Integrated Slurry Hydrocracking and Coking Process

Abstract

Integrated slurry hydrocracking (SHC) and coking methods for making slurry hydrocracking (SHC) distillates are disclosed. Representative methods involve passing a slurry comprising a recycle SHC gas oil, a coker gas oil, a vacuum column resid, and a solid particulate through an SHC reaction zone in the presence of hydrogen to obtain the SHC distillate. Recovery of an SHC pitch from fractionation of the SHC reaction zone effluent provides an additional possibility for integration with the coker, and particularly via the upgrading of the SHC pitch in the coker to provide coke and lighter hydrocarbons such as SHC vacuum gas oil (VGO).

1 . An integrated process for preparing a slurry hydrocracking (SHC) distillate, the process comprising:
 (a) passing a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprising a coker gas oil through an SHC reaction zone in the presence of hydrogen to provide an SHC effluent; and   (b) recovering said SHC distillate from said SHC effluent.   
   
   
       2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said coker gas oil is obtained from a delayed coker or a fluidized coker. 
   
   
       3 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is present as a slurry, in combination with a solid particulate, in said SHC reaction zone. 
   
   
       4 . The process of  claim 3 , wherein said solid particulate comprises a compound of a metal of Group IVB, Group VB, Group VIB, Group VIIB, or Group VIII. 
   
   
       5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said heavy hydrocarbon feedstock further comprises a vacuum column residue. 
   
   
       6 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising recovering an SHC gas oil from said SHC effluent, and recycling said SHC gas oil to said SHC zone, whereby said heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprises said SHC gas oil and said coker gas oil. 
   
   
       7 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein, said SHC distillate is separated, as a lower boiling component, from said SHC gas oil by flash separation or fractionation of said SHC effluent. 
   
   
       8 . The process of  claim 6 , wherein said SHC gas oil has a distillation end point temperature from about 427° C. (800° F.) to about 538° C. (1000° F.). 
   
   
       9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said SHC reaction zone is maintained at a temperature from about 343° C. (650° F.) to about 538° C. (1000° F.), a pressure from about 3.5 MPa (500 psig) to about 21 MPa (3000 psig), and a space velocity from about 0.1 to about 30 volumes of heavy hydrocarbon feedstock per hour per volume of said SHC zone. 
   
   
       10 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising hydrotreating a distillate feedstock comprising said SHC distillate in a hydrotreating zone to obtain a hydrotreated distillate. 
   
   
       11 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein said distillate feedstock further comprises, in addition to said SHC distillate, a straight-run distillate. 
   
   
       12 . The process of  claim 10 , wherein said hydrotreated distillate has an API gravity of at least about 20°. 
   
   
       13 . The process of  claim 10  wherein said hydrotreating is carried out in the presence of a hydrotreating catalyst under hydrotreating conditions including a temperature from about 260° C. (500° F.) to about 426° C. (800° F.), a pressure from about 7.0 MPa (1000 psig) to about 21 MPa (3000 psig), and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) from about 0.1 hr −1  to about 10 hr −1 . 
   
   
       14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the hydrotreating catalyst comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, and mixtures thereof, on a refractory inorganic oxide support. 
   
   
       15 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising recovering an SHC pitch, as a higher boiling component, by flash separation or fractionation of said SHC effluent. 
   
   
       16 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein said SHC pitch comprises hydrocarbons boiling at a temperature of greater than about 538° C. (1000° F.). 
   
   
       17 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising passing said SHC pitch to a coker that produces said coker gas oil. 
   
   
       18 . A method for making a distillate hydrocarbon component by integrating slurry hydrocracking (SHC), coking, and hydrotreating, the method comprising:
 (a) passing a slurry comprising an SHC gas oil, a coker gas oil obtained from a delayed coker or a fluidized coker, and a solid particulate through an SHC reaction zone in the presence of hydrogen to provide an SHC effluent,   (b) recovering said SHC gas oil, an SHC distillate, and SHC pitch from said SHC effluent,   (c) recycling said SHC gas oil to said SHC reaction zone,   (d) hydrotreating said SHC distillate to obtain said synthetic crude oil as a hydrotreated distillate, and   (e) passing said SHC pitch to said delayed coker or said fluidized coker to obtain a coke product.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the SHC distillate comprises less than about 20% by weight of hydrocarbons boiling at a temperature of greater than 343° C. (650° F.). 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said method comprises further integrating a crude oil atmospheric distillation column and a crude oil vacuum distillation column, whereby a straight-run distillate from said crude oil atmospheric distillation column is hydrotreated together with said SHC distillate and a vacuum gas oil from said vacuum distillation column is passed through said SHC reaction zone together with said SHC gas oil and said coker gas oil.