High quality diesel by hydrotreating of atmospheric gas oil/light cycle oil blends

An improved process for high-quality diesel fuel production by hydrotreating atmospheric gas oil (SRGO) and light cycle oil (LCO) blends is presented in this paper. For this purpose, a set of blends of 5, 10 and 15% by volume of LCO with final boiling points of 300, 325 and 350 °C with a full range gas oil (FBP 350 °C) was hydrotreated in a pilot plant at 340–380 °C, 5.4 MPa, 2.5 h−1 LHSV using a commercial Co–Mo catalyst. A relationship between the concentration of refractory sulfur compounds (those boiling above 316 °C) and aromatics content in the feedstock with the hydrotreating temperature required for meeting a 0.05% sulfur specification was found. perimental data obtained during the desulfurization was quantitatively represented by a 1.50 to 1.56 order rate equation, with activation energies between 18.9 and 34.1 kcal/mol, depending on the feedstock.