Reactor Model for Heavy Oil Hydrotreating with Catalyst Deactivation Based on Vanadium and Coke Deposition

A quasi-dynamic one-dimensional pseudohomogeneous trickle-bed reactor model for hydrotreating of heavy vacuum residue was developed. The model includes catalyst deactivation based on the concentration of impurities in heavy oil as well as coke and vanadium deposition on the catalyst surface during time-on-stream. The concentrations of sulfur and vanadium in products and on the catalyst surface were considered in the objective function based on squared differences between calculated and experimental values to determine the model parameters. Literature experimental data of heavy vacuum residue hydrotreating were used for model validation. The proposed model predicted well the typical "S" shape profiles during time-on-stream due to catalyst deactivation for heavy oil hydrotreating.