Technologies for Petroleum Residue Upgrading

A number of technologies are available to upgrade distillation residues [2]. Thermal processing is the traditional way to treat residues. Examples include visbreaking, flexicoking, 

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If cracking catalysts are used to support the cracking process, the sulfur and metal contaminants must be removed upstream since they poison the catalyst, such as in the residue FCC process [3]. 

The deasphalting process is also based on carbon removal [4]. However, it uses a completely different technology. Here, asphaltenes are extracted by solvents from the heavy ends. Light hydrocarbon (e.g. propane) or supercritical gases are used as solvents. The resulting deasphalted oil is essentially free of metallic contaminants. The carbon removal processes yield large amounts of low-value coke or asphalt beside the desired hydrocarbon products. 

None of the different processes has decisive economic advantage over the others. They are economically feasible only in special situations, when an ontlet for the low-valne prodncts is available. 

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