Efficient conversion of extra-heavy oil into distillates using tetralin/activated carbon in a continuous reactor at elevated temperatures

Tetralin/activated carbon was applied to the upgrading of vacuum residue (VR) in a continuous reactor. The experimental performance was evaluated at a fixed pressure of 5.0 MPa in the range of 385–470 °C, and 1.5 and 3.0 h⁻¹ of liquid hourly space velocity. A lower space velocity, which is closely related to the reaction time, led to significantly higher conversion at the cost of forming a carbonaceous product (coke). Increasing the reaction temperature greatly affected the conversion of residue into lighter products. The application of a tetralin/activated carbon to the VR upgrading resulted in high residue conversion (74.5 wt%) and asphaltene reduction (80.8%) at 470 °C, with a small amount of coke (1.2 wt%). Additionally, the tetralin/activated carbon system led to reduction of the sulfur, nitrogen and metal concentrations in the liquid products. The hydrogen-donor solvent/carbon system acts as an attractive hydrogen-donor medium in the extra-heavy oil upgrading.