Simulation-assisted design and optimization of multiphase unit operations for Canadian bitumen processing

由加拿大油砂资源生产的沥青含有大量的沥青质和杂原子。这种耐火材料必须首先升级为合成原油，以便在常规炼油厂中加工。沥青改质的一种方法涉及通过在沸腾床反应器中同时催化氢化和裂化来“加氢裂化”沥青残余物。该单元操作涉及复杂的耦合多相（气体、液体、固体）流体动力学、化学动力学和输送现象，使得难以使用传统的实验分析进行设计和优化。 在实际操作条件下对加氢裂化装置进行模拟辅助工程是一种安全、经济的方法，可以补充直接实验。计算流体动力学（CFD）模拟能够解析反应器的内部动力学，并最终实现基于模拟的设计和优化。该合作项目涉及使用先进的计算流体力学和壳牌加拿大的中试加氢裂化装置（壳牌研究中心，卡尔加里），为壳牌加拿大的沥青升级操作开发优化设计，“干净”设计和最佳工艺条件。该研究项目提高加氢裂化操作效率将转化为更有效地利用加拿大的自然资源，并减少对环境的影响。

Bitumen produced from Canadian oil sand resources contains significant amounts of asphaltenes and heteroatoms. This refractory material must be first upgraded to synthetic crude in order to be processed in conventional refineries. One approach to bitumen upgrading involves "hydrocracking" of bitumen residues through simultaneous catalytic hydrogenation and cracking in an ebullated-bed reactor. This unit operation involves complex coupled multiphase (gas, liquid, solid) hydrodynamics, chemical kinetics, and transport phenomena making it difficult to design and optimize using traditional experimental analysis. Simulation-assisted engineering of a hydrocracking unit under realistic operating conditions is a safe and cost-effective approach to supplement direct experimentation. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations enable resolution of the internal dynamics of the reactor and, ultimately, enable simulation-based design and optimization. This collaborative project involves the use of both cutting-edge CFD and Shell Canada's pilot-scale hydrocracking plant (Shell Research Centre, Calgary) to develop optimized designs, "clean-sheet" designs, and optimal process conditions for Shell Canada's bitumen upgrading operations. Increases in hydrocracking operations efficiency resulting from this research project will translate into more efficient usage of Canada's natural resources and reduced impact on the environment.