Catalytic reactor and process for hydrogenating solid-containing carbonaceous materials in said reactor

Claim 1

A process for hydrogenating a feed stream containing solid components, said feed stream being selected from the group consisting of solid carbonaceous materials having the following composition on a moisture-free basis: ______________________________________ Weight Per Cent ______________________________________ Carbon 45-95 Hydrogen 2.5-7.0 Oxygen 2.0-45 Nitrogen 0.75-2.5 Sulfur 0.3-10 ______________________________________ and liquid hydrocarbon oils having the following composition on a moisture-free, solid-free basis: ______________________________________ Weight Per Cent ______________________________________ Carbon 80-95 Hydrogen 5-15 Nitrogen 0.1- 4 Oxygen 0.1- 4 Sulfur 0.1-10 , ______________________________________ which comprises passing said feed stream, together with hydrogen, into a reactor, said reactor comprising an elongated vertical reaction vessel and elongated catalytic elements vertically disposed within said reaction vessel, said elements being composed of alumina and a hydrogenation component, said hydrogenation component being substantially distributed throughout said alumina, said alumina having a surface area of about 70 to about 150 square meters per gram, the pore size is such that at least about 60 volume percent of the pore diameters fall in the range of about 160 to about 600 A, the pore volume is in the range of about 0.4 to about 0.8 cubic centimeters per gram and the average pore diameter is in the range of about 100 to about 275 A, said catalytic elements having a thickness of about 1/32 to about 1/2 inch, said catalytic element being disposed within said vessel at least 1/32 inch from another of said catalytic elements and from the interior surface of said vessel, the void volume within said vessel being in the range of about 40 to about 90 percent and maintaining contact between said feed stream and hydrogen and said catalytic elements under hydrogenation conditions, whereby hydrogenation of said feed stream takes place.