Conversion of high carbon refinery by-products: Mechanical completion and start-up new transport reactor system. Third quarterly technical progress report, April--June 1995

The objective of the study is to demonstrate that a partial oxidation system, which utilizes a transport reactor, is a viable means of converting refinery wastes, by-products, and other low-value materials into valuable products. The primary product would be a high quality fuel gas, which could also be used as a source of hydrogen. The concept involves subjecting the hydrocarbon feed material to pyrolysis and steam gasification in a circulating bed of solids. Carbon residue formed during pyrolysis, as well as metals in the feed, are captured by the circulating solids, which are returned to the bottom of the transport reactor. Air or oxygen is introduced in this lower zone and sufficient carbon is burned, sub-stoichiometrically, to provide the necessary heat for the endothermic pyrolysis and gasification reactions. The hot solids and gases leaving this zone pass upward to contact the feed material and continue the partial oxidation process. To date, the project has gone through essentially three phases of testing, with the third phase still in progress. Initial testing was.done in a bench-scale reactor unit (BRU), a dense phase fluidized bed semi-batch reactor. These tests were of a scoping nature, to identify system parameters for subsequent tests. The second phase consisted of tests in the Transport Reactor Test Unit (TRTU), a continuous flow pilot plant transport system which can be run either in the pyrolysis mode, or combustion mode, or as a fully integrated partial oxidation system. However, owing to severe operational problems, integrated operation with a highly coking feed could not be achieved, and only a limited number of pyrolysis/gasification runs were completed. As a result, Kellogg decided to build a new transport pilot plant facility specifically designed for handling heavy hydrocarbon feeds