Assessment of Selected Apparent Kinetic Parameters of the HDM and HDS Reactions of Two Kuwaiti Residual Oils, Using Two Types of Commercial ARDS Catalysts

Selected apparent kinetic parameters such as rate constants and activation energies of the hydrodemetallation (HDM) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reactions were assessed for two Kuwaiti Residual oils using two types of commercial atmospheric residual desulfurization (ARDS) catalysts. The feeds investigated in the study were 360 °C+ cuts of Kuwait Export crude (KEC) and Kuwait Ratawi/Burgan crude (KHC). The catalysts used in the study were two different catalysts of a complete ARDS catalyst system (Cat-B) consisting of five different catalysts. Cat-BA is an HDM catalyst used in the front reactor of an industrial ARDS process to remove possible contaminants present in the feed, such as metals, sulfur, nitrogen, and to reduce the feed asphaltene content to lowest levels possible. Cat-BC is an HDS catalyst, usually employed in the middle reactors, mainly to reduce the feed sulfur content to the desired levels. Testing was performed using a bench scale unit that was equipped with three fixed-bed reactors working under trickle flow mode. The findings showed that KEC-AR is generally more reactive than KHC-AR, in terms of metals and sulfur removal over both catalysts. However, KHC-AR showed higher reactivity for sulfur removal over Cat-BA, although KHC-AR contains higher levels of sulfur and asphaltenes, in comparison to KEC-AR.