Process for removing sulfur from petroleum oils
AssigneeMobil Oil Corporation
InventorWilliam D. McHale
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a process for desulfurizing petroleum oils and for improving the performance of known catalytic hydrodesulfurization processes. In accordance with the process, a narrow boiling fraction of a typical hydrodesulfurization feedstock is selectively removed prior to the introduction of said feedstock into the hydrodesulfurization unit. Feedstocks include gas oils, residual oils or other fractions which contain sulfur in the form of sulfides, disulfides and a part of a substituted ring such as thiophene, benzothiophene and dibenzothiophene. The invention embodies the discovery that certain intermediate sulfur compounds are the most refractory or difficult to remove.
Claims10
A process for desulfurizing a hydrocarbon oil containing sulfur components and having a boiling range of:
- about 350.degree. to 1000.degree. F., said process comprising the steps of fractionating said hydrocarbon oil to selectively remove a portion of said hydrocarbon boiling in the range of from about 650.degree. to 700.degree. F.;
- recombining the fractions of said oil formed by said fractionation and from which said 650.degree. to 700.degree. F. fraction has been removed, and introducing said recombined hydrocarbon oil and hydrogen into a reaction zone containing a hydrogenation catalyst and maintaining said reaction zone under hydrodesulfurization conditions including a hydrogen pressure of up to 3000 p.s.i.g. and a temperature of about 600.degree. to about 900.degree. F.
In a process for catalytically hydrodesulfurizing a hydrocarbon oil wherein hydrogen and said hydrocarbon oil are introduced into a reaction zone containing a hydrogenation catalyst and maintained under desulfurizing conditions, the improvement comprising selectively removing a narrow boiling distillate fraction ranging from about 650.degree. to 700.degree. F. from said hydrocarbon oil prior to its admixture with said hydrogen and introduction into said reaction zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.