The
processing of light cycle oil (LCO) for diesel fuel production
by the hydrotreating (HDT) process is under general re-evaluation
because of current stringent environmental regulations. The low-quality
of LCO with high sulfur and nitrogen, and a high percentage of diaromatic
hydrocarbons, limits the possible upgrading alternatives. A HDT step,
involving hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, and partial
hydrodearomatization, is combined with a hydrocracking (HYC) step
for producing (1) high-quality fuels (high-octane gasoline and ultralow
sulfur diesel) and a (2) benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) enriched
fraction. In this review studies regarding the HDT-HYC process for
producing such products from real feedstocks are considered, with
the aim to provide the state of the art developments for LCO upgrading.
To evaluate the effect of decanted oil (DO) from fluid
catalytic cracking (FCC) units on product sediments in the ebullated
bed hydrocracking process (EBHP), an experimental investigation was
carried out, in which the reduction of sediments was evaluated by
injecting DO into different points of the EBHP. This study was carried
out in a H-Oil pilot plant, in which the operation of the industrial
EBHP was simulated. To evaluate the effect on the reaction system,
DO was injected into the feedstock drum, and to evaluate the effect
on the product recovery section, DO was injected into different points
of this section. The amount of oil injected was 5 and 10 vol % based
on the fresh feed. Experimental results indicate that, when DO is
injected together with the feedstock, its effect on sediment reduction
is marginal. However, when DO was injected into the product recovery
section, sediments were reduced up to 40%. The effect on the reaction
system was marginal because the aromatic hydrocarbons of the DO, which
should help to maintain asphaltenes in solution, were saturated in
the reactors. The effect on the product recovery section may be explained
by the asphaltene solubility on the aromatic hydrocarbons of the DO,
which contributed to maintain asphaltenes in solution.
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