EFFECTS OF VAPOR-LIQUID-EQUILIBRIA ON COKE DEPOSITION IN TRICKLE-BED REACTORS DURING HEAVY OIL PROCESSING .2. MODELING

A model which describes the amount of coke deposited onto the catalyst during heavy oil conversion in a trickle-bed reactor is presented. Th e model comprises on one hand the cracking reactions (multicomponent k inetics) and coke formation kinetics (thermal and catalytic coke) and on the other hand the vapor-liquid equilibria of the reaction mixture. The latter aspect proves crucial to describing the distinct maxima of the amount of coke formed as a function of both the hydrogen-to-oil r atio and the temperature in processing heavy vacuum gas oil. The quant itative predictive power of the model is demonstrated.