Patent ID: 8236170
Filing Date: 2012-08-07
Classification: B01J,C10G

Abstract:
1. A process to upgrade a heavy oil feed stock, the process comprising: providing the heavy oil feedstock, a slurry catalyst, and a hydrogen containing gas feed having a superficial gas velocity uG, providing an upflow reactor having a reactor outlet, a reactor inlet, a recirculation pump for generating a liquid recirculation flow rate (uL) from the reactor outlet to the reactor inlet and at least one internal mixing device selected from the group consisting of a stirrer, internal baffles, agitators, piping, tubing, a downcomer and combinations thereof, combining the hydrogen containing gas feed, the heavy oil feedstock, and the slurry catalyst in an upflow reactor under hydrocracking conditions to convert at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, wherein a sufficient uL/uG ratio is maintained for the upflow reactor to operate in a bubble flow regime, forming a multi-phase mixture comprising hydrogen admixed with volatile upgraded products, non-volatile upgraded products and the slurry catalyst, the upflow reactor is adapted for providing a liquid recirculation flow rate uL from a reactor outlet to a reactor inlet; passing the multi-phase mixture overhead to separators; recovering the upgraded products.