SHC – testbed for hydroprocessing of biobased feedstock

Slurry hydrocracking (SHC) is a refinery process developed to upgrade crude oil fractions that have a high tendency to form coke. Research at RISE has shown that slurry reactors are also well suited for upgrading bio-based feeds such as pyrolysis oil and lignin, raw materials are generally problematic to process in refinery infrastructure. The processing in SHC is performed by mixing the raw material with a catalyst into a slurry which is then treated at high temperature (typically around 350 – 400 °C) and high pressure (typically around 50 – 180 bar) in a continuous flow of hydrogen. The SHC pilot plant is unique in that it enables continuous processing on an industrially relevant scale.

The test bed includes a packed bed reactor, which is a very common reactor type at a refinery and which can be used for further upgrading of products from the slurry reactor to finished fuel products. Formed products can also be distilled to specific boiling point ranges in our distillation equipment. Gases can be analyzed with both online and offline instruments. The SHC test bed also includes reactors for semi-batch experiments and for catalyst synthesis.

At RISE, we also offer a deep and broad expertise in characterisation of chemicals and fuels based on new raw materials.