The Effect of Start-Up Conditions on Deactivation of Hydrotreating Catalyst for Heavy Residue with High Asphaltene Content

This article describes a pilot plant test, which was carried out to examine the effect of start-up operation conditions on catalytic performance in the commercial hydrotreating equipment. From the simulated several pilot tests, it was found that the operation conditions of this commercial equipment were very severe and the hydrogen supply to the catalyst active site was critical. When the heavy residue containing large amount of asphaltene was supplied at the start of run (SOR) in the commercial equipment, the permanent adsorption of carbonaceous deposit on the active site should cause leading the catalyst deactivation.