High performance fixed-bed atmospheric

and vacuum residue hydrotreating

OIL
REFINING 
Bottom of the barrel
upgrading
B E N E F I T S
The Atmospheric and Vacuum Residue •• For a wide range of AR/VR feeds,
(AR/VR) hydrotreater is a key refinery unit the Hyvahl™ process offers a unique
combination of advanced solutions:
which improves Residue Feeds for Fluid
Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) units and which •• Innovative Permutable
produces additional diesel as well as low guard-bed Reactor System (PRS)
featuring a unique valving system
sulfur fuel oil.
| Hyvahl™

and an unmatched safety record,

Residue hydroDeSulfurization units specially designed for high metals
or sediment containing feeds
(RDS) improve downstream conversion
operations by eliminating difficult feed •• Near-perfect fluid distribution with
components thus enabling the refinery Axens EquiFlow® reactor internals
engineers to squeezing the most out of •• Exceptionally active and stable
the bottom-of-the-barrel, and maximize catalysts manufacturing with
profitability. the ACE® (Advanced Catalyst
Engineering) process
•• Compared with conventional
processes, Hyvahl™ has clear
advantages of longer cycles, safe
operation and stable product quality
even with 100% VR feedstock.

Hyvahl™: the ideal RFCC

ÏÏFigure 1: Hyvahl™ unit with Permutable Reactor partner
System (PRS)
Hyvahl™ is a high performance RDS process
Axens' unique portfolio for AR/VRDS
with a perfect commercial operation safety
processing is highlighted by the Hyvahl™
record. It has been employed both for
technology and a full range of advanced
improving residue quality for use as an FCC
resid hydrotreating catalysts.
feed and for the production of Ultra Low
Sulfur Fuel Oil (ULSFO).
COMMERCIAL
EXPERIENCE Hyvahl™ technology features:
• Can process AR/VR blends or 100% VR
6 Hyvahl™ units processing AR, VR and with high metals content
slurry feeds are currently in operation • Attains the most stringent ULSFO
and represent more than 20 years of specifications with sulfur content as low as
cumulative operation. 0.28 wt. % (Middle East crude) throughout
long cycle lengths
3 units with PRS system have been
• Typical conversions range from 15 to 25 wt. %
started-up and successfully operated
• Produces low sulfur diesel
over the last two years.
• Produces an excellent RFCC feed:
--Very low sulfur content
--Low metals (Ni and V) content
--Low Conradson Carbon Residues (CCR)
--Improved hydrogen-to-carbon mole ratio.
 Process description Tailored resid catalyst system
The residue and hydrogen are pre-heated and then fed into The types and quantities of catalysts in each Hyvahl™
the reactor section. Upgrading begins with a Permutable reactor are carefully selected to achieve the desired unit
guard-bed Reactor System (PRS) to eliminate undesirable performance.
metals through hydrodemetallization (HDM), followed by The latest generation hydrotreating catalysts produced
a transition section and the final hydrotreating section from Axens' ACE (Advanced Catalyst Engineering)
for HydroDeSulfurization (HDS), HydroDeNitrogenation manufacturing process is specially designed for the
(HDN) and CCR reduction through HyDrotreating (HDCCR) Hyvahl™ process to ensure:
(figure 2). • Strong HDM and pressure drop management in the PRS
section (HF 858 catalyst and ACT grading materials),
The PRS section protects the downstream catalysts by
• HDM finishing and HDS in the transition zone
removing or converting a sizeable portion of sediment,
(HM 848),
metals, and asphaltenes from the feed. These materials
• High HDS, HDN and HDCCR in the refining reactors
would otherwise foul, plug, or deactivate the downstream
(HT 438 catalyst).
catalysts, thereby severely reducing performance of the
RFCC unit.
HDM
Demetallization
HDM
HDS
HDS
Desulfurization Permutable Reactor System (PRS)
Conversion Transition Refining
The PRS is a proprietary, safe and cost effective solution for
PRS increasing RDS on-stream factor.
Guard Reactors
To Gas This unique commercial design combines the high
Treatment
efficiency of fixed-bed catalysis and special valves noted
for their dependability and safety. This combination enables
R1A

R1B

the high on-stream factor obtained with Hyvahl™ when

operating on residue feeds rich in metals, asphaltenes and
To Fractionation sediment (figure 3).
Section
PRS can be put on-line and taken off-line for catalyst
Residue Feed replacement without shutting the main reactors down
using “lead/lag” operation.
Hydrogen
Permutable Reactor System
(PRS)
ÏÏFigure 2: Simplified Hyvahl™ process flow diagram
Guard Reactor Guard Reactor Main Reactor Section
The transition section completes the demetallization R1A R1B
process and initiates the deep hydrotreating phase. The
transition catalyst has dual function characteristics which
are between those found in the HDM and the hydrotreating
sections with respect to demetallization and refining.

With most major contaminants removed at the outlet of the

transition section, the residue is sent to the final refining
section, where sulfur and CCR levels are reduced to the
very low design specifications. The reactor section effluent
is then fractionated into naphtha, diesel and hydrotreated
residue. Optimally, a vacuum tower can be added to
recover the hydrotreated VGO fraction which is sent
directly to the FCC unit without any additional treatment.

ÏÏFigure 3: Reactor arrangement with the PRS section in a

Hyvahl™ unit

2
For many feedstocks and refinery objectives, PRS offers Whenever possible, both R1A and R1B operate in series.
incomparable advantages over other fixed- or moving-bed Sampling systems are used for monitoring reactor effluent
technologies: quality.
• Longer cycles without any premature shutdowns due to
The novelty of PRS resides in the safety features that enable
pressure drop limitations
R1A to be taken off-line for catalyst change-out, while R1B
• More efficient HDM and HDS catalyst utilization
continue to operate. Each PRS reactor can be isolated from
• Higher flexibility to process heavier feeds including 100%
the main section using high-pressure motorized valves.
VR feedstock
• No catalyst attrition as observed for moving-bed designs PRS also includes a low-pressure catalyst conditioning
• Constant effluent quality throughout the cycle section to enable catalyst replacement and activation
• Lower CAPEX compared to single HDM reactor independently without affecting normal operations.
configurations
During the run, pressure drop in R1A increases and
• Smaller HDM catalyst volumes
the catalyst deactivates. When constraint limits are
PRS can be implemented on existing RDS units for attained, R1A is isolated from RDS operation, cooled and
revamping or debottlenecking with the possibility to depressurized. Spent catalyst is discharged, then fresh
process feedstocks with higher metals, asphaltenes and catalyst is loaded and activated before R1A is put back
sediment contents. on-line in the lag position. During the change-out period,
R1B operates alone, and maintains high HDM activity.

How does the PRS work?

Constant product quality and longer
In a conventional fixed-bed RDS unit, the catalyst in the
cycle length with PRS
guard reactor carries out the HDM function to protect the
downstream HDS catalyst. Feed impurities are deposited The benefits of the PRS technology are quite frankly
on the bed, limiting run lengths to a few months. The enormous. Demonstrated below is the case of a typical
upstream reactor is the first to undergo bed plugging, commercial operation between RDS change-outs:
pressure drop build-up, and catalyst deactivation. Conventional RDS unit without PRS
In a substantial number of cases, pressure drop increase 1 Catalyst replaced
results in premature unit shutdowns. At the same time, in all reactors
EOR
catalyst deactivation is compensated by increasing
RDS unit revamped with PRS
temperature to achieve yield and product qualities.
2 R1A+R1B R1B R1B+R1A R1A R1A+R1B
The metal retention potential of the guard reactor catalyst
determines when metals break through, thus poisoning the EOR
downstream refining and RFCC catalysts. R1A catalyst R1B catalyst
replacement replacement
Atmospheric 15-20 days 15-20 days
or Vacuum Residue
0 t 1.6 x t

ÏÏFigure 5: Comparison of RDS cycle lengths without and with

PRS

 Figure 5 shows the operation of a conventional RDS unit

Low P
which proceeds continuously until the end of run (EOR),
Catalyst
R1A

R1B

Conditioning defined as time “t”, when the catalysts in all reactors are
Section changed-out simultaneously.

To HDS and  The lower diagram shows the operational sequence of

Refining Section the revamped unit where the PRS provides a prolongation
the overall operation of the unit, thereby allowing a 60%
ÏÏFigure 4: Permutable Reactor System Flow Scheme gain in run length between unit shutdowns.

Before entering the transition reaction section, the feed

flows through the PRS (arranged in series), which is
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composed of a lead (R1A) and a lag-guard reactor (R1B).

R1A and R1B take out the bulk of the feedstock metals and
sediment, providing a cleaner feed to the downstream
section which completes HDM and begins the HDS
process.
3
Moreover, PRS enables the same volume of HDS catalyst to
treat much more feedstock with the production of better quality
hydrotreated residue as illustrated in table 1. TESTIMONY
HYDROTREATED CONVENTIONALRDS
REVAMPED RDS UNIT
We have been producing several kinds of
RESIDUE
CHARACTERISTICS
UNIT BEFORE
REVAMPING
WITH PRS residue product from below 0.3 wt.% sulfur to
SULFUR, WT. %
0.5 wt.% sulfur, depending on the market and
SOR 0.5 0.4
refinery condition, safely and in one year cycles.
EOR 0.55 0.4
Concerning the PRS section, we have replaced
the guard HDM catalyst 29 times in 10 years in
CONRADSON CARBON, WT. %:
our first Hyvahl™ unit. There have not been any
SOR 4 3
operational problems nor any safety issues.
EOR 4.5 3
METALS (NI+V), WT. PPM:
SOR 8 6
……Head of Engineering Dpt
EOR 12 6

ÏÏTable 1: Impact of PRS on RDS product quality

Impact on RFCC performance

Improving residue feed quality to the RFCC unit, with Hyvahl™ or
with a PRS revamp on a conventional RDS unit, affords major RFCC
benefits:
• Improved overall conversion and RFCC operation
• Increased gasoline and propylene yields
• Reduced coke and slurry yield
• Direct production of low sulfur gasoline
• Reduced SOx and NOx emissions
• Significantly reduced RFCC catalyst consumption due to lower
catalyst poising by metals and deactivation by asphaltenes

A commercial case study has shown that the addition of a

PRS section to a conventional RDS unit reduces RFCC catalyst
consumption by 1,800 tons per year due to the lower metal
content in the RFCC feed.

Axens is a group providing a complete range of solutions for the conversion

of oil and biomass to cleaner fuels, the production and purification of major
petrochemical intermediates as well as all of natural gas treatment and conversion
options. The integrated offer includes technologies, equipment, furnaces, modular
axens.net/blog units, catalysts, adsorbents and related services, commercialized under “Axens
Solutions”, “Heurtey Petrochem Solutions” and “Axens Horizon” brands.

2018-11_Hyvahl