Hydroprocessing light cycle oil in liquid-full reactors
A process for the hydroprocessing of a low-value light cycle oil (LCO) hydrocarbon feed to provide a high-value diesel-range product. The process comprises a hydrotreatment stage followed by a hydrocracking stage, each of which is conducted under liquid-full reaction conditions wherein substantially all the hydrogen supplied to the hydrotreating and hydrocracking reactions is dissolved in the liquid-phase hydrocarbon feed. Ammonia and optionally other gases formed during hydrotreatment are removed in a separation step prior to hydrocracking. The LCO feed is advantageously converted to diesel in high yield with little loss of hydrocarbon to naphtha.
1. A process for hydroprocessing a hydrocarbon feed, comprising:
(a) contacting the hydrocarbon feed with hydrogen and a first diluent to form a first liquid feed, wherein hydrogen is dissolved in said first liquid feed, and wherein the hydrocarbon feed is a light cycle oil (LCO) having a polyaromatic content greater than 25% by weight, a nitrogen content greater than 300 parts per million by weight (wppm), and a density greater than 890 kg/m 3 at 15.6° C.;
(b) contacting the first liquid feed mixture with a first catalyst in a first liquid-full reaction zone to produce a first effluent;
(c) recycling a portion of the first effluent for use as all or part of the first diluent in step (a);
(d) separating at least a portion of the first effluent not recycled in a separation zone into at least three fractions comprising: (i) a low boiling fraction comprising ammonia and optionally other gases, (ii) a diesel fraction comprising a diesel-range product having a density no more than 870 kg/m 3 at 15.6° C., a polyaromatic content no more than 13% by weight, and a sulfur content no more than 60 wppm, and (iii) a high boiling fraction having a nitrogen content less than 100 wppm;
(e) contacting at least a portion of the high boiling fraction with hydrogen and a second diluent to produce a second liquid feed, wherein hydrogen is dissolved in said second liquid feed;
(f) contacting the second liquid feed with a second catalyst in a second liquid-full reaction zone to produce a second effluent having a density less than 875 kg/m 3 at 15.6° C. and a polyaromatic content less than 15% by weight; and
(g) recycling a portion of the second effluent for use as all or part of the second diluent in step (e);
wherein essentially no naphtha fraction is generated in the separating step (d).
2. The process of claim 1 further comprising: (h) separating at least a portion of the second effluent not recycled to generate at least a diesel fraction comprising a diesel-range product having a density no more than 870 kg/m 3 at 15.6° C., a polyaromatic content no more than 13% by weight, and a sulfur content no more than 60 wppm.
3. The process of claim 2 wherein the diesel fractions in separating steps (d) and (h) are either separately collected or combined as diesel blending component or diesel fuel.
4. The process of claim 1 wherein the total amount of hydrogen fed to the first and the second liquid-full reaction zones is 200-530 N l/l (1125-3000 scf/bbl).
5. The process of claim 1 wherein both the first liquid-full reaction zone and the second liquid-full reaction zone have, independently, a temperature in the range of about 300° C. to about 450° C., a pressure in the range of about 3.45 MPa (34.5 bar) to about 17.3 MPa (173 bar), and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of from about 0.1 hr −1 to about 10 hr −1 .
6. The process of claim 1 wherein the high boiling fraction has a nitrogen content less than 50 wppm.
7. The process of claim 1 wherein the high boiling fraction has a nitrogen content less than 10 wppm.
8. The process of claim 1 wherein the LCO in step (a) has a sulfur content of more than 500 wppm and the second effluent in step (f) has a sulfur content no more than 50 wppm.
9. The process of claim 1 wherein the LCO in step (a) has a cetane index less than 30 and the second effluent in step (f) has a cetane index no less than 35.
10. The process of claim 1 wherein the diesel fraction comprises a diesel-range product having a density no more than 845 kg/m 3 at 15.6° C., a polyaromatic content no more than 11% by weight, and a sulfur content no more than 10 wppm.
11. The process of claim 1 wherein the diesel fraction has a nitrogen content less than 100 wppm.
12. The process of claim 1 wherein the first catalyst is a hydrotreating catalyst, and the second catalyst is a hydrocracking catalyst.
13. The process of claim 12 wherein the hydrotreating catalyst comprises a non-precious metal and an oxide support.
14. The process of claim 13 wherein the non-precious metal is a combination of metals selected from the group consisting of nickel-molybdenum (NiMo), cobalt-molybdenum (CoMo), nickel-tungsten (NiW) and cobalt-tungsten (CoW).
15. The process of claim 12 wherein the hydrocracking catalyst comprises a non-precious metal and an oxide support.
16. The process of claim 15 wherein the non-precious metal is a combination of metals selected from the group consisting of nickel-molybdenum (NiMo), cobalt-molybdenum (CoMo), nickel-tungsten (NiW) and cobalt-tungsten (CoW).