Production of High Quality Base Oils

Abstract

A process for creating higher quality and lower quality base oils from used lubricating oils and crude oils, wherein the higher quality base oils may be either Group III or Group II and the lower quality base oils may be either Group II or Group I. Vacuum gas oils produced from used lubricating oils and from crude oils are processed via two or more process steps, including solvent extraction, solvent or catalytic or iso dewaxing, and hydrotreating. Such process enables efficient conversion and operation of refineries formerly capable only of making Group I base oils, even as their ability to make heavier base oils, waxes, and bright stocks is preserved, substantially to the same extent as such products had been made prior to undertaking the conversion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 532,935, filed Jul. 14, 2017, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The invention relates generally to base oils and, more particularly, to a process for producing high quality and low quality base oils from used lubricating oils and crude oils.BACKGROUND[0003]Over the course of many years, the vast majority of equipment and machinery (including engines of automobiles and trucks) have been substantially improved, thereby achieving dramatic increases in performance. In the case of internal combustion engines for automobiles using Passenger Car Motor Oils (“PCMOs”) and trucks using Heavy Duty Engine Oils (“HDEOs”), performance improvements have been achieved in higher fuel economy and lower emissions. This increased performance has, in turn, created increased requirements for higher performing finished lubr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0028]The present invention, accordingly, provides a process for creating high yields of higher quality base oils (e.g., Group III or Group II), as well as low yields of lower quality base oils (e.g., Group II or Group I), from used lubricating oils and crude oils. Vacuum gas oils produced from used lubricating oils and from crude oils are processed via two or more process steps, including solvent extraction, solvent or catalytic or iso-dewaxing, and hydrotreating. Such process enables efficient conversion and operation of refineries formerly capable only of making Group I base oils, even as their ability to make heavier base oils, waxes, and bright stocks is substantially preserved, to the same general extent as such products had been made prior to undertaking the conversion.

Problems solved by technology

The existing solvent extraction, solvent de-asphalting, dewaxing, and hydrofinishing technologies which make Group I base oils from crude oils cannot make Group II and III base oils from crude oils.

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