116 results about "Synthetic crude" patented technology

A reactor for conducting a process using supercritical water to upgrade a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into an upgraded hydrocarbon product or syncrude with highly desirable properties (low sulfur content, low metals content, lower density (higher API), lower viscosity, lower residuum content, etc.) is described. The reactor is operable under continuous) semi-continuous or batch mode and is equipped with means to enable momentum, heat and mass transfer in and out of and within the reactor.

Disclosed is a process for the upgrading and demetallizing of heavy oils and bitumens. A crude heavy oil and/or bitumen feed is supplied to a solvent extraction process 104 wherein DAO and asphaltenes are separated. The DAO is supplied to an FCC unit 106 having a low conversion activity catalyst for the removal of metals contained therein. The demetallized distillate fraction is supplied to a hydrotreater 110 for upgrading and collected as a synthetic crude product stream. The asphaltene fraction can be supplied to a gasifier 108 for the recovery of power, steam and hydrogen, which can be supplied to the hydrotreater 110 or otherwise within the process or exported. An optional coker 234 can be used to convert excess asphaltenes and/or decant oil to naphtha, distillate and gas oil, which can be supplied to the hydrotreater 220.

A process using supercritical water to upgrade a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into an upgraded hydrocarbon product or syncrude with highly desirable properties (low sulfur content, low metals content, lower density (higher API) lower viscosity, lower residuum content, etc.) is described. The process does not require external supply of hydrogen nor does it use externally supplied catalysts. A reactor design to carry out the process is also described,

An improved oxidative process that employ a robust, non-aqueous, and oil-soluble organic peroxide oxidant for effective desulfurization and denitrogenation of hydrocarbons including petroleum fuels, hydrotreated vacuum gas oil (VGO), non-hydrotreated VGO, petroleum crude oil, synthetic crude oil from oil sand, and residual oil. Even at low concentrations and without the assistance of catalysts, the non-aqueous organic peroxide oxidant is extremely active and fast in oxidizing the sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the hydrocarbon feedstocks. Furthermore, the process generates a valuable organic acid by-product that is also used internally as the extractive solvent for effective removal of the oxidized sulfur and nitrogen from the hydrocarbons without the need of a final adsorption step. Novel process steps are also disclosed to substantially prevent yield loss in the oxidative process.

The described invention discloses an innovative solvent deasphalter and hydroconversion-processing configuration for converting bitumen or heavy oils to produce a transportable synthetic crude oil (SCO). The innovative processing scheme disclosed herein maximizes the synthetic crude oil yield at a minimal investment compared to currently known methods.

A process using supercritical water-oil emulsion to upgrade a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into an upgraded hydrocarbon product or syncrude with highly desirable properties (low sulfur content, low metals content, lower density (higher API), lower viscosity, lower residuum content, etc.) is disclosed. The process does not require external supply of hydrogen nor does it use externally supplied catalysts.

Three new embodiments to the Chattanooga Process that convert or upgrade oil bitumen, a combination of oil sands and bitumen, a combination of sand and bitumen, and oil shale to high grade low sulfur (about 0.1 to 0.5 wt. % sulfur, or less) crude oil. The invention relates to a continuous process for producing synthetic crude oil (SCO) from oil sand bitumen which has been extracted from under ground via in situ processes, or strip mined and extracted via hot water extraction processes before upgrading. It can also apply to kerogen extracted in situ from shale underground. The process involves treating the hot bitumen with sand from an extraction process or the hot oil from kerogen with ground shale containing kerogen in a fluid bed reactor where the reactant and fluidizing medium is only hydrogen. The invention also relates to a continuous process for producing synthetic crude oil (SCO) from oil shale kerogen. The invention relates to a continuous process for producing synthetic crude oil from oil bearing material, e.g., oil shale or oil sand (tar sand), through continuous process for producing synthetic crude oil from bituminous oil sand (tar sand) or shale. The process includes treating the oil sand (tar sand) or shale to produce a fluidizable feed, feeding the fluidizable feed to a fluidized bed reactor, and fluidizing and reacting the fluidizable feed in the fluidized bed reactor with a feed of hydrogen provided by a feed stream having a stream containing hydrogen in a concentration greater than 90 vol % (90 vol %-100 vol % H2). In one embodiment, the invention relates to a continuous process which can recover methane and ethane from a recycle hydrogen stream. In one embodiment, the process can recover PSA tail gas as feed to a hydrogen plant. In one embodiment, the process can be operated to reduce or eliminate the requirement for externally provided methane feed to the hydrogen plant.

A system having a movable platform including synthesis gas production, synthetic crude production and product upgrading is provided. The system may include one or more movable platforms on which the various production and/or upgrading facilities are located. A process for converting natural gas to hydrocarbon products is also provided where the process occurs on a movable platform. The process may occur on one or more operationally connected vessels. The movable platform may be any of a number of movable or transportable bases on which process equipment may be placed and/or in which hydrocarbon products may be stored.

A process to prepare a sweet crude from an ash containing and heavy fraction of a tar sand oil by:

• (a) supplying an atmospheric distillation bottoms of a tar sands originated feed to a vacuum distillation to obtain a vacuum gas oil and a vacuum bottoms,
• (b) contacting the vacuum gas oil with hydrogen in the presence of a suitable hydrocracking catalyst to obtain a sweet synthetic crude
• (c) separating the vacuum bottoms obtained in step (a) into an asphalt fraction comprising between 0.1 and 4 wt % ash and a de-asphalted oil,
• (d) feeding said asphalt fraction to a burner of a gasification reactor where the asphalt fraction is partially oxidized in the presence of an oxidizer gas in a burner to obtain a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide,
• (e) performing a water gas shift reaction on the mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide,
• (f) separating hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide from the shifted gas in an acid removal unit thereby obtaining crude hydrogen,
• (g) purifying the crude hydrogen to obtain pure hydrogen and
• (h) using part of the pure hydrogen in step (b), wherein in step (d) the asphalt fraction is provided to the burner in a liquid state and wherein in case separation step (c) fails to provide sufficient feed for step (d), step (d) is performed by feeding the vacuum bottoms of step (a) to the burner in a liquid state.

A system and process for upgrading a whole crude oil feed in an integrated ebullated-bed and hydrotreater is provided in which the whole crude oil is flashed into a flashed straight run distillates fraction and an atmospheric residue fraction. The atmospheric residue fraction is hydroprocessed in an ebullated-bed reaction zone, while the flashed straight run distillates fraction and the products fraction produced from the ebullated-bed reaction zone are hydrotreated in a fixed-bed reaction zone. Distillates from the hydrotreater and the unconverted residue fraction from the ebullated-bed reaction zone can be combined to produce an upgraded synthetic crude oil.

The disclosed invention is a process for producing synthetic crude oil and includes embodiments which convert or upgrade oil bitumen, a combination of oil sands and bitumen, a combination of sand and bitumen, oil shale and kerogen to high grade low sulfur crude oil. In one embodiment it is a continuous process for producing synthetic crude oil from oil sand bitumen. In another it produces synthetic crude oil from oil shale. The process in one embodiment includes a fluid bed reactor where the reactant and fluidizing medium is substantially hydrogen. In other embodiments, the process includes treating the oil sand (tar sand) or shale to produce a fluidizable feed, feeding the fluidizable feed to a fluidized bed reactor, and fluidizing and reacting the fluidizable feed in the fluidized bed reactor with a feed having hydrogen.

A novel apparatus for producing sweet synthetic crude from a heavy hydrocarbon feed includes: an upgrader for receiving the heavy hydrocarbon feed and producing a distillate fraction including sour products, and high-carbon content by-products; a gasifier for receiving the high-carbon content by-products and producing synthetic fuel gas and sour by-products; a hydroprocessing unit for receiving the sour by-products and hydrogen gas, thereby producing gas and sweet crude; and a hydrogen recovery unit for receiving the synthetic fuel gas and producing further hydrogen gas and hydrogen-depleted synthetic fuel gas, the further hydrogen gas being supplied to the hydroprocessing unit.

The present invention is directed to modifications of bitumen and heavy oil upgrading and refining processes to synthesize synthetic crude oil and other valuable synthesized hydrocarbon products in an efficient manner along with the production of commercially valuable co-products from by-products formed by the upgrading process.

This invention relates to a process for production of middle distillates having biodegradability properties. More particularly, this invention relates to a process for production of middle distillates produced from a mainly paraffinic synthetic crude which is produced by the reaction of CO and H2, typically by the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. The middle distillate produced according to the process of the invention may be a diesel fuel, having an aromatics content of less than 9%, as determined by the ASTM D 5186 or IP 391 test method. The paraffinic chains of the middle distillate may be predominantly isoparaffins.

The described invention discloses an innovative solvent deasphalter and hydroconversion-processing configuration for converting bitumen or heavy oils to produce a transportable synthetic crude oil (SCO). The innovative processing scheme disclosed herein maximizes the synthetic crude oil yield at a minimal investment compared to currently known methods.