Petroleum fuel conversion, high-sulfur residual

Slurry-phase hydrocracking systems convert heavy vacuum residues however, these processes are not yet fully commercialized. The feed to this type of reactor is the petroleum residue plus a solid carrier (commonly known as additive). The purpose of the additive is to provide a surface for the deposition of converted asphaltenes and metals, as the residue is hydrocracked. Slurry reactors operate at high temperature and pressure, and residue conversions higher than 90% (Kressmann et al., 1998). Unfortunately, these units produce poor-quality, hydrogen-deficient distillate and vacuum products that cannot be used as fuel, unless blended with something else, for example, coal or heavy fuel oil, due to their high content of sulfur and metals (Ancheyta and Speight, 2007). 

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