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Upgrading renewables, secondary, and waste streams through innovative hydroprocessing catalysts and reaction pathways

Problem statement

Hydroprocessing is a well-implemented and versatile refinery conversion strategy, comprising a wide array of reaction routes such as: (i) hydrotreating, aiming for the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons and the removal (hydrogenolysis) of heteroatoms such as sulfur or nitrogen; (ii) hydrocracking, for promoting C–C bond scission and the partial saturation of aromatics; or (iii) hydrodeoxygenation, for the specific removal of oxygen moieties. In this project, we investigate the conversion of highly polyaromatic feedstock like heavy fuel oil (HFO), pyrolysis fuel oil (PFO), or bio-oils from different biomass sources (i.e., agricultural waste, algae) for quality improvement and obtaining products with higher added value.

We seek new (thermo-) catalytic strategies and improved heterogeneous catalysts with increased activity and stability. We put advanced analytical characterization techniques (i.e., nuclear magnetic resonance, high-res mass spectrometry) to work and combine their results with modeling and statistical tools.

Goals

  • Develop a quantitative analytical workflow to analyze and interpret these complex reacting environments
  • Explore novel renewable and waste resources to obtain chemicals and fuels
  • Deploy ad-hoc catalysts and process conditions to incorporate these wastes in the refinery (bio- and waste-refinery)
  • Analyze process dynamics and kinetics
HPC

Related People

Related Publications

Integrated analytical workflow for quantifying and modeling the hydrocracking of vacuum gas oil and plastic pyrolysis oil

by Zambrano, Rodriguez, Lezcano, Trueba, Hita, Palos, Gutierrez, Castaño
Fuel Year: 2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2025.135557

Abstract

The pressing need for more sustainably produced fuels has highlighted the co-feeding of plastics with conventional feedstocks as a promising alternative. However, challenges such as effective feeding, in-depth product characterization, or process optimization require thorough analysis to establish the feasibility of the overall process. This study demonstrates the validity of a workflow for the quantitative and kinetic analysis of the hydrocracking reaction of vacuum gas oil and plastic pyrolysis oil blends using a NiW on HY-zeolite catalyst in a semi-batch reactor. The reaction products are characterized using a combination of gas chromatography with various detectors, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, and simulated distillation. The workflow refines and integrates data from these techniques into comprehensive quantitative datasets applied to continuous lumping kinetic modeling. Hydrocracking of the blend converts 83 % of heavy cycle oil at 440 °C, yielding substantial amounts of naphtha and middle distillates. The continuous lumping kinetic model accurately predicts product distribution while providing key insights into the reactivity of heavy fractions and S and N removal.

Keywords

ANW HPC W2C