ABSTRACT
The effect of hydrovisbreaking (HVB) of Arabian Light vaccum residue on the performance of resid demetalation and desulfurization catalysts was studied. The HVB/HDT combination results in higher conversion with reduced viscosity comparedto catalytic hydrotreating alone. This approach can be attractive for the production of low-sulfur heavy fuel oils with reduced cutter stock requirements or when the goal is conversion in combination with hydrodemetalation and desulfurization. However, hydrovisbreaking does not improve performance of the downstream catalysts in terms of desulfurization and demetalation. In addition, hydrovisbreaking at a too high conversion can result in sedimentation which can plug downstream reactors or cause rapid pressure-drop increase. Therefore, the HVB/HDT combination would not be suitable for a fixed-bed residue hydrotreating process where high conversion is not a primary goal.
