Effects of aromatic cycle oils on performance of residue hydrotreating

Catalytic Cleavage of Ether Bond in a Lignin Model Compound over Carbon-Supported Noble Metal Catalysts in Supercritical Ethanol

Decomposition of lignin-related model compound (benzyl phenyl ether, BPE) to phenol and toluene was performed over carbon-supported noble metal (Ru, Pd, and Pt) catalysts in supercritical ethanol without supply of hydrogen. Phenol and toluene as target products were produced by the hydrogenolysis of BPE. The conversion of BPE was higher than 95% over all carbon-supported noble metal catalysts at 270 ° for 4 h. The 5 wt% Pd/C demonstrated the highest yield (ca. 59.3%) of the target products and enhanced conversion rates and reactivity more significantly than other catalysts. In the case of Ru/C, BPE was significantly transformed to other unidentified byproducts, more so than other catalysts. The Pt/C catalyst produced the highest number of byproducts such as alkylated phenols and gas-phase products, indicating that the catalyst promotes secondary reactions during the decomposition of BPE. In addition, a model reaction using phenol as a reactant was conducted to check the secondary reactions of phenol such as alkylation or hydrogenation in supercritical ethanol. The product distribution when phenol was used as a reactant was mostly consistent with BPE as a reactant. Based on the results, plausible reaction pathways were proposed.

Structural Characterisation of Asphaltenes during Residue Hydrotreatment with Light Cycle Oil as an Additive

Several atmospheric residues (AR) of Kuwaiti crude, in the absence, or in the presence, of light cycle oil (LCO) as an aromatic additive, were hydrotreated in an experimental plant. Asphaltenes (precipitated from Kuwaiti AR, a hydrotreated AR, and a hydrotreated blend of AR and LCO) were characterised by chemical structure and changes during residue hydrotreatment. The average structural parameters of these asphaltenes, obtained from a combined method of element analysis, average molecular weight, X-ray diffraction, and NMR, demonstrate that, after hydrotreatment, the aromatic cores of the asphaltenes become more compact and smaller whereas the peripheral alkyl branches are decreased in number and shortened. The influence of LCO on residue hydrotreating is also studied in terms of structural changes in the asphaltenes. The findings imply that LCO added to AR during hydrotreating improves the degree of aromatic substitution, the total hydrogen/carbon atomic ratio per average molecule, the distance between aromatic sheets and aliphatic chains, and so forth, by modifying the colloidal nature and microstructure of asphaltene: this is beneficial for the further hydroprocessing of AR. Three hypothetical average molecules are proposed to represent the changes undergone by such asphaltenes during hydrotreatment as well as the effects of additive LCO.