Patent ID: 7384540
Filing Date: 2008-06-10
Classification: C10G

Abstract:
1. A process for hydrotreating a hydrocarbon feed containing sulphur-containing compounds, comprising the following steps: a first step a1) for hydrotreatment in which said feed and excess hydrogen are passed over a first hydrotreatment catalyst to convert at least a portion of the sulphur contained in the feed into H downstream of step a1), a step a2) for stripping the at least partially desulphurized feed from step a1) in a pressurized stripping column, using at least one hydrogen-rich stripping gas, to produce at least one hydrogen-rich gaseous stripping effluent and at least one liquid stripping effluent, the gaseous stripping effluent being at least partially compressed and recycled to the inlet to the first step a1) using a first recycle loop REC1; downstream of step a2), a second hydrotreatment step a3) in which the stripped liquid effluent and excess hydrogen are passed over a second hydrotreatment catalyst, the effluent from said step a3) being fractionated, in a gas/liquid separation step a4), into a hydrogen-rich gaseous fraction and a hydrotreated liquid fraction, said hydrogen-rich gaseous fraction being at least partially compressed and recycled to the inlet to step a3) using a second recycle loop REC2 separate from the loop REC1, in which the loop REC2 is supplied with hydrogen independently of the loop REC1, via one or more streams of hydrogen exclusively constituted by streams of makeup hydrogen external to the loop REC1, such that a flow of excess makeup hydrogen compared with the hydrogen recquirements of step a3) is supplied to step a3), and wherein stream of hydrogen-rich purge gas is extracted from the loop REC2 and said stream is sent to at least one point in the loop REC1.