Nippon Petroleum Refining Company success with Chevron Vacuum Residuum Hydrotreating

Chevron VRDS Hydrotreating is a fixed-bed hydrodesulfurization process using vacuum residuum as feed. This paper describes the operating experience of a new VRDS unit at the Muroran Refinery of Nippon Petroleum Refining Company, Ltd. (NPRC). The NPRC VRDS has operated for over one year, processing vacuum and atmospheric residua from Middle Eastern crude oils. The VRDS catalyst has shown better-than-expected activity with a low fouling rate. Feeds as difficult as 100% Arabian Heavy vacuum residuum have been processed. The desulfurization and viscosity reduction across the VRDS unit has increased the middistillate yield in the refinery by 50% of the VRDS feed rate.