Patent ID: 7972499

Claim:
A process for upgrading heavy oils which employs a slurry catalyst composition, the process comprising: (a) combining, in an upgrading reactor under hydroprocessing conditions, heavy oil feed, hydrogen gas, fresh catalyst slurry composition, and recycle slurry composition, and wherein under hydroprocessing conditions at least a portion of the heavy oil feedstock is converted to lower boiling hydrocarbons, forming upgraded products; (b) passing an effluent flow from the upgrading reactor to a separation zone wherein upgraded products boiling at temperatures up to 900° F. are passed overhead; (c) passing materials remaining in the separation zone from step (b) to a constantly stirred catalyst storage tank; and (d) passing at least a portion of the materials in the constantly stirred catalyst storage tank back to the upgrading reactor of step (a); wherein the slurry catalyst composition is not allowed to settle in the process and wherein the slurry catalyst has an average particle size in the range of 1-20 microns.