Patent ID: 9669381
Date: 2017-06-06
CPC Classifications: B01F,B01J,C10G

Claim:
1. A method for hydrocracking a feedstream comprising a liquid hydrocarbon, the method comprising: forming a dispersion comprising hydrogen-containing gas bubbles dispersed in the liquid hydrocarbon, wherein the hydrogen-containing gas bubbles have a mean diameter of less than about 5 μm, by introducing a mixture of the hydrogen-containing gas and the feedstream to an external high shear device comprising at least one toothed rotor and complementarily-shaped stator separated by a shear gap in the range of from about 0.025 mm to about 10.0 mm, wherein the shear gap is the minimum distance between the rotor and the stator, and wherein subjecting the mixture to shear initiates the formation of free radicals without the presence of a catalyst, wherein the high shear device comprises an enclosure whereby the temperature and pressure therein can be controlled, and wherein the at least one toothed rotor is rotated at a tip speed of at least 5.0 m/s during formation of the dispersion; and transferring the dispersion from the external high shear device to a fixed bed hydrocracking reactor in the presence of a hydrocracking catalyst, wherein at least a portion of the feedstream is converted into hydrocracked product.