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VCC Process Flow Scheme.
The VCC technology is a slurry phase hydrocracking/hydrogenation process for converting petroleum residues at very high conversion rates (> 95 %, 524 °C+) and liquid yields (above 100 vol %) into directly marketable distillates.
The process applies the principles of the former Bergius-Pier technology for primary conversion of heavy residual oils or coal into light distillates.
This simplified flow scheme is illustrative of the main process flow scheme and may be applied to process refinery residues, bitumen, coal or a mixture of coal and residues. The feedstock is slurried with a proprietary additive and is injected into the high-pressure section of the process.
The slurry is mixed with hydrogen (recycle and make-up), and brought to the reactor inlet temperature conditions. The operating conditions (pressure, temperature, space velocity and additive content) are adjusted to accomplish a greater than 95% conversion of the residuum in a once-through mode of operation. The slurry phase reactor has no internals and operates in an up-flow mode.
The unconverted residual oil and the additive are separated from the vaporized reaction products and the recycle gas in a hot separator. The hot separator bottom product is fed into a vacuum flasher for additional distillate recovery. The recovered distillates are routed to a directly coupled hydrotreating stage together with the hot separator top products. The hydrotreating stage is typically a catalytic fixed bed reactor operated under essentially the same pressure as the primary conversion stage. This second stage may be designed for either hydrotreating or hydrocracking applications.
Additional low value refinery streams such as gas oils, de-asphalted oils, or FCC cycle oils may also be directly added to the second stage. The products from the second stage are cooled and depending on the owners needs, the recovered liquids may be stripped for the production of synthetic crude oil or fractionated for the production of finished saleable distillate products.
The vapor stream is typically stripped of its impurities, and the resultant hydrogen rich gas stream is recycled to the slurry reactor to maintain the desired treat rate and hydrogen partial pressure.
