Objective
To produce liquid hydrocarbons by the catalytic hydroprocessing of solid refinery wastes (hard pitches) in order to improve the profitability of deep conversion processes and reduce the excess production of heavy fuels.
Phase 1 of the project demonstrated that a hydrotreatment process, combining two granula catalysts:
- a first demetallation and conversion catalyst used as a continuously moving bed
- a second hydrorefining catalyst used as a fixed bed
can realistically convert hard pitches into a smaller amount of commercial low sulphur fuel oil.
Phase 2 of the project demonstrated that a hydrotreatment process using a catalyst in slurry form can efficiently convert a hard pitch into distillates which can then be converted into light fuels by classical refinery processes such as catalytic cracking or hydrocracking.
Phase 3 showed that the economics of such processes are tightly linked to the price differential between black and white petroleum products, just as it is the case for all deep conversion processes. It is expected that this differential will increase in the future.
Then the processes demonstrated through this programme will find commercial use to facilitate the adaptation of the Euroopean refineries to the changing oil markets.
It is likely that the evolution of environmental constraints may favor the use of such processes, which avoid the co-production of any solid residue.
Potential users are most European refiners, mainly those using deasphalting or other pitch producing processes to reduce the make of heavy fuel oil.
This project is located in the refinery of SOLAIZE which has a hard pitche production capacity of 0,7 T/hour. Hard pitches are prinamarily produced by, deasphalting or the distillation of residues in a heavy solvent. The demonstration programme includes a minimum conversion catalytic hydroprocessing phase (production of heavy fuel) and a maximum conversion catalytic hydroprocessing phase (production of light distillates).
- The first phase demonstrates the hydroprocessing of hard pitch using a moving catalytic bed, at minimum conversion, to produce a commercial low sulfur heavy fuel oil.
- The second phase demonstrates the hydroprocessing of hard pitch using a catalyst slurried into the feedstock, to maximize the production of distillates.
- The third phase assesses the economic viability of these hard pitch hydrotreating processes.
Phase 1 require further modifications to the existing installation for pitch preparation upstream of the treatment stage and will enable the production of distillates which may then be converted into light fuels in existing refineries by classical processes such as catalytic cracking and hydro-cracking.
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Programme(s)
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Topic(s)
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Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
92500 Rueil Malmaison
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.