Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Fouling and fine particle deposition are major challenges facing petroleum refining and industries. During*hydrotreating process, unwanted solid materials, which are either entrained with oil feed or created within the*process, accumulate on the packed-bed reactors causing reduction in the void fraction of the catalyst bed, and*consequently increase in pressure drop across the catalyst bed. Excessive pressure drop would eventually*results in shutdown of the reactor (premature shutdown). This procedure is time consuming and costs hundreds*of thousands of dollars per day in lost profits to replace the expensive catalyst that have not been fully utilized.*Even though filters are used to protect the reactors from plugging, small particles (< 20µm) can accumulate*significantly in the packed-bed reactor causing high pressure drop and eventually premature shutdown. To*control the excessive pressure drop buildup in hydrotreating reactors, it is important to understand the*mechanism and distribution of the fine particles and effective factors that influence fine deposition in*packed-bed reactors. Optimizing the process conditions will improve the overall operations and profitability of*the reactors. The goal of this work is to identify the root causes of fouling and particle deposition in*hydrotreating reactors by investigating factors that affect fine deposition rate, mechanism, and distribution.*These factors include the impact of different types of fouling precursors, fouling propensity of different gas oil*streams, catalyst properties, and operating conditions of the hydrotreating reactor. This work will study fine*deposition in both batch and trickle bed reactors. The proposed outcomes of this project will offer solutions to*reduce fouling in hydrotreating reactor and enhance the performance of hydrotreating units in petroleum*industries. This will benefit Syncrude and other Canadian oil producers, to expand their production capacity