CN114341318A

CN114341318A - Process for increasing base oil yield

Info

Publication number: CN114341318A
Application number: CN202080061522.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: T·R·法雷尔; 张明慧; V·萨姆帕斯; 雷光韬; H·特雷维诺
Original assignee: Chevron USA Inc
Current assignee: Chevron USA Inc
Priority date: 2019-08-12
Filing date: 2020-08-12
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Also published as: EP4013837A1; CA3150737A1; KR20220045965A; US20220325192A1; BR112022002649A2; JP2022545642A; WO2021028839A1

Abstract

An improved process for making base oils and increasing the yield of base oils by combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock and a base oil feedstock and forming a base oil product by hydrogenation. The process generally involves subjecting a base oil feedstream comprising atmospheric resid to hydrocracking and dewaxing steps and optionally hydrofinishing to produce light and heavy grade base oil products. Also disclosed is a process for making a base oil having a viscosity index of 120 or greater from a base oil feedstock having a viscosity index of about 100 or greater, the base oil feedstock comprising a narrow cut point range vacuum gas oil. The present invention is useful for the manufacture of group II and/or group III/III + base oils, and in particular for increasing the yield of heavy base oil products relative to light base oil products produced in the process.

Description

Process for increasing base oil yield

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/885,359, filed on 12/8/2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a process for increasing base oil yield by combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock with a base oil feedstock to form a combined feedstream and forming a base oil product from the combined feedstream by hydrogenation.

Background

Premium lubricating base oils, such as those having a Viscosity Index (VI) of 120 or higher (group II and group III), can generally be produced from high boiling vacuum distillates such as Vacuum Gas Oils (VGO) by: hydrocracking to raise the VI, then catalytic dewaxing to lower the pour and cloud points, and then hydrofinishing to saturate the aromatics and improve stability. In hydrocracking, the higher boiling molecules crack to lower boiling molecules, which raises the VI, but also lowers the viscosity. In order to produce high VI and high viscosity grades of base oils in high yield, the hydrocracker feed must contain a certain amount of high boiling molecules. Typically, VGO has a limited ability to recover high boiling molecules from Atmospheric Residue (AR) in a vacuum column due to practical limitations in temperature and pressure. One possible way to feed the higher boiling molecules to the hydrocracker is to feed AR directly, but this is generally not possible or feasible because AR typically contains materials that are extremely harmful to the hydrocracker catalyst, including, for example, nickel, vanadium, micro-carbon residue (MCR), and asphaltenes. These materials shorten the life of the hydrocracker catalyst to an unacceptable extent, making the use of such feeds impractical.

One method of using difficult whole crude oils and other intermediate feeds for making base oils is to first treat the feed, such as AR or Vacuum Residuum (VR), in a Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) unit. Such treatment is often necessary to separate most of the unwanted materials while producing deasphalted oil (DAO) with acceptable hydrocracker feed quality. However, the very high capital requirements and high operating costs of such SDA devices, as well as the overall process approach, make it an undesirable alternative. Other methods have been implemented that attempt to minimize or eliminate the need for a solvent deasphalting step, but do not provide significant benefits in terms of cost or other process improvements.

The production of group III base oils and finished motor oils typically requires the use of expensive and limited supply of viscosity index improvers, such as polyalphaolefins, or other expensive processing techniques, such as the use of gas-to-liquid (GTL) feedstocks or, for example, by multiple hydrocracking processing of mineral oils. Group III base oil production also typically requires processing of premium feedstocks and high conversion to meet VI targets at the expense of product yield. However, despite the continuing efforts of the industry, relatively inexpensive and suitable raw materials and simplified processes for making such products remain to be developed and commercialized.

Despite advances in the production of base oils from different and challenging feedstocks, there remains a need for improved processes to utilize different feedstocks and increase the yield of valuable base oil products.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of base oil products, in particular light and heavy grade base oil products, by hydrogenation of a base oil feed stream. Although not necessarily limited thereto, it is an object of the present invention to provide increased base oil yield of heavy grade base oil products and to produce group II and/or group III/III + base oils.

Generally, a first process according to the invention comprises making a base oil by: combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock and a base oil feedstock to form a base oil feedstream; contacting the base oil feedstream with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product; separating the hydrocracked product into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction; contacting the liquid fraction with a dewaxing catalyst under hydroisomerization conditions to produce a dewaxed product; and, optionally, contacting the dewaxed product with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product.

The present invention also relates to a method of modifying a base oil process by adding an atmospheric resid feedstock to a base oil feedstock in a conventional base oil process, the method comprising subjecting a base oil feedstream to hydrocracking and dewaxing steps to form dewaxed products, including light products and heavy products. Thus, the modified base oil process comprises combining an atmospheric resid feedstock and a base oil feedstock to form a base oil feedstream; contacting the base oil feedstream with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product; separating the hydrocracked product into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction; contacting the liquid fraction with a dewaxing catalyst under hydroisomerization conditions to produce a dewaxed product; and, optionally, contacting the dewaxed product with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product.

The second process according to the present invention comprises producing a base oil having a viscosity index of 120 or more by: contacting a base oil feedstock having a viscosity index of about 100 or more with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product, the base oil feedstock comprising a Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or more and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less; separating the hydrocracked product into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction; dewaxing the liquid fraction to produce a dewaxed product; and optionally, hydrofinishing the dewaxed product to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product.

The invention also relates to a combined process for manufacturing a base oil product from a base oil feedstock, said process combining a first process and a second process to manufacture a base oil meeting group II and/or group III/III + specifications. The combined process is typically used to make base oils from a base oil feedstock or fraction thereof and comprises: using an atmospheric residuum fraction from a base oil feedstock or fraction thereof; separating the base oil feedstock or fraction thereof and/or the base oil long residue fraction into a narrow vacuum gas oil cut point fraction having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or greater and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less to form a Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) fraction and a residual heavy vgo (hhvgo) fraction; and using the HHVGO fraction as the long residue feedstock in the first process; and/or using the MVGO fraction as the base oil feedstock in the second process.

Drawings

The scope of the invention is not limited by any representative drawings accompanying this disclosure, and should be understood as defined by the claims of this application.

FIG. 1 is a general block diagram schematic of a prior art process for making a base oil product.

Fig. 2a is a general block diagram schematic of an embodiment of a process for making a base oil product using a blend of VGO and atmospheric resid (VGO/AR) in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2b is a general block diagram schematic of an embodiment of a process according to the present invention for making a group III/III + base oil product using an MVGO fraction from atmospheric resid and a group II base oil product using a blend of VGO and a HHVGO resid fraction from atmospheric resid (VGO/HHVGO).

Fig. 3a is a process schematic of an embodiment of a process for making a base oil product according to the present invention, as described in the examples.

Fig. 3b is a process schematic of an embodiment of the process for making a base oil product according to the present invention, as described in the examples.

Fig. 4 is a process schematic of an embodiment of a process for making a base oil product according to the present invention, as described in the examples.

Fig. 5 is a process schematic of an embodiment of a process for making a base oil product according to the present invention, as described in the examples.

Detailed Description

Although illustrative embodiments of one or more aspects are provided herein, the disclosed processes may be implemented using any number of techniques. The present disclosure is not limited to the illustrative or specific embodiments, drawings, and techniques illustrated herein, including any exemplary designs and embodiments illustrated and described herein, and may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

Unless otherwise indicated, the following terms, terms of art, and definitions apply to the present disclosure. If a term is used in this disclosure, but is not specifically defined herein, a definition from the IUPAC general terminology 2 nd edition (1997) may be applied, provided that the definition does not conflict with any other disclosure or definition applied herein, or render any claim applying the definition ambiguous or invalid. To the extent that any definition or use provided by any document incorporated by reference conflicts with the definition or use provided herein, it is understood that the definition or use provided herein applies.

The "API base oil category" is a base oil classification that meets the different criteria shown in table 1:

table 1: base oil feedstock Properties (feedstock viscosity 4cSt at 100 ℃ C., no additives)

"API gravity" refers to the specific gravity of a petroleum feedstock or product relative to water, as determined by ASTM D4052-11 or ASTM D1298.

"ISO-VG" refers to the viscosity classification recommended for industrial applications, as defined by IS03448: 1992.

The "viscosity index" (VI) represents the temperature dependence of the lubricant, as determined by ASTM D2270-10 (E2011).

"aromatics extraction" is part of the process for producing solvent neutral base oils. During aromatic extraction, vacuum gas oil, deasphalted oil or mixtures thereof are extracted in a solvent extraction unit using a solvent. After evaporation of the solvent, aromatic extraction produces a waxy raffinate and an aromatic extract.

"atmospheric residue" or "atmospheric residue" (AR) is the product of the distillation of crude oil at atmospheric pressure, wherein volatile materials have been removed in the distillation. The AR fraction is typically derived at a cut point of 650 ° f to 680 ° f.

"vacuum gas oil" (VGO) is a by-product of the vacuum distillation of crude oil and can be sent to a hydrogenation unit or an aromatics extraction unit for upgrading to base oils. VGO typically comprises hydrocarbons having a boiling range distribution between 343 ℃ (649 ° f) and 538 ℃ (1000 ° f) at 0.101 MPa.

"deasphalted oil" (DAO) generally refers to the residual oil from a vacuum distillation unit that has been deasphalted in a solvent deasphalting process. Solvent deasphalting in a refinery is described in J.Speight Synthetic Fuels Handbook, ISBN 007149023X,2008, pages 64, 85-85 and 121.

When used in conjunction with an oil feedstock, "treating," "treated," "upgraded," and "upgraded" describe a feedstock that is or has been subjected to hydrogenation, or the resulting material or crude product that reduces the molecular weight of the feedstock, reduces the boiling point range of the feedstock, reduces the concentration of asphaltenes, reduces the concentration of hydrocarbon radicals, and/or reduces the amount of impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, halides, and metals.

"solvent dewaxing" is a process of dewaxing by crystallizing paraffin wax at low temperature and separating by filtration. Solvent dewaxing produces dewaxed oil and soft wax. The dewaxed oil may be further hydrofinished to produce a base oil.

"hydrogenation" refers to a process of contacting a carbonaceous feedstock with hydrogen and a catalyst at elevated temperature and pressure to remove undesirable impurities and/or convert the feedstock into a desired product. Examples of hydroprocessing processes include hydrocracking, hydrotreating, catalytic dewaxing, and hydrofinishing.

"hydrocracking" refers to the process of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation with cracking/fragmentation of hydrocarbons, for example, to convert heavier hydrocarbons to lighter hydrocarbons, or aromatics and/or cyclic hydrocarbons (naphthenes) to acyclic, branched alkanes.

"hydrotreating" refers to a process of converting a sulfur and/or nitrogen-containing hydrocarbon feed to a hydrocarbon product having a reduced sulfur and/or nitrogen content, typically in combination with hydrocracking, and producing hydrogen sulfide and/or ammonia (respectively) as a byproduct.

By "catalytic dewaxing" or hydroisomerization is meant the process of isomerizing normal paraffins in the presence of hydrogen and over a catalyst to their more branched counterparts.

"hydrofinishing" refers to a process aimed at improving the oxidative stability, UV stability and appearance of a hydrofinished product by removing trace amounts of aromatics, olefins, color bodies and solvents. As used in this disclosure, the term UV stability refers to the stability of the hydrocarbon being tested when exposed to UV light and oxygen. Instability is indicated when a visible precipitate forms, generally regarded as Hoc or hazy, or a darker color appears upon exposure to ultraviolet light and air. A general description of hydrofinishing can be found in U.S. Pat. nos. 3,852,207 and 4,673,487.

The term "hydrogen gas" or "hydrogen" refers to hydrogen itself, and/or one or more compounds that provide a source of hydrogen.

"cut point" refers to the temperature on the true boiling point (t β p) curve at which a predetermined degree of separation is reached.

"TBP" refers to the boiling point of a hydrocarbon containing feed or product, as determined by simulated distillation (SimDist) by ASTM D2887-13.

"hydrocarbon-containing", "hydrocarbon" and similar terms refer to compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms. Other identifiers can be used to indicate whether a particular group, if any, is present in the hydrocarbon (e.g., halogenated hydrocarbon indicates the presence of one or more halogen atoms replacing an equivalent amount of hydrogen atoms in the hydrocarbon).

"group IIB" or "group IIB metal" refers to zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and combinations thereof, in elemental, compound, or ionic form.

"group IVA" or "group IVA metal" refers to germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), or lead (Pb), and combinations thereof, in elemental, compound, or ionic form.

"group V metal" refers to vanadium (V), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), and combinations in elemental, compound, or ionic form.

"group VIB" or "group VIB metal" refers to chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), tungsten (W), and combinations thereof, in elemental, compound, or ionic form.

"group VIII" or "group VIII metal" refers to iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), ruthenium (Ru), rhenium (Rh), rhodium (Ro), palladium (Pd), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), and combinations thereof, in elemental, compound, or ionic form.

The term "support", particularly when used in the term "catalyst support", refers to a conventional material, typically a solid having a high surface area, to which the catalyst material is attached. The support material may be inert or participate in catalytic reactions and may be porous or non-porous. Typical catalyst supports include various carbons, aluminas, silicas and silica-aluminas, such as amorphous alumina silicates, zeolites, alumina-boria, silica-alumina-magnesia, silica-alumina-titania and materials obtained by adding other zeolites and other complex oxides to the aforementioned materials.

"molecular sieve" refers to a material having uniform pores of molecular size within the framework structure such that, depending on the type of molecular sieve, only certain molecules may access the pore structure of the molecular sieve, while other molecules are excluded, e.g., due to molecular size and/or reactivity. Zeolites, crystalline aluminophosphates and crystalline silicoaluminophosphates are representative examples of molecular sieves.

W220 and W600 refer to waxy medium and heavy group II base oil product grades, where W220 refers to a waxy medium base oil product having a nominal viscosity of about 6cSt at 100 ℃, and W600 refers to a waxy heavy base oil product having a nominal viscosity of about 12cSt at 100 ℃. Typical test data for group II base oils after dewaxing are as follows:

in this disclosure, while compositions and methods or processes are generally described in terms of "comprising" various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also "consist essentially of" or "consist of" the various components or steps.

The terms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include a plurality of alternatives, such as at least one. For example, unless otherwise specified, the disclosure of "transition metal" or "alkali metal" is intended to encompass one, or a mixture or combination of more than one, of the transition metal or alkali metal.

All numbers in the detailed description and claims are to be modified by values indicated as "about" or "approximately" and take into account experimental error and variations that would be expected by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

In one aspect, the present invention is a process for making a base oil product comprising combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock and a base oil feedstock to form a base oil feedstream;

contacting the base oil feedstream with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product;

separating the hydrocracked product into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction;

contacting the liquid fraction with a dewaxing catalyst under hydroisomerization conditions to produce a dewaxed product; and

optionally, the dewaxed product is contacted with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product.

The base oil feedstock typically meets one or more of the following property conditions:

an API gravity in the range of from 15 to 40, or 15 to 30, or 15 to 25, or at least 15, or at least 17, optionally less than the long residue feedstock;

a VI in the range of from 30 to 90, or 40 to 90, or 50 to 80, optionally less than the VI of the atmospheric resid feed;

a viscosity at 100 ℃ in the range of from 3 to 30cSt or from 3 to 25cSt or from 3 to 20cSt, or at least 3cSt or at least 4 cSt;

a viscosity at 70 ℃ in the range of from 5 to 25cSt or from 5 to 20cSt or from 5 to 15cSt, or at least 5cSt or at least 6 cSt;

heat C₇The asphaltene content is in the range of 0.01-0.3 wt%, or 0.01-0.2 wt%, or 0.02-0.15 wt%, or less than 0.3 wt%, or less than 0.2 wt%;

a wax content in the range of from 5 to 40 wt% or from 5 to 30 wt% or from 10 to 25 wt%, or at least 5 wt% or at least 10 wt% or at least 15 wt%, or optionally, greater than the wax content of the base oil feedstock;

a nitrogen content of less than 2500ppm, or less than 2000ppm, or less than 1500ppm, or less than 1000ppm, or less than 500ppm, or less than 200ppm, or less than 100 ppm;

the sulfur content is less than 8000ppm, or less than 6000ppm, or less than 4000ppm, or less than 2000ppm, or less than 1000ppm, or less than 500ppm, or less than 200ppm, or in the range of 100-8000ppm or 100-6000ppm or 100-4000ppm or 100-2000ppm or 100-1000ppm or 100-500ppm or 100-200 ppm; and/or

A1050 ℉ content is within a range of 5-50 wt%, or 5-40 wt%, or 8-40 wt%, or optionally, greater than a 1050 ℉ content of the base oil feedstock.

Suitable base oil feedstocks may be derived from any crude oil feedstock or fraction thereof, including hydrogenated intermediate streams or other feeds. Typically, the base oil feedstock contains materials having boiling points in the base oil range. Feedstocks can include atmospheric and vacuum residua, whole crude oils, and paraffinic-based crude oils from various sources.

Atmospheric Residue (AR) feedstocks typically meet one or more of the following property conditions:

an API gravity in the range of from 20 to 60 or 20 to 45 or 25 to 45, or at least 20 or at least 22, or optionally, greater than the API of the base oil feedstock;

a VI in the range of from 50 to 200 or 70 to 190 or 90 to 180, or at least 80, or optionally, greater than the VI of the base oil feedstock;

heat C₇An asphaltene content in the range of 0.01-0.3 wt%, or 0.01-0.2 wt%, or 0.02-0.15 wt%, or less than 0.3 wt%, or less than 0.2 wt%;

In some aspects, AR feedstocks having the property characteristics described herein may be advantageously derived from light dense oils (LTO, e.g., shale oils typically API > 45). Suitable feedstocks may be dimeric basin feedstock and elsewhere, including Eagle Ford, Avalon, Magellan, Buckeye, and the like.

Both the base oil feedstock and the long residue feedstock can have any of the above properties within any of the wide and narrow ranges and combinations of these ranges described above.

The base oil feedstream typically comprises from 10 to 60 weight percent of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 90 weight percent of a base oil feedstock, or from 10 to 40 weight percent of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 60 to 90 weight percent of a base oil feedstock, or from 10 to 30 weight percent of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 70 to 90 weight percent of a base oil feedstock, or from 30 to 60 weight percent of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 70 weight percent of a base oil feedstock, or from 40 to 60 weight percent of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 60 weight percent of a base oil feedstock.

In certain embodiments, the base oil feedstream is free of added whole crude oil feedstock, and/or free of vacuum residuum feedstock, and/or free of deasphalted oil feedstock components, and/or contains only atmospheric residuum feedstock and base oil feedstock.

While not limited to a straight run process, the process need not include recycling the liquid feedstock as part of the base oil feed stream or as one or both of the long residue feedstock and the base oil feedstock. However, in certain embodiments, recirculation of one or more intermediate streams may be required.

The base stock may comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of a vacuum gas oil. The vacuum gas oil may be a heavy vacuum gas oil obtained from a vacuum gas oil that is split into a light fraction and a heavy fraction, wherein the heavy fraction has a cut point temperature in the range of about 950-.

Dewaxed and/or hydrofinished dewaxed products are typically obtained as light base oil products and heavy base oil products. The nominal viscosity of the light base oil product at 100 ℃ is typically in the range of 4-8cSt or 5-7cSt, and/or the nominal viscosity of the heavy base oil product at 100 ℃ is typically in the range of 10-14cSt or 11-13 cSt. The dewaxed product may be further separated into at least one light product having a nominal viscosity of about 6cSt at 100 ℃, and/or at least one heavy product having a nominal viscosity of about 12cSt at 100 ℃, or a combination thereof.

One of the advantages associated with the process is that the yield of heavy base oil products relative to light base oil products can be increased by at least about 2 or at least about 5 Lvol% (liquid vol%), as compared to the same process that does not include the long residue feedstock in the lubricating oil feedstream. In some embodiments, the yield of heavy base products may be increased by at least about 10 lpvol.%, or at least about 20 lpvol.%, or at least about 30 lpvol.%, or at least about 40 lpvol.%, compared to the same process that does not include the long residue feedstock in the base oil feedstream.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method for modifying a conventional or existing base oil process. In particular, a base oil process comprising subjecting a base oil feedstream to hydrocracking and dewaxing steps to form a dewaxed product comprising lighter and heavier products may be modified according to the invention by: combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock with a base oil feedstock to form a base oil feedstream; and subjecting a base oil feedstream comprising an atmospheric resid feedstock to hydrocracking and dewaxing steps of a base oil process to produce a dewaxed product. Optionally, the dewaxed product may be further contacted with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product.

The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing a base oil comprising: contacting a base oil feedstock having a viscosity index of about 100 or more with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product, wherein the base oil feedstock comprises a vacuum gas oil having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or more and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less; separating the hydrocracked product into a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction; contacting the liquid fraction with a dewaxing catalyst under hydroisomerization conditions to produce a dewaxed product; and optionally contacting the dewaxed product with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product; wherein the viscosity index of the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product is 120 or higher after dewaxing. The viscosity index of the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product may be 130 or higher after dewaxing, or 135 or higher after dewaxing, or 140 or higher after dewaxing. The viscosity index of the hydrocracked product may be at least about 135 or 140 or 145 or 150. The dewaxed product produced by the process may be a group III or group III + product.

The use of a vacuum gas oil having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or higher and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or lower, referred to herein as a Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO), provides improved waxy product yield at a group III or group III + viscosity of MVGO of 4cSt 100 ℃, compared to the use of a conventional VGO feedstock, which is at least about 3 lvol.% higher than the same process that does not include MVGO as a base oil feedstock.

The invention also relates to a process combining two process aspects, i.e. wherein the feedstock is used to obtain a narrow cut point fraction and the same or a different feedstock is used for the atmospheric residue fraction. A combined process for making a base oil from a base oil feedstock or fraction thereof comprises: providing an atmospheric residuum fraction from a base oil feedstock or fraction thereof; separating the base oil feedstock or fraction thereof and/or base oil long residue fraction into a narrow vacuum gas oil cut point fraction having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or higher and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or lower to form an MVGO fraction and a residual HHVGO fraction; using the HHVGO fraction as an atmospheric resid feedstock in the first process to produce a dewaxed product and/or a hydrofinished dewaxed product; and/or using the MVGO fraction as a base oil feedstock in the second process to produce a dewaxed product having a post-dewaxing viscosity index of 120 or greater and/or a hydrofinished dewaxed product. In certain embodiments, the base oil feedstock may comprise a compact oil, particularly a light compact oil, or a fraction thereof. The narrow vacuum gas oil cut point fraction may also be derived from an atmospheric residue fraction, including an atmospheric residue fraction derived from a light, compact oil.

Advantageously, fractionating the AR feedstock into an MVGO fraction and a HHVGO fraction provides the ability to produce group III/III + base oil products while still allowing the HHVGO fraction to be used with conventional VGO base oil feedstocks to produce group II base oil products. In some embodiments, the use of MVGO to produce group III/III + base oil products results in higher yields of such products.

A schematic representation of a method or process according to one embodiment of the invention is schematically shown in fig. 2a, wherein conventional base oil hydrotreating, hydrocracking, hydrodewaxing and hydrofinishing process steps, conditions and catalysts are used. Fig. 2a shows the use of feed co-mixing of VGO and Atmospheric Residue (AR) by comparison with the prior art base oil process schematic shown in fig. 1, where conventional processes typically use a VGO base oil feedstock. Figure 2b further illustrates the use of an AR feedstock to form a medium vacuum gas oil fraction (MVGO) and a heavy VGO fraction (HHVGO), wherein the MVGO fraction feed stream is used to produce a group III/III + base oil product and the HHVGO fraction feed stream is combined with a conventional VGO base oil feedstock to produce a group II base oil product.

Catalysts suitable for use as hydrocracking, dewaxing and hydrofinishing catalysts in the processes and methods and associated process conditions are described in a number of publications, including, for example, U.S. patent nos. 3,852,207; 3,929,616 No. C; 6,156,695 No. C; U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,350; 6,274,530 No. C; U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,760; 6,566,296 No. C; 6,620,313 No. C; 6,635,599 No. C; 6,652,738 No. C; 6,758,963 No. C; U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,663; 6,860,987 No. C; 7,179,366 No. C; nos. 7,229,548; 7,232,515 No. C; nos. 7,288,182; 7,544,285 No. C; 7,615,196 No. C; 7,803,735 No. C; 7,807,599 No. C; 7,816,298 No. C; 7,838,696 No. C; 7,910,761 No. C; 7,931,799 No. C; 7,964,524 No. C; 7,964,525 No. C; 7,964,526 No. C; 8,058,203 No. C; 10,196,575 No. C; WO 2017/044210; and other disclosures.

Catalysts suitable for hydrocracking include, for example, materials having hydrogenation-dehydrogenation activity, together with a support for the active cracking component. Such catalysts are described in detail in a number of patents and literature references. Exemplary cracking component supports include silica-alumina, silica-zirconia composites, acid-treated clays, crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite molecular sieves (e.g., zeolite a, faujasite, zeolite X, and zeolite Y), and combinations thereof. The hydro-dehydrogenation component of the catalyst preferably comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of group VIII metals and compounds thereof and group VIB metals and compounds thereof. Preferred group VIII components include cobalt and nickel, particularly their oxides and sulfides. Preferred group VIB components are oxides and sulfides of molybdenum and tungsten. Examples of hydrocracking catalysts suitable for use in the hydrocracking process step are nickel-tungsten-silica-alumina, nickel-molybdenum-silica-alumina and cobalt-molybdenum-silica-alumina combinations. The hydrogenation and cracking activity of such catalysts and the ability to maintain high activity during long term use depend on their composition and preparation.

Typical hydrocracking reaction conditions include, for example: temperature, 450 to 900F (232 to 482℃)) E.g., 650F-850F (343℃ -454℃); a pressure of 500psig to 5000psig (3.5MPa to 34.5MPa gauge), for example 1500psig to 3500psig (10.4MPa to 24.2MPa gauge); liquid reactant feed rate in terms of Liquid Hourly Space Velocity (LHSV), 0.1hr^-1To 15hr^-1(v/v), e.g. 0.25hr^-1To 2.5hr^-1(ii) a With H₂Hydrogen feed rate in terms of hydrocarbon ratio, 500SCF/bbl to 5000SCF/bbl (89 to 890 m) of liquid base oil (lubricating) feedstock³H₂/m³Raw materials); and/or a hydrogen partial pressure greater than 200psig, e.g., 500 to 3000 psig; and a hydrogen recycle rate of greater than 500SCF/B, for example between 1000 and 7000 SCF/B.

Hydrodewaxing is primarily used to lower the pour point of a base oil by removing wax from the base oil and/or to lower the cloud point of a base oil. Typically, dewaxing uses a catalytic process for treating the wax, and the dewaxed feed is typically upgraded prior to dewaxing to increase viscosity index, reduce aromatics and heteroatom content, and reduce the amount of low boiling components in the dewaxed feed. Some dewaxing catalysts accomplish the wax conversion reaction by cracking wax-containing molecules into lower molecular weight molecules. Other dewaxing processes can convert wax contained in a hydrocarbon feed to a process by wax isomerization to produce isomerized molecules with lower pour points than their non-isomerized counterparts. As used herein, isomerization includes a hydroisomerization process for using hydrogen in the isomerization of wax molecules under catalytic hydroisomerization conditions.

Dewaxing typically involves treating a dewaxing agent feedstock by hydroisomerization to convert at least normal paraffins and form an isomerized product comprising isoparaffins. Suitable isomerization catalysts for the dewaxing step may include, but are not limited to, Pt and/or Pd on a support. Suitable vectors include, but are not limited to, zeolites CIT-1, IM-5, SSZ-20, SSZ-23, SSZ-24, SSZ-25, SSZ-26, SSZ-31, SSZ-32, SSZ-33, SSZ-35, SSZ-36, SSZ-37, SSZ-41, SSZ-42, SSZ-43, SSZ-44, SSZ-46, SSZ-47, SSZ-48, SSZ-51, SSZ-56, SSZ-57, SSZ-58, SSZ-59, SSZ-60, SSZ-61, SSZ-63, SSZ-64, SSZ-65, SSZ-67, SSZ-68, SSZ-69, SSZ-70, SSZ-71, SSZ-74, SSZ-75, SSZ-76, SSZ-78, SSZ-81, SSZ-75, SSZ-82, SSZ-83, SSZ-86, SUZ-4, TNU-9, ZSM-S, ZSM-12, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-35, ZSM-48, EMT type zeolites, FAU type zeolites, FER type zeolites, MEL type zeolites, MFI type zeolites, MTT type zeolites, MTW type zeolites, MWW type zeolites, MRE type zeolites, TON type zeolites, other crystalline aluminum phosphate based molecular sieve materials, such as SM-3, SM-7, SAPO-ll, SAPO-31, SAPO-41, MAPO-ll and MAPO-31. The isomerization may also involve Pt and/or Pd catalysts supported on an acidic support material (e.g., beta or zeolite Y molecular sieves, silica, alumina, silica-alumina, and combinations thereof). Suitable isomerization catalysts are described in detail in the patent literature, see, for example, U.S. patent No. 4,859,312; U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,665; and number 5,300,210.

Hydrodewaxing conditions generally depend on the feedstock used, the catalyst used, whether the catalyst is sulfided, the desired yield, and the desired base oil properties. Typical conditions include: a temperature of from 500 ° F to 775 ° F (260 ℃ to 413 ℃); a pressure of 15psig to 3000psig (0.10MPa to 20.68MPa gauge); 0.25hr^-1To 20hr^-1LHSV of (a); 2000SCF/bbl to 30,000SCF/bbl (356 to 5340 m)³ H₂/m³Feed) has a hydrogen to feed ratio of. Typically, hydrogen will be separated from the product and recycled to the isomerization zone. Suitable dewaxing conditions and processes are described, for example, in U.S. patent nos. 5,135,638; nos. 5,282,958; and number 7,282,134.

Waxy products W220 and W600 may be dewaxed to form 220N and 600N products, which may be suitable (or more suitable) for use as lubricating base oils or in lubricant formulations. For example, the dewaxed product may be mixed or blended with an existing lubricating base oil to produce a new base oil or to modify the properties of an existing base oil, e.g. to meet specific target conditions, such as viscosity or Noack target conditions, for specific base oil grades, such as 220N and 600N. Isomerization and blending can be used to adjust the pour and cloud points of the base oil and maintain them at suitable values. The normal paraffins may also be blended with other base oil components prior to undergoing catalytic isomerization, including blending the normal paraffins with the isomerized product. The lubricating base oils that may be produced in the dewaxing step may be treated in a separation step to remove light products. The lubricating base oil may be further processed by distillation, using atmospheric distillation and optionally vacuum distillation to produce a lubricating base oil.

Typical hydrotreating conditions vary over a wide range. Generally, the total LHSV is about 0.25hr^-1To 10hr^-1(v/v), or about 0.5hr^-1To 1.5hr^-1. The total pressure is 200psig to 3000psig, or in the range of about 500psia to about 2500 psia. Hydrogen feed rate in H₂A hydrocarbon ratio of typically 500SCF/Bbl to 5000SCF/Bbl (89 to 890 m)³ H₂/m³Raw material) and is typically between 1000 and 3500 SCF/Bbl. The reaction temperature in the reactor is typically in the range of about 300 ° f to about 750 ° f (about 150 ℃ to about 400 ℃), or in the range of 450 ° f to 725 ° f (230 ℃ to 385 ℃).

In practice, layered catalyst systems, including hydrotreating (HDT, HDM, DEMET, etc.), Hydrocracking (HCR), Hydrodewaxing (HDW), and Hydrofinishing (HFN) catalysts, may be used to produce intermediate and/or finished base oils using single or multiple reactor systems. A typical configuration comprises two reactors, the first reactor comprising a layered catalyst providing DEMET, HDT pretreatment, HCR and/or HDW activity. Different catalysts performing similar functions, such as different levels of hydrocracking activity, may also be used, for example, in different layers within a single reactor or in separate reactors.

Examples of the invention

Samples of Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) and Atmospheric Residue (AR) were obtained from commercially available sources and used in the process schemes shown in fig. 3a, 3b, 4 and 5. Fig. 3a and 3b show a larger process research plant configuration that is typically used to evaluate large quantities of available feedstock. Fig. 4 and 5 show a smaller laboratory scale apparatus for evaluating smaller raw material amounts and are primarily used for evaluating all AR samples.

The process conditions of the research device used include 0.5LHSV^-11750psia reactor H₂Partial pressure, a hydrogen feed gas oil (recycle) ratio of 4500scfb, and a reactor temperature in the range of 700-The temperature of the R2 was maintained 20 ℃ F. higher than the upstream R1 reactor. An ascending temperature profile was applied for R1 and R2 at 120F and 40F Δ T, respectively.

The target Viscosity Index (VI) of the waxy product was set at 109 to 6.0cSt (W220) at 100 ℃ and 11.8cSt (W600) at 100 ℃.

The laboratory scale process conditions used included 0.5LHSV^-1A reactor pressure of 1850psig, a hydrogen feed gas-oil ratio of 4500scfb, and a reactor temperature in the range of 700-. The target Viscosity Index (VI) of the waxy product was set at 109 to 6.1cSt (220R) at 100 ℃ and 11.8cSt (600R) at 100 ℃.

The catalyst loading in each reactor R1 and R2 (according to each of fig. 3a, 3b, 4 and 5) is a conventional scheme for base oil production, including layered hydro-metallization, hydrotreating and hydrocracking catalysts. Typical configurations include a layered catalyst system comprising one or more DEMET layers for both R1 and R2, a high activity HCR/HDT, HCR, and a low activity HCR catalyst.

FIGS. 3a, 3b, 4 and 5 show the feed streams 10 and H to each of the reactors R1 and R2, respectively₂ Inlet 11, and other

intermediate streams

20, 30, H₂Recycle stream 31, liquid-all-product (WLP) stream 32, which streams are sent to separators and/or condensers (C1 to C4, S1 and V3) to provide respective product streams C2B, C3B, C4O, C4B, STO, STB, V3O and V3B shown in the figures and described in the examples below.

Example 1-Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feed (comparative feed)

Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock samples from commercially available sources for producing base oil products were obtained and analyzed as comparative base cases. In accordance with the process configurations shown in fig. 3a, 3b, 4 and 5, VGO feed was used in the following examples. The properties of this VGO feed (sample ID 2358) are shown in table 1.

TABLE 1 Properties of Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock

EXAMPLE 2 Properties of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) feedstock

Samples of atmospheric residues (AR1 to AR5) from commercially available sources were obtained and analyzed. The properties of these AR samples used as feed components according to the invention are shown in table 2.

TABLE 2 Properties of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) feedstocks

Example 3-Properties of blends of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) feedstock with Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock

Samples of the atmospheric residues AR1 to AR5 of example 2 were blended by weight ratio with the Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock of example 1, and the blend was analyzed. The properties of these AR/VGO blend samples used as illustrative feedstocks according to the present invention are shown in table 3.

TABLE 3 Properties of Atmospheric Resid (AR) and Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock blends

Example 4-evaluation of group II base oil production from blends of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) feedstock and Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feedstock

Sample blends of atmospheric resid and Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feed samples AR1 to AR5 of example 3 were evaluated for group II base oil production according to the process represented in fig. 3 b. Class II results were also obtained for comparison using the VGO feed of example 1 (according to the process of fig. 3 a).

The base oil production results for the AR1/VGO blends compared to the VGO feedstock alone are shown in table 4a, the results for the blends of AR2 and AR3 with VGO are shown in table 4b, and the results for the blends of AR4 and AR5 with VGO are shown in table 4c, each set of results determined using the AR/VGO blend of example 3.

As shown in table 4a, using the AR1/VGO blend as the lubricating oil process feed showed a 57.5 vol% increase in the yield of heavy base oil product W600, which was 19.3 vol% when the feed did not include the atmospheric resid AR1 component. While the AR1/VGO blend showed some hydrocracking loss (-15 ° f) and loss of HDN activity (19 ° f or higher), this increase in heavy base oil yield was significant. The advantage of high W600 yields indicates that a more active, stable HDN catalyst system would also be beneficial, particularly for high nitrogen containing feedstocks.

TABLE 4 base oil production of a-AR 1/VGO (wt/wt) blends

Table 4b shows the results obtained for atmospheric resid samples AR2 and AR3, each blended with Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO). As shown, the AR2/VGO blend (90-326-3242-3266) is significantly improved in both the actual waxy W600 yield and the total actual waxy yield if the same W220 VI (109 or close) is targeted: the R yield was 36.6% versus 18.6 for the wax 600 and 69.4% versus 53.5% for the total wax. Although higher waxy product nitrogen levels were obtained, the higher product nitrogen levels were reduced, as shown by 90-326-3098-3122, at the expense of the yield of waxy W600R and the overall waxy base oil yield (6% reduction for W600R and 2% reduction for the overall waxy base oil yield).

From Table 4b, it is seen that the AR3/VGO blend (88-342-3726-3750) shows a significant actual wax W600R yield improvement of 31.9% versus 18.6% compared to VGO feed alone. The actual overall waxy base oil yield remained unchanged, while the waxy product from the AR3/VGO blend showed a slightly higher nitrogen content.

Table 4c shows the results obtained for atmospheric resid samples AR4 and AR5, each blended with Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO). As shown, two separate runs were performed at different hydrocracking severity levels for each of the VGO control feed and the AR4/VGO and AR5/VGO blends.

Table 4b base oil production from blends of AR2/VGO and AR3/VGO (wt/wt)

Table 4c base oil production from blends of AR4/VGO and AR5/VGO (wt/wt)

The results from Table 4c provide a basis for a comparison of the wax base oil yields at Viscosity Indices (VI) of W220 of the blends AR2/VGO, AR4/VGO and AR5/VGO of 109, as shown in Table 4 d. At 109W220 VI, the waxy base oil yield of the 50% AR2/VGO blend feed compared to VGO feed alone had a 33.7% W600 yield improvement compared to 25.8% W600 yield of VGO feed that did not include the atmospheric resid AR2 component. The overall waxy base oil yield for the AR2/VGO blend was 68.7%, while the overall waxy base oil yield when fed without the AR2 blend component was 66.1%.

The 20% AR4/VGO blend also showed the following: the W600 yield of the AR4/VGO blend was improved compared to the VGO feed itself (28.4% versus 25.8%), the W220 yield of the AR4/VGO blend was improved compared to the VGO feed itself (42.9% versus 40.3%), and the overall waxy base oil yield of the AR4/VGO blend was improved compared to the VGO feed itself (71.3% versus 66.1%).

Similarly, 20% AR5/VGO shows the following: the W220 yield of the AR5/VGO blend was improved compared to the VGO feed itself (44.4% versus 40.3%), and the total waxy base oil W600 yield of the AR5/VGO blend was improved compared to the VGO feed itself (68.1% versus 66.1%).

TABLE 4d comparison of yields for atmospheric resid/vacuum gas oil (AR/VGO) blends

EXAMPLE 5 evaluation of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) to provide a Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) for group III/III + base oil production

An Atmospheric Residue (AR) sample was evaluated to provide a Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) for the production of group III/III + base oils. MVGO samples were derived from the corresponding AR samples as distillation fractions within the following ranges: AR2 fraction width 717-; the AR4 fraction width was 725-; also, the AR5 fraction width was 716-882 ℉. Table 5a presents properties of AR samples AR2, AR4, and AR5 and the corresponding MVGO derived fractions MVGO2, MVGO4, and MVGO 5. Also included are comparative Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) properties.

The process of fig. 4 was configured for producing group III base oils at different dewaxing severity to evaluate three Atmospheric Residue (AR) derived MVGO having different waxy Viscosity Indices (VI) at a kinematic viscosity of about 4cSt at 100 ℃ (KV 100). Table 5b summarizes comparative examples of VGO as such and yields of MVGO derived from AR2, AR4, and AR5 feeds (designated MVGO2, MVGO4, and MVGO5 feeds, respectively).

TABLE 5 a-Properties of Atmospheric Residuum (AR) and MVGO feeds

TABLE 5b comparison of yields of VGO and MVGO feeds for group III base oil production

Example 6-evaluation of Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) fraction derived from atmospheric residue feed AR3

A sample of atmospheric resid feed sample AR3 was evaluated to provide a medium grade vacuum gas oil (MVGO) for producing group III/III + base oils. The MVGO samples were derived from the corresponding AR3 samples as distillation fractions, designated MVGO3b (broad temperature range fraction) in the 725-895 DEG F range and MVGO3n (narrow temperature range fraction) in the 725-855 DEG F range.

Table 6 presents the results of using MVGO3b and MVGO3n feeds to produce a class III 4cSt base oil using the process configuration of fig. 3 a. Also included are comparative Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) properties. MVGO feeds MVGO3b and MVGO3n both provided increased waxy group III product yield for 4cSt base oil production, with wide cut MVGO3b showing a 4.5 lvol.% increase and narrow MVGO cut MVGO3n showing a 6.6 lvol.% increase compared to using Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) feed.

TABLE 6 MVGO for class III 4cSt base oil production

Example 7-evaluation of heavy vacuum gas oil (HHVGO) fraction derived from Atmospheric Residuum (AR) to produce group II base oils

As illustrated in example 5, samples of Atmospheric Resid (AR) were used to provide Medium Vacuum Gas Oil (MVGO) for use in producing group III/III + base oils. The remaining fraction has no MVGO fraction and is designated as HHVGO fraction. These HHVGO fractions were evaluated for use as feed components for blending with Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) to produce group II base oils.

Table 7a presents the properties of HHVGO sample HHVGO2, HHVGO4 and HHVGO5 and blends of 9% HHVGO/VGO and 9% HHVGO/VGO. Comparative VGO feed properties are also shown.

TABLE 7 a-properties of HHVGO fraction and HHVGO/VGO blends

Table 7b presents the results of using HHVGO/VGO blend feed to produce a group II base oil using the process configuration of fig. 5. Results for the comparative Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) are also included. The results are further summarized in table 7 c. Two HHVGO feeds, namely 9% HHVGO2/VGO and 9% HHVGO4/VGO, provided comparable wax group II base oil product yields compared to VGO feed alone. Thus, the combination of producing a group III base oil using the MVGO fraction and producing a group II base oil using the remaining HHVGO fraction provides technical and economic advantages over using a vacuum gas oil feed.

TABLE 7b waxy base oil yield from HHVGO/VGO blend feed

TABLE 7b (sequential) -waxy base oil yields from HHVGO/VGO blend feed

TABLE 7c comparison of yields of HHVGO/VGO blend feed at 109VI W220

The foregoing description of one or more embodiments of the invention has been presented primarily for the purposes of illustration and it is to be understood that variations may be employed which still incorporate the essence of the invention. Reference should be made to the following claims in determining the scope of the present invention.

All patents and publications cited in the above description of the invention are incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of U.S. patent practice, and in the jurisdictions in which such patents and publications are available, provided that any information contained therein is consistent with and/or complements the above disclosure.

Claims

1. A process for making a base oil comprising

Combining an atmospheric residuum feedstock and a base oil feedstock to form a base oil feedstream;

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the atmospheric resid feedstock satisfies one or more of the following conditions:

heat C₇The asphaltene content is in the range of 0.01-0.3 wt%, or 0.01-0.2 wt%, or 0.02-0.15 wt%, or less than 0.3 wt% or less than 0.2 wt%;

3. The process of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the base oil feedstock meets one or more of the following conditions:

heat C₇The asphaltene content is 0.01-0.3 wt% or 0.01-0.2 wt% orIn the range of 0.02-0.15 wt%, or less than 0.3 wt% or less than 0.2 wt%;

4. A process as in any of claims 1-3, wherein the base oil feedstock comprises from 10 to 60 wt.% of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 90 wt.% of a base oil feedstock, or from 10 to 40 wt.% of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 60 to 90 wt.% of a base oil feedstock, or from 10 to 30 wt.% of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 70 to 90 wt.% of a base oil feedstock, or from 30 to 60 wt.% of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 70 wt.% of a base oil feedstock, or from 40 to 60 wt.% of an atmospheric residuum feedstock and from 40 to 60 wt.% of a base oil feedstock.

5. The process as in any of claims 1-4, wherein the base oil feedstream is free of added whole crude oil feedstock, or wherein the base oil feedstream is free of vacuum residuum feedstock, or wherein the base oil feedstream is free of deasphalted oil, or wherein the base oil feedstream is free of only atmospheric residuum feedstock and base oil feedstock.

6. The process as in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the process does not include recycling a liquid feedstock as part of the base oil feedstream or as one or both of the long residue feedstock and the base oil feedstock.

7. The process of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the base oil feedstock comprises or is a vacuum gas oil, or consists essentially of a vacuum gas oil, or consists of a vacuum gas oil.

8. The process as set forth in claim 7, wherein the vacuum gas oil is a heavy vacuum gas oil obtained from a vacuum gas oil, the heavy vacuum gas oil being cut into a light fraction and a heavy fraction, wherein the cut point temperature of the heavy fraction is in the range of about 950-.

9. The process of any of claims 1-8, wherein the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product is obtained as a light base oil product and a heavy base oil product.

10. The process of claim 9, wherein the nominal viscosity of the light base oil product at 100 ℃ is in the range of 4-8cSt or 5-7cSt, and/or the nominal viscosity of the heavy base oil product at 100 ℃ is in the range of 10-14cSt or 11-13 cSt.

11. The process as in any one of claims 9-10, wherein the yield of the heavy base oil product relative to the light base oil product is increased by at least about 2L vol% or at least about 5L vol% compared to the same process that does not include the long residue feedstock in the base oil feedstream.

12. The process as in any one of claims 9-11, wherein overall waxy base oil yield is increased by at least about 2L volume% or at least about 5L volume% as compared to the same process that does not include the long residue feedstock in the base oil feedstream.

13. The process of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the dewaxed product is further separated into a lighter product having a nominal viscosity of 6cSt at least at 100 ℃, or a heavier product having a nominal viscosity of 12cSt at least at 100 ℃, or a combination of both.

14. A method for modifying a base oil process, wherein the base oil process comprises subjecting a base oil feedstream to hydrocracking and dewaxing steps to form a dewaxed product comprising light products and heavy products; the method comprises the following steps of,

combining an atmospheric resid feedstock and a base oil feedstock to form the base oil feedstream; and

subjecting the base oil feedstream comprising the long residue feedstock to the hydrocracking and dewaxing steps of the base oil process;

wherein the modified base oil process comprises:

separating the hydrocracked product into at least a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction;

15. A process for making a base oil comprising

Contacting a base oil feedstock having a viscosity index of about 100 or more with a hydrocracking catalyst under hydrocracking conditions to form a hydrocracked product, wherein the base oil feedstock comprises a vacuum gas oil having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or more and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less;

optionally contacting the dewaxed product with a hydrofinishing catalyst under hydrofinishing conditions to produce a hydrofinished dewaxed product;

wherein the viscosity index of the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product is 120 or higher after dewaxing.

16. The process of claim 15, wherein the viscosity index of the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product is 130 or greater after dewaxing, or 135 or greater after dewaxing, or 140 or greater after dewaxing.

17. The process of claim 15, wherein the dewaxed product and/or the hydrofinished dewaxed product comprises a group III or group III + base oil product.

18. The process of claim 15, wherein the hydrocracking product has a viscosity index of at least about 135 or 140 or 145 or 150.

19. The process of any one of claims 15-18, wherein the yield of waxy products at 100 ℃ with a viscosity of 4cSt of a vacuum gas oil having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or more and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less is at least about 3 i vol% higher than the same process that does not include, as the base oil feedstock, a vacuum gas oil having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or more and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less.

20. A process for the manufacture of a base oil from a base oil feedstock or a fraction thereof, the process comprising

Providing an atmospheric residuum fraction from a base oil feedstock or fraction thereof;

separating the base oil feedstock or fraction thereof and/or the base oil long residue fraction into a vacuum gas oil cut point fraction having a front end cut point of about 700 ° f or greater and a back end cut point of about 900 ° f or less to form a medium vacuum gas oil MVGO fraction and a heavy vacuum gas oil HHVGO fraction;

using the HHVGO fraction as an atmospheric resid feedstock in the process of claim 1; and/or

Using said MVGO fraction as a base oil feedstock in the process of claim 14.

21. The process of claim 20, wherein the base oil feedstock comprises a compact oil or a fraction thereof.

22. The process of claim 21, wherein the vacuum gas oil cut point fraction is derived from an atmospheric resid fraction of the dense oil.