Syncrude hydrotreater

Two proprietary Chevron catalysts were used in different pilot plant simulations of the syncrude hydrotreater ICR 106 and ICR 113. The ICR 106 catalyst contains nickel, tungsten, silica, and alumina and the ICR 113 catalyst contains nickel, molybdenum, silica, and alumina. An equal volume of inert, nonporous alumina was placed on top of the catalysts. This alumina served as a preheating zone. These catalysts operated satisfactorily for over one-half year (4000 hours) with the Illinois H-Coal syncrude. 

Illinois H-Coal syncrude. The product from the syncrude hydrotreater contains less than 5 vol % aromatics, even at 1.5 LHSV. 

Rerunning these syncrudes appears to have three advantages. The size of the Illinois H-Coal syncrude hydrotreater can be reduced, perhaps to one-third of the original size. Distillation of the hydrotreated syncrude to meet jet fuel gum and end point specifications can be eliminated. Hydrogen can be manufactured from the least valuable component of the syncrude. 

Run 15 was carried out with a higher LHSV of 1.6, and the results are not too much different from Runs 13 and lit. The heteroatom removals are about the same. The heavy oil fraction, however, was increased to 13 from 30 and 36% (Runs 13 and lit). Thus, the conclusion is that the lignite extract, a solid, can also be upgraded to yield a syncrude by the supercritical hydrotreatment process. 

Bingham, F.E. Chan, E. Mankowski, T. Hubbard, P., Improved Reactor Internals for Syncrude s HGO Hydrotreaters, NPRA Annual Meeting, March 26-28, 2000, Paper AM-00-19. 

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