Methods for producing a total product with minimal uptake of hydrogen

Abstract

Methods of producing a total product are described. A method includes contacting a feed with light hydrocarbons in the presence of one or more inorganic salt catalysts and steam to produce a total product; controlling contacting conditions such that at least 50% of the light hydrocarbons are recovered; and producing a total product, wherein the ratio of atomic hydrogen to carbon (H / C) in the total product is between 80% and 120% of the atomic H / C of the feed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 805,582 filed Jun. 22, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for treating feed, and to compositions that are produced, for example, using such systems and methods. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART [0003] Crudes that have one or more unsuitable properties that do not allow the crudes to be economically transported, or processed using conventional facilities, are commonly referred to as “disadvantaged crudes”. [0004] Disadvantaged crudes often contain relatively high levels of residue. Such crudes tend to be difficult and expensive to transport and / or process using conventional facilities. High residue crudes may be treated at high temperatures to convert the crude to coke. Alternatively, high residue crudes are typically treated with water at high t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] Inventions described herein generally relate to systems and methods for contacting a feed with one or more catalysts to produce a total product comprising a crude product and, in some embodiments, non-co...

Problems solved by technology

Disadvantaged crudes often contain relatively high levels of residue.

Such crudes tend to be difficult and expensive to transport and / or process using conventional facilities.

During processing, water removal from the less viscous crudes and / or crude mixtures may be difficult using conventional means.

When processing hydrogen deficient hydrocarbons, consistent quantities of hydrogen generally need to be added, particularly if unsaturated fragments resulting from cracking processes are produced.

Processes such as reforming that are used to produce hydrogen are generally endothermic and, typically, require additional heat.

Hydrogen and / or heat is costly to produce and / or costly to transport to treatment facilities.

It may be costly to regenerate the catalytic activity of a catalyst contaminated by coke.

High temperatures used during regeneration may also diminish the activity of the catalyst and / or cause the catalyst to deteriorate.

Disadvantaged crudes with a relatively high TAN may contribute to corrosion of metal components during transporting and / or processing of the disadvantaged crudes.

The use of corrosion-resistant metal often involves significant expense, and thus, the use of corrosion-resistant metal in existing equipment may not be desirable.

The use of corrosion inhibitors may negatively affect equipment used to process the crudes and / or the quality of products produced from the crudes.

Such deposits may cause a decline in the activity of the catalyst.

Organically bound heteroatoms may, in some situations, have an adverse effect on catalysts.

These processes tend to result in poor desulfurization efficiency, production of oil insoluble sludge, poor demetallization efficiency, formation of substantially inseparable salt-oil mixtures, utilization of large quantities of hydrogen gas, and / or relatively high hydrogen pressures.

Adding diluent, however, generally increases costs of treating disadvantaged crudes due to the costs of diluent and / or increased costs to handle the disadvantaged crudes.

Addition of diluent to a disadvantaged crude may, in some situations, decrease stability of such crude.

The process, systems, and catalysts described in these patents, however, have limited applicability because of many of the technical problems set forth above.

In sum, disadvantaged crudes generally have undesirable properties (for example, relatively high residue, a tendency to corrode equipment, and / or a tendency to consume relatively large amounts of hydrogen during treatment).

Other undesirable properties include relatively high amounts of undesirable components (for example, relatively high TAN, organically bound heteroatoms, and / or metal contaminants).

Such properties tend to cause problems in conventional transportation and / or treatment facilities, including increased corrosion, decreased catalyst life, process plugging, and / or increased usage of hydrogen during treatment.

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