Patent ID: 7897035

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 and a slurry catalyst feed; providing a heavy oil feedstock, wherein at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock is for feeding a contacting zone other than the first contacting zone; combining a portion of the hydrogen containing gas feed, a portion of 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 at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock and 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 to convert at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming additional upgraded products; sending a mixture comprising 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 additional volatile upgraded products are removed with the additional hydrogen containing gas as an overhead stream and the slurry catalyst and the unconverted heavy oil feedstock are removed as a second non-volatile stream.