Patent ID: 7931796

Claim:
A process for hydroprocessing a heavy oil feedstock, the process employing a plurality of contacting zones and separation zones, including a first contacting zone and a contacting zone other than the first contacting zone, the process comprising: providing a hydrogen containing gas feed; providing a fresh slurry catalyst feed, wherein at least a portion of the fresh slurry catalyst feed is for feeding a contacting zone other the first contacting zone; providing a slurry catalyst comprising a used slurry catalyst and optionally a portion of the fresh catalyst slurry feed; combining a portion of the hydrogen containing gas feed, the heavy oil feedstock, and the slurry catalyst 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 first separation zone, wherein volatile upgraded products are removed with the hydrogen containing gas from the first separation zone as a first overhead stream, and the slurry catalyst, heavier hydrocracked liquid products, and the unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed from the first separation zone as a first non-volatile stream; and sending the first non-volatile stream 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 the at least a portion of the fresh slurry catalyst to convert at least a portion of the unconverted heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additional upgraded products; and sending a mixture of the additional upgraded products, the slurry catalyst, the additional hydrogen containing gas, and unconverted heavy oil feedstock to a separation zone other than the first separation zone, whereby the upgraded products are removed with the additional hydrogen containing gas as a second overhead stream, and the slurry catalyst and the unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed as a second non-volatile stream; and wherein all of the fresh slurry catalyst is for feeding at least a contacting zone other than the first contacting zone.