Patent ID: 8372266
Filing Date: 2013-02-12
Classification: C10G

Abstract:
1. A process for hydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the process employing a plurality of contacting zones and separation zones, the process comprising: combining a heavy oil feedstock, a hydrogen containing gas, and a slurry catalyst in a hydrocarbon oil diluent which is not heavy oil feedstock, which slurry catalyst is unsupported in a first contacting zone under hydrocracking conditions to convert at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products; sending a mixture of the upgraded products, the slurry catalyst, the hydrogen containing gas, and unconverted heavy oil feedstock to a separation zone, whereby volatile upgraded products are removed with the hydrogen containing gas from the separation zone as a first overhead stream, and the slurry catalyst, non-volatile upgraded products, and the unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed from the separation zone as a first non-volatile stream; sending at least a portion of the first non-volatile stream to a solvent deasphalting unit; obtaining from the solvent deasphalting unit two streams, a stream comprising deasphalted oil, and a stream comprising asphaltenes and the slurry catalyst; sending the deasphalted oil to a contacting zone other than the first contacting zone, which contacting zone is maintained under hydrocracking conditions with additional hydrogen containing gas feed and additional slurry catalyst feed to convert at least a portion of the deasphalted oil to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additional upgraded products; sending a mixture of the additional upgraded products, the slurry catalyst, the additional hydrogen containing gas, and unconverted deasphalted oil to a second separation zone, wherein volatile additional upgraded products and the additional hydrogen containing gas as removed as a second overhead stream, and the slurry catalyst, non-volatile additional upgraded products and the unconverted deasphalted oil are removed as a second non-volatile stream; and recycling to at least one of the contacting zones a recycled stream comprising at least one of: a) a portion of the stream containing asphaltenes and slurry catalyst; b) a portion of the first non-volatile stream; c) a portion of the second non-volatile stream, and d) mixtures thereof; wherein the slurry catalyst is of the formula (M