Optimization of Residual Oil Hydrocrackers: Integration of Pump-Free Ebullated Bed Process with Membrane-Aided Gas Recovery System

The ebullated bed residual oil hydrocracking is a well-established technology wherein the vacuum residue (VR) of crude oil is converted into light valuable oils. This research work targeted to optimize the hydrocracking process by integrating the pump-free ebullated bed reactor (PF-EBR) with a membrane-based gas synthetic recovery system. A PF-EBR hydrocracking unit with a feed capacity of 3 × 106 t/a (ton per annum) of vacuum residues was modeled by the axial dispersion model; the 5-lump axial dispersion model and the finite difference model for PF-EBR and membrane unit were developed and packaged as self-defined extensions in Aspen HYSYS, allowing the integrated process to be evaluated in high efficiency and accuracy; the proposed model was further validated by the experimental data of the pilot and 5 × 104 t/a industrial unit. The results of process optimizations showed that the membrane-aided separation system demonstrated better performance than the conventional condensation system in separating hydr...