Kinetic Modeling of a Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrocracking in a Semi-Batch Reactor: Approach by Distribution
Abstract
A model for hydrocracking a VGO over a bifunctional catalyst at 400°C and 120 bar in a semi-batch reactor has been constructed based on the
experimental work of Henry et al. In this work liquid phase composition was analysed by two dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) and,to
model these results, the reaction mixture is lumped into pseudo-components by both molecular structure and carbon number. The rate constants are
represented using probability distributions including the product distribution published by Weitkamp for ideal hydrocracking. Reactivity is calculated
as a function of carbon number.
The model uses the Grayson-Streed activity coefficient model combined with thePeng-Robinson equation of state to represent the vapour-liquid
equilibrium in the reactor and also takes into account internal and external mass transfer resistances.