Patent 7824540 was granted and assigned to Albemarle Corporation on November, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Process for upgrading a liquid hydrocarbon feed comprising the steps of (a) preparing a slurry comprising the hydrocarbon feed having a boiling range above 350° C. and solid particles comprising a rehydratable material, (b) thermally treating said slurry at a temperature in the range of 250 to 550° C., (c) optionally separating the thermally treated slurry into (I) a lower boiling fraction and (ii) a higher boiling fraction containing the solid particles and formed coke, if any, and (d) separating the solid particles and formed coke, if any, from the thermally treated slurry resulting from step b) or the higher boiling fraction of step c).