Ebullating bed process for hydrotreatment of heavy crudes and residua

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE HYDROTREATMENT OF HEAVY CRUDES AND RESIDUA WHICH CONTAIN LARGE QUANTITIES OF 1050*F. + HYDROBON MATERIALS IN AN EBULLATING BED OF CATALYST OPERATED AT CONDITIONS WHEREIN THE CATALYST PARTICLES ARE METALLIZED OR COKED, OR BOTH, PARTICLES ARE ADDED TO THE UPPER PORTION OF THE EBULLATING BED AND CATALYST WITHDRAWN FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BED, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: ESTABLISHING A BED OF CATALYST SOLIDS PARTICLES AND EBULLATING SAID BED BY UPFLOW OF A METALS-CONTAINING LIQUID HYDROCARBON FEED INTRODUCED, WITH HYDROGEN, INTO THE BED AT VELOCITY SUFFICIENT TO XPAND THE BED TO A BOLUME RANGING FROM ABOUT 20 TO ABOUT 70 PERCENT, AS CONTRASTED WITH THE VOLUME OF THE BED OF CATALYST WHEREIN THE PARTICLES THEREOF ARE IN QUIESCENT STATE, INTRODUCING A CATALYST OR PRECATALYST COMPRISING AT LEAST ABOUT 50 PERCENT OF ITS TOTAL PORE VOLUME OF ABSOLUTE DIAMTER WITHIN THE RANGE OF FROM 100A TO ABOUT 300A, AND LESS THAN ABOUT 20 PERCENT OF ITS TOTAL PORE VOLUME OF ABSOLUTE DIAMETER WITHIN THE RANGE OF 0 TO ABOUT 100A, A SURFACE AREA RANGING AT LEAST ABOUT 200 M2/G TO ABOUT 600 M1/G, A PORE VOLUME RANGING FROM ABOUT 0.8 TO ABOUT 3.0 CC/G, AND A DENSITY RANGING FROM ABOUT 0.25 TO ABOUT 0.7 G/CC, INTO THE TOP OF THE EBULLATING BED, CONDUCTING THE REACTION AT CONDITIONS CHARACTERIZED AS FOLLOWS, TEMPERATURE, *F.(E.I.T.) START-OF-RUN 650 END-OF-RUN 850 PRESSURE, PSI 500-10,000 HYDROGEN RATE, SCF/B 3000-20,000 SPACE VELOCITY, LHSV 0.2-3.0 TO PRODUCE STRATIFICATION AND GRADIING OF CATALYST PARTICLES AS A RESULT OF INCREASED DENSITY CAUSED BY ABSORPTION OF COKE OR METALS, OR BOTH, IN DIRECT RELATION WITH CATALYST AGE, THE MORE AGED CATALYST PARTICLES SETTLING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EBULLATING BED, AND REMOVING STRATIFIED CATALYST PARTICLES FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE EBULLATING BED CHARACTERIZED AS CONTAINING A COMPOSITE OF FROM ABOUT 5 TO ABOUT 50 PERCENT OF A GROUP VIB METAL, OR COMPOUND THEREOF, OR FROM ABOUT 1 TO ABOUT 12 PERCENT OF A GROUP VIII METAL, OR COMPOUND THEREOF, OR ADMIXTURE OF BOTH SAID GROUP VIB AND GROUP VIII METALS, OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF, MEASURED AS OXIDES, A POROUS INORGAINC OXIDE SUPPORT, AND HAVING A DENSITY AT LEAST ABOUT 0.1 G/CC GREATER THAN THE DENSITY OF THE CATALYST OR PRECATALYST ADDED TO THE TOP OF THE BED AS A RESULT OF HAVING ABSORBED METALS OR COKE, OR BOTH, DURING THE REACTION.