrocarbon material having a boiling point higher than that of AEBP.

[0026] As used herein, "pitch conversion" means the conversion of a substance having a boiling point higher than 524 ° C (975 ° F) to a substance having a boiling point of 524 ° C (975 ° F) or lower.
[0027] As used herein, "heavy vacuum gas oil" refers to 427 ° C (800 ° C determined by any standard gas chromatography simulated distillation method such as ASTM-D2887, D6352, or D7169, all used by the petroleum industry. Means a hydrocarbon material having a boiling point in the range of from ° F) to 538 ° C (975 ° F).

[0028] As used herein, a solvent "insoluble matter" means a substance that does not dissolve in the indicated solvent.
[0029] The term "liquid hourly space velocity" refers to the volumetric flow rate of the liquid feed stream per reactor volume converted to a standard temperature of 16 ° C.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the method and apparatus of the present invention.

  [0031] Slurry hydrocracking can convert up to 80-95 wt% of many low-value vacuum tower bottom streams to 524 ° C (975 ° F) and lighter distillates and small pitches. it can. The toluene soluble portion of the SHC product boiling above 524 ° C. (975 ° F.) has a relatively low molecular weight, such as 700-900, as measured by the vapor pressure osmometry according to ASTM-D2503, and some nickel And contaminated with vanadium. Slurry hydrocracking over iron-based catalysts at pressures below 20.7 MPa (3000 psig) has a limited ability to open metal porphyrin rings. Surprisingly, the pentane soluble portion of pitch residues with boiling points higher than 524 ° C. from slurry hydrocracking over iron-based catalysts at conversions higher than 80% by weight has very low concentrations of nickel and vanadium. It was found to contain. This is in contrast to solvent destilled straight oil which contains significant amounts of soluble organometallic nickel and vanadium and cannot be operated in the latest generation turbines. These metal-containing fuels may only be able to operate in cooler turbines using some techniques such as off-line water to remove metal passivation additives and blade deposits. It was.

[0032] Also at 426-524 ° C (800-975 ° F), known as HVGO, produced by slurry hydrocracking of residues above 524 ° C on iron-based catalysts at conversions higher than 80 wt% It has been found that the heaviest part of the vacuum gas oil distillate having a boiling point in the range corresponding to atmospheric pressure does not contain measurable nickel and vanadium. This material also includes some C ₃₀ -C ₄₅ paraffins, as well as polycyclic aromatics and heteroatomic materials. This material has excellent fuel properties and can be injected at room temperature. The lighter portion of the vacuum gas oil distillate having a boiling point in the range of 340-426 ° C (650-800 ° F) normal pressure equivalent known as LVGO from slurry hydrocracking is directly combusted as turbine fuel. However, it is often desirable to further reform this oil into naphtha and diesel fuel to better price the stream.

  [0033] Accordingly, HVGO obtained from SHC and solvent degassing pitch can be blended together to provide a hydrocarbon fuel that meets the RME 180 and IFO 180 fuel specifications. Thus, hydrocarbon fuel can be combusted in gas turbines and marine engines without the need for further reforming. The particular composition of hydrocarbon fuel produced by the method and apparatus of the present invention can be used as is or blended with other fuels, either as a cargo or blended at the point of use.

  [0034] Some aspects of the present invention relate to slurry hydrocracking heavy hydrocarbon feedstock for primary reforming to fuel. For example, according to one aspect, the heavy hydrocarbon feed comprises a vacuum column residue. Typical additional components of the heavy hydrocarbon feed include residual oils with boiling points above 565 ° C. (1050 ° F.), tar, bitumen, coal oil, and shale oil. Bitumen is also known as natural asphalt, tar sand, or oil sand. Bitumen is defined as a hydrocarbon that can be extracted from rocks containing hydrocarbons that are more viscous than 10,000 Cst or from mined or quarried rocks. Some natural bitumen are solids such as gilsonite, grahamite, and ozokerite, which are distinguished by mineral veins, fusibility, and solubility. Other asphaltene-containing materials can also be used as components to be treated by SHC. In addition to asphaltenes, these further possible components of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks, among other properties, generally contain significant amounts of metal contaminants such as nickel, iron, and vanadium, high contents of organic sulfur and nitrogen. Also includes compounds, as well as high Conradson carbon residues. The metal content of such components may range, for example, from 100 ppm to 1,000 ppm by weight, the total sulfur content may range from 1 to 7% by weight, and the API specific gravity is from -5 ° to 35 °. It may be a range. The Conradson carbon residue of such components is generally at least 5% by weight and often 10-30% by weight.

[0035] As shown in the figure, the present invention for converting heavy hydrocarbons to hydrocarbon fuel is illustrated by an SHC unit 10 and a solvent denitrification unit 110.
[0036] As shown in the figure, the heavy feed stream in line 12 is shown as a feed stream to SHC unit 10. The heavy product recycle stream in line 14 can be mixed with the heavy feed stream 12. The particulate coke control additive or catalyst in line 16 is mixed with the feed stream in line 12 to form a uniform slurry. Various solid catalyst particles can be used as the particulate material. Particularly useful catalyst particles are those described in US-4,963,247. Thus, the particles are usually ferrous sulfate having a particle size of less than 45 μm, most, in one form at least 50% by weight, having a particle size of less than 10 μm. Iron sulfate monohydrate is the preferred catalyst. Bauxite catalysts may also be preferred. In one form, 0.01 to 4.0 weight percent coke-suppressing catalyst particles, based on fresh feed, is added to the feed mixture. Alternatively or in addition, oil soluble coke inhibiting additives can be used. Oil soluble additives include metal naphthenates or metal octanoates with molybdenum, tungsten, ruthenium, nickel, cobalt, or iron in the range of 50-1000 wppm based on the new feedstock.

[0037] This slurry of catalyst and heavy hydrocarbon feed stream in line 18 may be mixed with hydrogen in line 20 and transferred through line 24 into thermal heater 22. The mixed feed stream is heated in heater 22 and flows through inlet line 26 into the bottom inlet of tubular SHC reactor 30. Within the heater 22, normally, iron-based catalyst particles newly added from line 16 are converted to the form of catalytically active iron sulfide. Some decomposition occurs in the SHC reactor 30. For example, iron sulfate monohydrate is converted to ferrous sulfide and has a particle size of less than 0.1 μm or even less than 0.01 μm when discharged from the heater 22. The SHC reactor 30 does not have a stationary solid bed through which the catalyst, hydrogen, and oil feed streams are sent in a net upward movement with some backmixing, but a three-phase, for example solid-liquid-gas reaction. It can take the form of a vessel. Many other mixing and transfer arrangements may be suitable for feeding the feed stream, hydrogen, and catalyst to the reactor 30.

[0038] Within the SHC reactor 30, the heavy feed stream and hydrogen are reacted in the presence of the catalyst described above to produce a slurry hydrocracking product. The SHC reactor 30 can be operated at a very moderate pressure in the range of 3.5 to 24 MPa without forming coke. The reactor temperature is usually in the range of 350 ° C to 600 ° C, and a temperature of 400 to 500 ° C is preferred. LHSV is usually lower than ^{4hr -1} at the new feed standards, preferably in the range of 0.1～3Hr ^-1, range 0.2～1Hr ^-1 are particularly preferred. The pitch conversion can be at least 80% by weight, suitably at least 85% by weight, preferably at least 90% by weight. The supply rate of hydrogen is 674 to 3370 Nm ³ / m ³ -oil (4000 to 20,000 SCF / bbl-oil). SHC is particularly suitable for tubular reactors through which feed streams and gases are routed upward. Therefore, the outlet from the SHC reactor 30 is above the inlet. Although only one is shown in the figure, one or more SHC reactors 30 can be used in parallel or in series. Due to the high gas velocity, foaming can occur in the SHC reactor 30. An antifoam may be added to the SHC reactor 30 to reduce the tendency to generate foam. Suitable antifoaming agents include silicones disclosed in US-4,969,988. In addition, a hydrogen quench stream from line 32 can be injected into the top of the SHC reactor 30 to cool the slurry hydrocracking product as it exits the reactor.

  [0039] A slurry hydrocracked product stream comprising a gas / liquid mixture is discharged from the top of the SHC reactor 30 through line 34. The slurry hydrocracking stream is composed of several products such as VGO and pitch, which can be separated in a number of different ways. The slurry hydrocracking effluent from the top of the SHC reactor 30 is at a separation temperature between 200 ° C. and 470 ° C. (392 ° F. to 878 ° F.) in one form, and in one form the pressure of the SHC reaction. It isolate | separates within the high temperature / high pressure separator 36 currently hold | maintained. The high temperature and high pressure separator is in downstream communication with the SHC reactor 30. In some cases, a quench flow in line 32 may help quench the reaction product to the desired temperature in the high temperature and high pressure separator 36. Within the high temperature and high pressure separator 36, the effluent stream from the SHC reactor 30 in line 34 is separated into a gas stream containing hydrogen and vaporized products and a liquid stream containing liquid slurry hydrocracking products. The gas stream is a flash vaporized product at the temperature and pressure of the hot high pressure separator. Similarly, the liquid stream is a flush liquid at the temperature and pressure of the hot high pressure separator 36. The gas stream is withdrawn from the hot high pressure separator 36 through line 38 at the top, while the liquid fraction is discharged through line 40 at the bottom of the hot high pressure separator.

  [0040] The liquid fraction in line 40 is at a temperature equivalent to high temperature and high pressure separator 36 but is sent to high temperature flash drum 42 at a pressure of 690 to 3,447 kPa (100 to 500 psig). The vapor tower top stream in line 44 is cooled in cooler 46 and mixed with the liquid tower bottom stream from the low temperature and high pressure separator in line 48 into line 50. The liquid fraction is discharged from the hot flash drum at line 52.

[0041] The overhead stream from the hot high pressure separator 36 in line 38 cools to a lower temperature in one or more coolers represented by cooler 54. Typically, a water wash (not shown) is used for line 38 to wash away salts such as ammonium disulfide or ammonium chloride. The water wash removes almost all of the ammonia and part of the hydrogen sulfide from the flow in line 38. The flow in line 38 passes to a low temperature high pressure separator 56 that is in downstream communication with the SHC reactor 30 and the high temperature high pressure separator 36. In one form, the low temperature and high pressure separator 56 operates at a lower temperature than the high temperature and high pressure separator 36 but at an equivalent pressure. Low temperature high pressure separator 5
6 is maintained at a temperature between 10 ° C. and 93 ° C. (50 ° F. and 200 ° F.) and the pressure of the SHC reactor 30. Within the low temperature and high pressure separator 56, the overhead stream of the high temperature and high pressure separator 36 is separated into a gas stream containing hydrogen in line 58 and a liquid stream containing slurry hydrocracking products in line 48. The gas stream is a flash vaporization fraction at the temperature and pressure of the cryogenic high pressure separator 56. Similarly, the liquid stream is the flash liquid product at the temperature and pressure of the cryogenic high pressure separator 56. By using this type of separator, the resulting outlet gas stream is mostly hydrogen and contains some impurities such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and light hydrocarbon gases.

  [0042] The hydrogen rich stream in line 58 may be passed through a packed scrubbing tower 60 where it is scrubbed using the scrubbing liquid in line 62 to remove hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. The scrubbing liquid used in line 64 can be regenerated and recycled, usually an amine. The scrubbed hydrogen rich stream is discharged from the scrubber through line 66 and is recycled through the recycle gas compressor 68 and line 20 back to the SHC reactor 30. The recycled hydrogen gas can be mixed with fresh make-up hydrogen added through line 70.

[0043] The liquid fraction in line 48 carries the liquid product and is added to the cooled hot flash drum overhead stream in line 44 that is discharged from cooler 46 and is the same as in cold high pressure separator 56. A line 50 is produced that is fed to the low temperature flash drum 72 at a temperature and at a lower pressure than in the high temperature flash drum 42 at 690 to 3,447 kPa (100 to 500 psig). Overhead gas in line 74 is C ₄ - may be a fuel gas containing a substance which can be utilized to recover. The liquid bottom stream from the cold flash drum 72 in line 76 and the bottom stream line 52 from the hot flash drum 42 are routed into the fractionation section 80, respectively.

  [0044] The fractionation section 80 is in downstream communication with the SHC reactor 30 and is for fractionating at least a portion of the slurry hydrocracking product. Although shown as only one container in the figure, the sorting section 80 can include one or several containers. The fractionation section 80 can include an atmospheric stripping fractionation column and a vacuum flash drum column, but in one form, just one vacuum column. In one form, an inert gas, such as medium pressure steam, can be supplied near the bottom of the fractionation section 80 in line 82 to strip lighter components from heavier components. By the fractionation section 80, the overhead gas product in line 84 discharged from the top outlet 83, the naphtha product stream in line 86 discharged from the side outlet 85, in the line 90 discharged from side outlet 88 Diesel fuel product stream, LVGO flow in line 92 discharged from side outlet 91, HVGO flow in line 94 discharged from side outlet 93, and pitch in bottom flow line 98 discharged from bottom outlet 96 A flow is generated.

  [0045] The SHC pitch product stream in the bottoms flow line 98 from the bottom outlet 96 is a heavy aromatic material and includes an SHC catalyst. The pitch typically boils at temperatures above 524 ° C. (975 ° F.). The pitch in line 98 is divided between line 100 that is introduced into SDA unit 110 and line 102 for recirculation back to SHC reactor 30. The HVGO product stream in line 94 from the side outlet is split between a line 106 for blending and a line 108 for recirculation back to the SHC reactor 30. The flow in lines 102 and 108 can be mixed in line 14. The HVGO product stream boils at temperatures above 427 ° C. (800 ° F.) and below the boiling range for pitch. At least 80% by weight of the HVGO stream boils at temperatures above 427 ° C. In a further form, at least 80% by weight of the HVGO stream boils at a temperature below 524 ° C (975 ° F). Line 106 carries at least a portion of the HVGO stream from line 94.

[0046] The pitch flow in line 100 is introduced into SDA unit 110. In the SDA process, the pitch feed stream in line 100 is pumped and mixed with the recycle solvent in line 116 and the make-up solvent in line 118 and then fed into the first extraction column 120 in line 112. Introduced as a stream. Additional solvent, such as recycled solvent, can be added to the lower end of the extraction column 120 through line 122. Part of the pitch is dissolved in the solvent by a light paraffin solvent, usually propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, or mixtures thereof. The pitch solubilized in the solvent rises to the top of the column 120. Since the characteristic that determines the dissolving power of the light hydrocarbon solvent is its density, a solvent equivalent to a specific solvent has an equivalent density. For example, in one embodiment, heptane is the highest density solvent that can be used without raising the high concentration of vanadium in DAO. Also, a solvent having a lower density than heptane may be suitable to raise the lower concentration of vanadium in DAO. Specifically, the solvent solubilizes paraffinic and less polar aromatic compounds in the pitch feed stream. N-pentane is the preferred solvent. The heavier portion of feed stream 112 is insoluble and settles as asphaltene or pitch stream from pitch outlet 123 in line 124 and the first DAO stream is discharged from DAO outlet 127 into line 126. Extract into. The DAO flow in line 126 is the dissolved portion of the pitch. Extraction column 120 is typically operated at 93-204 ° C. (200 ° F.-400 ° F.) and 3.8 MPa-5.6 MPa (550-850 psi). The temperature and pressure of the extraction column 120 are usually lower than the critical point of the solvent, but may be higher or lower than the critical point as long as the density is well controlled. The DAO stream in line 126 has a lower metal concentration than the feed stream in line 112. The first DAO stream is indirect heat exchange with the heated solvent in the solvent recycle line 136 in the heat exchanger 128, and to the supercritical temperature for the solvent in the thermal heater 129 or other additional heat exchanger. Heat. The solvent heated to the supercritical temperature is separated from the DAO in the DAO separator column 130 that is in downstream communication with the top of the first extraction column 120. The solvent recycle stream exits DAO separator column 130 at solvent recycle line 136. The solvent recycle stream is condensed by indirect heat exchange with the extract in line 126 in heat exchanger 128 and by condenser 154. The DAO separator column 130 typically operates at 177 ° C. to 287 ° C. (350 ° F. to 550 ° F.) and 3.8 MPa to 5.2 MPa (550 to 750 psi). The extractor bottoms stream in line 124 contains a higher concentration of metal than the feed stream in line 112. The bottom stream in line 124 is heated in thermal heater 140 or other heat exchange means and stripped in pitch stripper column 150 to provide a low solvent pitch stream in bottom stream line 152, and line 134. A first solvent recovery stream is generated. Steam from line 133 can be used as stripping fluid in pitch stripper column 150. The pitch stripper column 150 is in downstream communication with the pitch outlet 123 from the solvent desulfurization column 120 and separates the solvent from the pitch. Pitch stripper 150 typically operates at 204 ° C to 260 ° C (400 ° F to 500 ° F) and 344 kPa to 1,034 kPa (50 to 150 psi). A low solvent DAO stream exits the DAO separator column 130 in line 132 and enters a DAO stripper column 160 that is in downstream communication with the bottom of the DAO separator column 130 and the DAO outlet 127. The DAO stripper column 160 further separates the second solvent recovery stream 162 from the DAO stream 132 by stripping DAO from entrained solvent at low pressure. Vapor from line 163 can be used as the stripping fluid in DAO stripper column 160. The DAO stripper column 160 typically operates at 149 ° C. to 260 ° C. (300 ° F. to 500 ° F.) and 344 kPa to 1,034 kPa (50 to 150 psi). The second solvent recovery stream is discharged at line 162 and mixed with the first solvent recovery stream in line 134 before being condensed by cooler 164 and stored in solvent reservoir 166. The recovered solvent is recirculated from the reservoir 166 through line 168 as needed to replenish the solvent in line 136 and mix with the pitch stream in line 100. A substantially solvent free DAO that is at least a portion of the DAO discharged from the DAO outlet 127 is provided in line 172.

  [0047] DAO in line 172, which is the dissolved portion of the pitch, is blended with HVGO in line 106 in a container or line 180 as shown in the figure, and is greater than 73 wt% aromatics, preferably 75 wt%. A blended product having a hydrocarbon composition comprising at least% aromatics is provided. Line 180 or a container not shown is in downstream communication with HVGO side outlet 93, pitch outlet 96, and DAO outlet 127. The composition can have up to 5 wt% heptane insolubles and up to 50 wppm vanadium. In a further aspect, the hydrocarbon composition can have up to 5 wt% hexane insolubles and up to 30 wppm vanadium. In a further aspect, the hydrocarbon composition may have no more than 5 wt% pentane insolubles and no more than 10 wppm vanadium. At least 80%, preferably 90% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature of 426 ° C. (800 ° F.) or higher. In one embodiment, the hydrocarbon composition comprises no more than 3.5 wt% sulfur, suitably no more than 1.0 wt% sulfur, preferably no more than 0.5 wt% sulfur. In a further aspect, the blended hydrocarbon composition has a viscosity of no greater than 180 cSt at 50 ° C. and an average molecular weight of no greater than 500. In one aspect, the hydrocarbon composition has no more than 5 wppm sodium, preferably no more than 2 wppm sodium, making it a suitable turbine fuel.

[0048] The following examples were conducted to demonstrate the utility of the present invention.
Example 1:
[0049] A SHC reactor was used to convert a bituminous vacuum residue from the Peace River Formation, Alberta, Canada, at a pitch conversion level of 80-90 wt%. Each SHC product was separated to give a pitch product and an HVGO product. ASTM-D2549-02 (2007): Aromatic substance concentrations for SHC product fractions were determined by standard test methods for separating representative aromatic and non-aromatic fractions of high boiling oils by elution chromatography: . The pitch discharged from the SHC reactor is reasonably assumed to be 100% aromatic molecules at all conversion levels higher than 80% by weight. The aromatic concentrations determined for each HVGO fraction are given in Table I.

Example 2:
[0050] A SHC reactor was used to convert bituminous vacuum residue from the Peace River Formation, Alberta, Canada, at a pitch conversion level of 87 wt%. The SHC product was separated to give the pitch product and the HVGO product. The pitch product was then subjected to solvent separation using an n-pentane solvent to extract DAO, and a blend calculation was performed to determine the proportion of the HVGO product and a hydrocarbon composition having DAO extracted with pentane. The blend characteristics were determined. Table I shows the properties of the blended hydrocarbon composition compared to the RME180 / IFO180 specification.
I. The RME180 / IF180 specifications were taken from ISO Standard 8217: 2005 (E) Table 2: Requirements for Marine Residual Oil: The aromatic concentration of the blends in Table II was determined as the weight average of the aromatic concentrations in the HVGO and pitch fractions from Table I.

[0051] All blends are expected to have a pour point of less than 30 ° C. based on their physical properties according to procedure 2B8.1 of API Petroleum Refining Technical Handbook, vol. 1 (1987). According to procedures 2B2.1 and 2B2.3 of API Petroleum Refining Handbook, vol.1 (1987), at a temperature of 30 ° C., a blend having an HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 79:21 has a viscosity of 1201 Cst. A blend having a HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 88:12 is then calculated to have a viscosity of 349 Cst. Accordingly, all compositions in the table are expected to have a pour point of less than 30 ° C.

  [0052] A blend having an HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 79:21 is the as-produced composition of the SHC product. A blend having an HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 85:15 has a composition that satisfies the viscosity specification at 50 ° C., but does not meet the density specification due to its slightly higher density. A blend having an HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 88:12 has a composition that meets all of the RME180 / IF180 specifications.

  [0053] A blend having an HVGO: pentane soluble pitch ratio of 88:12 was measured to have less than 2 wppm sodium. All blends were expected to have a sodium concentration of less than 2 wppm.

Example 3:
[0054] Using a SHC reactor, a bituminous vacuum residue from the Peace River, Alberta, Canada, was converted at a pitch conversion level of 87 wt%. The SHC product was separated to give a pitch product. The pitch product had the properties given in Table III.

  [0055] Next, the pitch product was subjected to solvent separation using several solvents to extract DAO. The concentration of metal pulled up by different solvents and the density of the pitch were examined and are shown in Table IV.

  [0056] In this experiment, it was found that the concentration of nickel and vanadium in the extracted oil was linearly related to either solvent density or weight percent yield. However, hexane was not actually tested and the properties were therefore interpolated between pentane and heptane based on solvent density. It was surprising that such small amounts of nickel and vanadium were present in the oil extracted from the pitch.

  [0057] Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art, using the above description, can utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. Accordingly, the preferred specific embodiments described above are to be construed as merely illustrative and not a limitation on the remainder of the disclosure in any way.

[0058] In the above, unless otherwise indicated, all temperatures are in ° C. and all parts and percentages are by weight.
[0059] From the above description, those skilled in the art can readily ascertain the essential features of the present invention and adapt it to various usages and conditions without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, various changes and modifications of the present invention can be made.

[0058] In the above, unless otherwise indicated, all temperatures are in ° C. and all parts and percentages are by weight.
[0059] From the above description, those skilled in the art can readily ascertain the essential features of the present invention and adapt it to various usages and conditions without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, various changes and modifications of the present invention can be made.
The present invention includes the following aspects.
[1]
Heavy feed stream is hydrocracked to give slurry hydrocracked product;
Separating the slurry hydrocracking product to provide a pitch stream and a heavy VGO stream;
Mixing at least a portion of the pitch stream with the solvent to dissolve a portion of the pitch in the solvent; and
Blending the dissolved portion of the pitch with at least a portion of the heavy VGO stream to provide a blended product;
A method for producing a hydrocarbon fuel.
[2]
The method of [1], further comprising separating the dissolved portion of the pitch from the solvent prior to the blending step.
[3]
The process of [1], wherein slurry hydrocracking the heavy feed stream comprises a pitch conversion of at least 85 wt%.
[4]
The method according to [1], wherein the solvent has a density of heptane or lower.
[5]
A slurry hydrocracking reactor for reacting a heavy feed stream with hydrogen on a catalyst to produce a slurry hydrocracking product;
A separator for separating hydrogen from the slurry hydrocracking product in communication with the slurry hydrocracking reactor;
Fractionating at least a portion of the slurry hydrocracking product in communication with the slurry hydrocracking reactor having a side outlet for discharging a heavy VGO stream and a bottom outlet for discharging a pitch stream. Sorting section to do;
A solvent dewatering column in communication with the pitch stream to produce a degassed oil stream from the degassed oil outlet; and
A vessel or line that blends at least a portion of the heavy VGO stream and the defoamed oil stream in communication with the side outlet and the defoamed oil outlet;
Hydrocarbon fuel production equipment including
[6]
73% by weight or more of aromatic substances;
Up to 5% by weight of heptane insoluble matter; and
50 wppm or less of vanadium;
A hydrocarbon composition wherein at least 80% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature greater than 426 ° C. (800 ° F.).
[7]
The hydrocarbon composition according to [6], further comprising 5% by weight or less of hexane-insoluble matter.
[8]
The hydrocarbon composition according to [6], further comprising 5% by weight or less of pentane-insoluble matter.
[9]
The hydrocarbon composition according to [6], further comprising vanadium of less than 10 wppm.
[10]
The hydrocarbon composition of [6], wherein at least 90% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature greater than 426 ° C. (800 ° F.).

Claims (10)

Heavy feed stream is hydrocracked to give slurry hydrocracked product;
Separating the slurry hydrocracking product to provide a pitch stream and a heavy VGO stream;
Mixing at least a portion of the pitch stream with the solvent to dissolve a portion of the pitch in the solvent; and blending the dissolved portion of the pitch with at least a portion of the heavy VGO stream to provide a blended product;
A method for producing a hydrocarbon fuel.   The method of claim 1, further comprising separating the dissolved portion of the pitch from the solvent prior to the blending step.   The method of claim 1, wherein slurry hydrocracking the heavy feed stream comprises a pitch conversion of at least 85% by weight.   The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent has a density of heptane or less. A slurry hydrocracking reactor for reacting a heavy feed stream with hydrogen on a catalyst to produce a slurry hydrocracking product;
A separator for separating hydrogen from the slurry hydrocracking product in communication with the slurry hydrocracking reactor;
Fractionating at least a portion of the slurry hydrocracking product in communication with the slurry hydrocracking reactor having a side outlet for discharging a heavy VGO stream and a bottom outlet for discharging a pitch stream. Sorting section to do;
A solvent desulfurization column that produces a defoamed oil stream from the degassed oil outlet in communication with the pitch stream; and at least a portion of the heavy VGO stream in communication with the side and degassed oil outlets. A container or line for blending the oil stream;
Hydrocarbon fuel production equipment including 73% by weight or more of aromatic substances;
5 wt% or less heptane insoluble matter; and 50 wppm or less vanadium;
A hydrocarbon composition wherein at least 80% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature greater than 426 ° C. (800 ° F.).   The hydrocarbon composition according to claim 6, further comprising 5% by weight or less of hexane-insoluble matter.   The hydrocarbon composition according to claim 6, further comprising 5% by weight or less of pentane-insoluble matter.   The hydrocarbon composition of claim 6 further comprising less than 10 wppm vanadium.   The hydrocarbon composition of claim 6, wherein at least 90% by volume of the composition boils at a temperature greater than 426 ° C. (800 ° F.).

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