Investigation of fouling and pressure drop profiles in packed-bed catalytic reactor during hydrotreating of bitumen-derived gas oils

沥青衍生瓦斯油加氢处理过程中填充床催化反应器的结垢和压降曲线研究

• 批准号: 566954-2021
• 负责人: Dalai, Ajay
• 金额: $ 9.47万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=722347
• 关键词: Investigation; fouling; pressure; drop; profiles

A prevalent problem associated with the seamless operation of hydrotreating catalytic reactors in the refinery is the issues of fouling and pressure drop growth. These limit the scheduled run lengths of catalytic reactor operation and in severe cases warrant premature shutdowns. The occurrence of submicron metal particles in bitumen-derived gas oils at extremely low concentrations (<100 ppm), can accumulate over extended feed processing times and culminate in significant pressure drop and consequently premature shutdown. Similarly, conjugated olefins can also lead to catalyst deactivation, and fouling in hydrotreater reactors. To gain insight into fouling and the pressure drop profiles associated with hydrotreating of bitumen-derived oils, and to develop appropriate mitigation strategies, a systematic investigation on the fouling mechanism of various foulants present in bitumen-derived gas oils is required. In this proposed work, catalyst fouling, and pressure drop issues due to foulants such as metal fines and conjugated olefins will be studied under industrial conditions in collaboration with Syncrude Canada Ltd. A packed bed hydrotreating reactor that simulates an industrial hydrotreater and actual industrial feeds will be used in studying the issues of foulants. The effects of foulants in the heavy and light gas oils on hydrodesulfurisation and hydrodenitrogenation are also examined. Besides, strategies to minimize foulants deposition on the catalyst bed and reactor body will be investigated by altering the surface acidity of a hydrotreating catalyst, the catalyst pellet morphology, and reactor operating conditions. Additionally, interactive effects of catalyst acidity and process conditions will be investigated along with mathematical modeling of foulants deposition. The proposed outcomes of this project will offer solutions to our industrial partner to mitigate localized zonal fouling, and thus to achieve the desired operating cycle between catalyst regenerations in their Mildred Lake upgrader that produces 350,000 bbl/day of sweet crude oil (SCO) from bitumen oil. In addition, this research will enable other Canadian oil companies to improve the profit margin of SCO production while publishing the project findings.

与炼油厂加氢处理催化反应器无缝运行相关的一个普遍问题是结垢和压降增长的问题。这些限制了催化反应器运行的预定运行时间，在严重的情况下需要提前关闭。沥青衍生瓦斯油中存在极低浓度 (<100 ppm) 的亚微米金属颗粒，这些金属颗粒会在进料加工时间延长后累积，最终导致显着的压力下降，从而导致过早停机。类似地，共轭烯烃也会导致催化剂失活以及加氢处理反应器中的结垢。为了深入了解与沥青衍生油加氢处理相关的结垢和压降曲线，并制定适当的缓解策略，需要对沥青衍生粗柴油中存在的各种污垢的结垢机制进行系统研究。在这项拟议的工作中，我们将与 Syncrude Canada Ltd 合作，在工业条件下研究由金属粉末和共轭烯烃等污染物引起的催化剂结垢和压降问题。模拟工业加氢处理装置和实际工业原料的填充床加氢处理反应器将可用于研究污染物问题。还研究了重质瓦斯油和轻质瓦斯油中的污垢对加氢脱硫和加氢脱氮的影响。此外，将通过改变加氢处理催化剂的表面酸度、催化剂颗粒形态和反应器操作条件来研究最大限度地减少催化剂床和反应器主体上污染物沉积的策略。此外，还将研究催化剂酸度和工艺条件的交互影响以及污染物沉积的数学模型。该项目的拟议成果将为我们的工业合作伙伴提供解决方案，以减轻局部区域污垢，从而在米尔德里德湖升级器中实现催化剂再生之间所需的操作周期，该升级器每天从沥青中生产 350,000 桶低硫原油 (SCO)油。此外，这项研究将使其他加拿大石油公司在发布项目研究结果的同时提高SCO生产的利润率。