Bitumen partial upgrading by mild hydroprocessing in a fixed-bed reactor

Partial upgrading is an approach to processing Canadian oil sands bitumen with the objective to produce a synthetic crude oil that meets specifications for pipeline transportation (API Gravity of 19° and viscosity of 350 cSt at 7 °C). Most partial upgrading technologies under development rely predominantly on thermal conversion processes combined with additional steps such as solvent deasphalting. Owing to the chemistry of thermal conversion, the liquid product resulting from this route tends to be unstable and susceptible to potential operational issues in pipeline transportation and subsequent refining. Hydroprocessing represents another pathway for bitumen partial upgrading, with the advantage of being able to minimize product instability concerns and achieve the target product quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using mild hydroprocessing in a fixed-bed reactor for the partial upgrading of Canadian bitumen. Experiments were conducted in a pilot plant that underwent various modifications to handle raw bitumen. Systematic tests at different operating conditions were completed in a time period of 1394 catalyst hours without experiencing any plugging issues. It was demonstrated that stable and pipeline-ready product can be produced at residue conversions of 52.4 wt% or above and with a hydrogen consumption level of about 1005 scf/bbl. Future research must be directed at optimizing the process to reduce hydrogen consumption and investigating catalyst deactivation patterns.