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Title: Kinetics of hydrogenation of aromatics determined by carbon-13 NMR for Athabasca bitumen-derived middle distillates

Conference · · American Chemical Society, Division of Petroleum Chemistry, Preprints; (USA)
OSTI ID:5084843
;  [1]
  1. Syncrude Canada Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

High aromatics content in middle distillates is detrimental to fuel quality, as shown in such properties as smoke point of jet fuel and cetane number of diesel fuel. In the petroleum and petrochemical industries the yields from fluid catalytic cracking or steam cracking units are adversely affected by high aromatics content in the feedstock. Distillates obtained from oil sand bitumen, heavy oils, or coal liquefaction products are particularly high in aromatics. Reducing the concentration of this class of compounds is important. Aromatics hydrogenation (AHYD) is one option to achieve this result. In the current Syncrude operation a primary objective of hydrotreating is to reduce product sulfur and nitrogen contents; reducing aromatics content is an incidental result. However, the expansion plan currently under study by Syncrude includes further AHYD to improve cetane number. Predicting the product aromatics content is an important issue for this study. In the present study, hydrotreating of five Athabasca-bitumen-derived gas oils was conducted in pilot scale trickle-bed reactors using alumina-based commercial NiMo catalysts. Feedstocks originated from the distillation of virgin bitumen, and from distillates derived from treating bitumen in a fluid coker and hydrocracking pilot plant. Aromatics content was determined by the {sup 13}C NMR method. The previously developed rate equation for AHYD was modified by including power terms for space velocity and hydrogen partial pressure. The data were analyzed using the modified equation.

OSTI ID:
5084843
Report Number(s):
CONF-8704347-; CODEN: ACPCA
Journal Information:
American Chemical Society, Division of Petroleum Chemistry, Preprints; (USA), Vol. 32:2; Conference: Symposium on advances in hydrotreating, Denver, CO (USA), 5-10 Apr 1987; ISSN 0569-3799
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English