Development of Residue Upgrading Technology Integrated Solvent De-asphalting and Residue Hydrotreating System: De-asphalted Oil Properties and Reactivity Estimation

A residue upgrading process system was evaluated which consisted of a solvent de-asphalting (SDA) unit, residue hydrotreating unit (RDS), and residue fluid catalytic cracking unit (RFCC). In the process, de-asphalted oil (DAO) from the SDA is treated in the RDS, followed by conversion in the RFCC. To investigate the effect of the SDA on the RDS performance, detailed analysis of the DAO and atmospheric residue (AR) was conducted using GPC-ICP and FT-ICR-MS. Reactivity of the DAO and AR was also evaluated using an isothermal reactor and an adiabatic reactor. DAO and AR showed similar reactivity in desulfurization, whereas DAO showed higher reactivity in demetallization. Possibly DAO is more active than AR because DAO has a higher number of aromatic rings and lower substituted carbon numbers compared with AR. Temperature increase in the catalyst bed of a commercial RDS unit during DAO processing is different from that during AR processing and the accuracy of temperature prediction using a simulator based on AR processing is not sufficient. However, reaction prediction at the molecular level improved the simulator in both prediction of reactivity and exothermic behavior during the catalytic reaction.