Methods for removing metallic and non-metallic impurities from hydrocarbon oils

a technology of hydrocarbon oil and impurities, which is applied in the field of reducing, can solve the problems of promoting serious corrosion of turbine blades, detrimental contaminants, and corrosion problems of turbine blades and other components, and achieves the effects of reducing the number of turbine blades

Inactive Publication Date: 2009-05-07
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The contaminants are detrimental to the direct use of the crude oil as a fuel (e.g., use of the oil with minimal processing), as well as being detrimental to the processing of the oil to produce other commercially valuable products.
As an illustration in the case of gas turbine engines which may use this type of oil as a fuel, the impurities can cause serious corrosion problems on the turbine blades and other components.
More specifically, vanadium compounds which form hard deposits on turbine blades are known to promote serious corrosion.
In addition to causing material degradation and processing problems in refineries, the presence of contaminants like sulfur (usually in organic form) can also result in serious environmental and regulatory problems.
For these reasons, gas turbine engines and other equipment may not always be capable of efficient operation when running on this type of fuel oil.
However, distillation techniques can be very energy-intensive; and may not be suitable for removing contaminants from the heavy, “bottom” fractions of crude oil.
However, vanadium and nickel impurities which are also present in the oil tend to adhere to the catalysts and thereby block the active ...

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

Adsorption of Vanadium Porphyrin Compounds

[0043]Britesorb® C930 silica adsorbent was used in this example. The material had a surface area (BET) of 452 m2 / g; and a pore volume (Vp) of 1.27 cc / g. Approximately 0.11 g of the C930 material was weighed into a vial. 5.06 g of a petroleum ether solution of vanadium etioporpyrin (15 ppm V in the solvent) was added to the vial. The mixture was stirred for 2 minutes, at room temperature. (The approximate composition of this grade of petroleum ether, as determined by gas chromatograph (GC) analysis, was as follows: 50 wt % pentane; 5 wt % 2,2-dimethylbutane; 5 wt % 2,3-dimethylbutane; 25 wt % 2-methylpentane; and 15 wt % 3-methylpentane). After stirring, the mixture was centrifuged, and the clear liquid which resulted was decanted. All of the color which was characteristic of the vanadium compound had been completely absorbed by the silica adsorbent. The petroleum ether solution was thus free of vanadium.

example 2

Adsorption of Vanadium Porphyrin Compounds

[0044]Approximately 0.11 g Britesorb® R100 silica adsorbent was used in this example. The material had a surface area (BET) of 277 m2 / g; and a pore volume (Vp) of 0.55 cc / g. The R100 material was weighed into a vial, and 5.07 g of a petroleum ether solution of vanadium etioporpyrin (15 ppm V) was added. The mixture was stirred for 2 minutes at room temperature. It was centrifuged, and the slightly-pinkish liquid was decanted. In this instance, the R100 did not completely absorb the color which is characteristic of the vanadium compound. This observation provides an indication that the R100 grade of silica adsorbent may not have the optimal pore structure for some applications, and more of the adsorber may be required to treat a given volume of oil. (However, use of the R100 would be suitable in other situations).

example 3

Use of a Silica Xerogel for the Adsorption of Impurities in Crude Oil

[0045]The experiment outlined in Example 2 was repeated, using a different silica adsorbent material. In this instance, a silica xerogel was employed, designated as Britesorb® D350EL. The material had a surface area (BET) of 680 m2 / g; and a pore volume (Vp) of 1.4 cc / g. 3.5 g of the gel was weighed into the Waring blender. 10 g of crude oil was added, along with 40 g of petroleum ether. The resulting slurry was mixed for 2 minutes, and poured into centrifuge tubes. Each tube was centrifuged for 10 minutes, at 2100 rpm. The resulting liquid fractions were decanted into vials, and the vanadium and nickel contents were measured by the ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) technique. The results indicated that residual vanadium and nickel levels were below detection limits.

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PUM

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Abstract

An embodiment of the invention is directed to a treatment method for reducing the level of metallic and nonmetallic impurities in an oil. The method includes the step of contacting the oil with a porous silica adsorbent material. The adsorbent material is characterized by a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area value (total) of at least about 15 m2/g; and a Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) pore volume (total) of at least about 0.5 cc/g.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to processes for reducing impurity levels in organic compositions, such as oils. More particularly, the invention relates to the removal of metallic and non-metallic impurities from fuel oils, e.g., from crude oils.[0002]Hydrocarbon oils represent a type of crude oil (petroleum) found throughout the world, consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons (mostly alkanes) of various lengths. In most cases, the hydrocarbon oils (e.g., the heavy oils) are processed and refined into other useful petroleum products, such as diesel fuel, gasoline, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas.[0003]It is well known in the art that hydrocarbon oils, like other organic compositions derived prehistorically from nature, contain at least small amounts of contaminating metals, sulfur, and other elements and compounds, such as nitrogen. (Crude oil from regions such as Saudi Arabia often contains relatively high levels o...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): C10G25/00
CPCC10G25/003
Inventor OSAHENI, JOHN AIBANGBEEFYVIE, THOMAS JOSEPHSTELLA, ALBERT SANTO
Owner GENERAL ELECTRIC CO
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