Patent ID: 8080154

Claim:
A process for reducing heavy oil concentration in a composition containing 2-40 wt. % catalyst particles in heavy oil, the process comprising: passing a mixture of solvent and the composition comprising catalyst particles in heavy oil through a filtration sedimentation assembly comprising: at least a filtration membrane having a plurality of channels arranged in parallel, the channels having an angle of inclination at least 45° from a horizontal surface, wherein the membrane has an average pore size selected for separating the feed stream into: a) a filtrate stream comprising solvent and at least 50% of the heavy oil in the composition; and b) a retentate stream containing catalyst particles having a reduced heavy oil content and a portion of the solvent; and a receiving chamber for receiving the retentate; collecting the retentate stream; and recovering catalyst particles from the retentate stream by drying under an inert condition.