Description
The EBR – Ebullated Bed Reactor Pilot Plant is a fully automated, high-pressure pilot plant designed for the hydroconversion and upgrading of heavy petroleum feedstocks, including vacuum residue (VR), VGO and VR/HCO mixtures. The unit is based on three Ebullated Bed Upflow reactors operated in series, allowing high conversion levels while investigating catalyst performance, residue conversion, product yields and contaminant removal under representative process conditions. Heavy liquid feedstocks are stored in heated and nitrogen-blanketed feed barrels, transferred to weighed intermediate feed vessels and accurately injected at high pressure using metering pumps controlled by Coriolis mass flow meters. The liquid feed is combined with accurately metered hydrogen and preheated before entering the first reactor. Additional hydrogen can be introduced at different locations within the reaction train. Each reactor operates in upflow ebullated-bed mode with continuous internal liquid recirculation provided by a magnetic-drive pump. This recirculation maintains the catalyst particles in an expanded and continuously moving state while retaining the catalyst between dedicated screens.
The three reactors can operate at temperatures up to 480°C and pressures up to 175 barg, with a design pressure of 220 barg. Independent multizone split-tube furnaces provide accurate isothermal temperature control along each reactor. The reactor train is designed for deep hydroconversion, hydrocracking and removal of sulfur, nitrogen and metals from extra-heavy residues, bitumen and vacuum residues. Downstream of the reaction section, a comprehensive separation train comprising three high-pressure separators and a low-pressure separator enables staged recovery of heavy products, light hydrocarbons, sour water and gaseous products. Dedicated water and amine scrubbing sections are incorporated into the high-pressure separation train for removal of undesirable components from the gas stream. Heavy and light liquid products are collected in dedicated vessels installed on weighing scales, providing the data required for accurate material balances. The combined off-gas is cooled to recover residual condensable material and its flow is measured before entering a dedicated H₂S treatment system. Residual H₂S is removed using a dual ZnO adsorption system before final venting.
The complete pilot plant is operated through a PLC-based control system with PC supervision, providing continuous acquisition, display, trending and recording of temperatures, pressures, flow rates, product weights and gas production. A comprehensive multi-tier safety architecture combines process alarms, independent safety switches, automatic nitrogen purge, watchdog protection, emergency shutdown and mechanical overpressure protection.
The unit therefore provides a complete experimental platform for investigating heavy-feed hydroconversion from feed preparation through reaction, separation, product recovery and mass-balance determination, under controlled and reproducible operating conditions.
Features
1. Liquid Feed Section
3 independent feed lines: VR, VGO and VR/HCO.
3 × 55 gal (208 L) heated feed barrels, nitrogen blanketed.
Feed temperature up to 200°C depending on feedstock.
3 × 10 L feed vessels installed on weighing scales.
3 HP injection pumps: 30–400 mL/h each.
Maximum injection pressure: 170 barg.
Coriolis flow meters: 10–500 g/h, accuracy ±0.2%.
2. Hydrogen & Gas Feed Section
High-pressure H₂ supply up to 200 barg.
Reactor feed H₂: up to 300 NL/h per MFC.
MFC turndown ratio: 100:1.
Dedicated magnetic-drive H₂ purge: 10 NL/h.
HP N₂ for leak testing and emergency purge.
LP N₂ at 7 barg for vessel blanketing.
Automatic H₂/N₂ emergency switch-over.
3. Feed Preheating
H₂ preheater: up to 200°C, 300 NL/h, 175 barg.
H₂/hydrocarbon mixture preheater: up to 325°C, 400 g/h, 175 barg.
Heated/traced process lines for heavy-feed operation.
4. Reaction Section
3 Ebullated Bed Upflow reactors in series.
Catalyst volume: approximately 150 mL per reactor.
Total catalyst volume: approximately 450 mL.
Reactor ID: 28 mm.
Maximum operating temperature: 480°C.
Maximum operating pressure: 175 barg.
Design pressure: 220 barg.
Material: SS
Internal liquid recirculation by magnetic-drive pump.
5 independently controlled heating zones per reactor.
3-point internal temperature measurement.
Differential-pressure measurement for bed/screen monitoring.
5. Interstage Section
Heated interstage vessel between reaction stages.
Operating temperature: approximately 200°C.
Maximum pressure: 190 barg.
Material: SS
Liquid-level monitoring for protection of downstream operation.
6. High-Pressure Separation
3-stage HP separation train.
HP1 Hot Separator: approx. 350°C / 165 barg max.
Heavy-product collection vessel: 5 L on weighing scale.
HP2: approx. 100°C / 165 barg max.
Water scrubbing coil: 20 ft, Incoloy 825, approx. 65–80°C.
HP3: approx. 65°C / 165 barg max.
Progressive separation of heavy oil, light hydrocarbons, water and gas.
7. Low-Pressure Product Recovery
Final gas/oil/water separation at approximately atmospheric pressure.
Light-product vessel: 5 L.
Sour-water vessel: 5 L.
Separate recovery of light oil, sour water and residual gas.
8. Off-Gas Treatment
Off-gas cooling and condensate removal.
Gas-flow measurement before treatment.
H₂S removal using 2 × 10 L ZnO beds.
Dual-bed arrangement for continuous operation during adsorbent replacement.
Treated gas reduced to very low residual H₂S concentration before venting.
9. Control & Data Acquisition
Rockwell ControlLogix or Honeywell HC900 PLC.
PC-based supervision.
Continuous monitoring of temperature, pressure, flow rates, product weights and gas production.
Real-time trends and data logging.
Automatic control of the main process loops.
10. Safety
6-tier safety architecture.
Low/high and low-low/high-high alarms.
Independent temperature safety switches.
Automatic N₂ purge during abnormal conditions.
Watchdog protection.
Emergency shutdown.
Mechanical protection by PSVs and rupture discs.
Combustible-gas and H₂S detection.
Benefits
* Representative simulation of industrial ebullated-bed hydroconversion: reproduces the essential hydrodynamic and reaction principles required to investigate residue upgrading at pilot scale.
* High feedstock flexibility: suitable for testing VGO, vacuum residues, VR/HCO mixtures and other heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks within the specified operating envelope.
* High-conversion process development: the three-reactor arrangement enables investigation of severe hydroconversion conditions and progressive conversion through successive reaction stages.
* Realistic catalyst evaluation: controlled catalyst ebullition provides representative catalyst/liquid contact while minimizing the limitations associated with a conventional fixed catalyst bed.
* Excellent experimental control: accurate regulation of liquid feed, hydrogen flow, pressure, reactor temperature and internal recirculation improves test reproducibility.
* Accurate material balances: Coriolis feed measurement, weighed feed vessels, separate product collection on weighing scales and off-gas metering provide the measurements required to establish reliable mass balances.
* Detailed product characterization: staged separation allows heavy products, light hydrocarbons, sour water and gas to be recovered separately for subsequent analysis.
* Optimization before high-pressure testing: the transparent pump test skid enables catalyst-bed expansion and recirculation conditions to be visually studied before operation of the actual high-pressure reactors.
* Reduced operator workload: automated PLC control and PC supervision support extended and unattended experimental campaigns.
* High operational safety: independent layers of process, electrical and mechanical protection provide controlled shutdown and automatic nitrogen purging in abnormal operating conditions.
* Powerful R&D platform: the system enables systematic investigation of the influence of feedstock, catalyst, temperature, pressure, hydrogen rate and hydrodynamic conditions on residue conversion, product yields and contaminant removal.
