Patent EA-001351-B1 (EA)
Title: Integrated resudual upgrading and fluid catalytic cracking
Inventor: SERRAND WILLIBALD
IPC: C10G57/00
Filed: 1998-07-17
Abstract: 1. A two stage process for converting a residua feedstock to lower boiling products wherein the first stage is an upgrading stage wherein the Conradson Carbon content and metals content of a residua feedstock is lowered and the second stage is a catalytic cracking stage containing a reactor and a catalyst regenerator, wherein the upgrading is performed in a short vapor contact time thermal process unit comprised of: (i) a heating zone wherein solids containing carbonaceous deposits are received from a stripping zone and heated in the presence of an oxidizing gas; (ii) a short vapor contact time reaction zone containing a horizontal moving bed of fluidized hot solids recycled from the heating zone, which reaction zone is operated at a temperature from about 450 degree C to about 650 degree C and operated under conditions such that the solids residence time is from about 5 to about 60 seconds and the vapor residence time is less than about 2 seconds; and (iii) a stripping zone through which solids having carbonaceous deposits thereon are passed from the reaction zone and wherein lower boiling additional hydrocarbon and volatiles are stripped with a stripping gas; which process comprises: (a) feeding the residua feedstock, in liquid form, to the short vapor contact time reaction zone wherein it contacts fluidized hot solids, thereby depositing high Conradson Carbon components and metal-containing components thereon, and producing a vaporized product stream; (b) separating the vaporized product stream from the fluidized solids; (c) feeding said vaporized product stream to a fluid catalytic cracking reactor where they are catalytically converted to lower boiling products; (d) passing the solids to said stripping zone where they are contacted with a stripping gas, thereby removing volatile components therefrom; (e) passing the stripped solids to a heating zone along with CO containing flue gas from the fluid catalytic cracker regenerator, where they are heated to a temperature effective to maintain the heat requirements of the short vapor contact time reaction zone; and (f) recycling hot solids from the heating zone to the reaction zone where they are contacted with fresh feedstock. 2. The process of claim 1 wherein the CO -containing flue gas from the fluid catalytic cracker regenerator is combusted to raise its temperature prior to its being passed to said heating zone. 3. The process of claim 1 wherein the vaporized product stream is quenched to a temperature below which thermal cracking will occur before being fed to a fluid catalytic cracking process unit. 4. The process of claim 1 wherein the vapor residence time of the short vapor contact time reaction zone is less than about 1 second. 5. The process of claim 1 wherein the residua feedstock is selected from the group consisting of vacuum resids, atmospheric resids, heavy and reduced petroleum crude oil. 6. The process of claim 5 wherein the residua feedstock is a vacuum resid. 7. The process of claim 3 wherein the solids residence time of the short vapor contact time reaction zone is from about 10 to 30 seconds. 8. The process of claim 1 wherein the particles of the short vapor contact time reaction zone are fluidized with the aid of a mechanical means. 9. The process of claim 8 wherein the mechanical means are comprised of set of horizontally disposed screws within the reactor.