Kinetic Modeling of Hydrotreating for Enhanced Upgrading of Light Cycle Oil

Roberto Palos, Alazne Gutierrez, Idoia Hita, Pedro Castaño, Joris W. Thybaut, José M. Arandes, Javier Bilbao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

The hydrotreating of light cycle oil (LCO) into high-quality fuels has been investigated experimentally and kinetically, developing a model that accounts for the main and simultaneous reaction pathways: hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodearomatization (HDA), and hydrocracking (HC). The experiments have been carried out in a fixed-bed reactor, NiMo/SiO2-Al2O3 commercial catalyst, 320-400 °C; 80 bar; space time, 0-0.5 gcat h gLCO -1 and H2/LCO volumetric ratio of 1000 Ncm3 cm-3. The proposed kinetic model contains multiple lumps, species, and pathways, leading to the faithful prediction of hydrotreatment products from different viewpoints. The computed kinetic parameters have allowed for simulating the process and seeking the optimal operating conditions. This way, the maximum values obtained for the conversions of HDS, HDA, and HC have been of 90%, 20%, and 65%, respectively; whereas a good compromise between the different hydrotreating goals has been obtained in the 385-400 °C range for a space time of 0.2 gcat h gLCO -1. Finally, the obtained optimal operating conditions have been compared with those optimized in the literature.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)13064-13075
Number of pages12
JournalIndustrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
Volume58
Issue number29
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemical Engineering
  • General Chemistry
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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