Alkali Metal Conductive Membrane for Petroleum Feedstock Upgrading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hydro-treating processes for removing sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals from shale oil, bitumen, and heavy oil are expensive and environmentally impactful due to the need for hydrogen gas production, which requires significant energy and water resources, and also fail to effectively address naphthenic acid issues in petroleum refinery streams.
Innovation Solution
A process using alkali metals like sodium or lithium to react with oil feedstocks in the presence of hydrogen gas or hydrocarbons, reducing heteroatoms and forming ionic salts that can be separated, while also electrochemically producing alkali metals in situ to remove acidic components and heteroatoms, thereby upgrading the oil feedstock and reducing its viscosity and acidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional hydro-treating processes are used to remove sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals from shale oil, bitumen, and heavy oil, then these heteroatoms and metals can be removed, but the process becomes expensive and environmentally impactful due to the need for hydrogen gas production requiring significant energy and water resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful heteroatoms (sulfur, nitrogen) and heavy metals from the oil feedstock through reaction with alkali metals, forming separable ionic salts. This extraction approach eliminates the need for conventional hydro-treating hydrogen gas production, thereby reducing energy and water consumption associated with hydrogen generation while achieving effective removal of contaminants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces alkali metals as an intermediary substance that mediates the removal process. Instead of using hydrogen gas and catalysts, alkali metals react directly with heteroatoms to form ionic salts that can be separated. This intermediary approach bypasses the energy-intensive hydrogen production step while maintaining effective contaminant removal.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional hydro-treating processes are used to remove sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals from shale oil, bitumen, and heavy oil, then these heteroatoms and metals can be removed, but the process complexity increases due to the need for expensive catalysts and multiple processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies the process by extracting heteroatoms and metals through direct reaction with alkali metals, eliminating the need for complex catalyst systems and multiple processing steps. The ionic salts formed are easily separable, reducing overall process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent discards the conventional catalyst-based approach and instead uses alkali metals that form separable ionic salts. The simplified process eliminates expensive catalysts and reduces the number of processing steps while maintaining effective removal of sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional hydro-treating processes are used, then sulfur and nitrogen can be removed, but the ability to effectively address naphthenic acid issues in petroleum refinery streams is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies alkali metals that serve multiple functions: they remove sulfur, nitrogen, and heavy metals through ionic salt formation, and they also effectively address naphthenic acid issues. This universal approach handles multiple contaminant types with a single reagent system, enhancing process versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameter approach by using alkali metals instead of hydrogen gas and catalysts. This parameter change enables the process to effectively handle naphthenic acids in addition to sulfur and nitrogen removal, expanding the适用范围 to include petroleum refinery streams with acid contamination.
4Quantity of substance
If alkali metals are used to react with oil feedstocks to remove heteroatoms and form ionic salts, then the heteroatom-to-carbon ratio is reduced and viscosity decreases, but the process requires in situ electrochemical production of alkali metals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an ion-selective membrane as an intermediary that enables selective transport of alkali metal ions. This membrane-mediated approach allows for in situ generation of alkali metals at the reaction interface, reducing the need for external handling and storage while achieving effective heteroatom removal and viscosity reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical handling and storage of alkali metals with electrochemical generation. By using an electrochemical cell with ion-selective membrane, alkali metals are generated in situ through electrical energy conversion, eliminating the need for complex mechanical systems for metal handling while achieving the desired chemical transformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process achieves a higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio in the oil feedstock, reduces the heteroatom-to-carbon ratio, and lowers the Total Acid Number (TAN) value, making the upgraded feedstock more suitable for refining and reducing environmental impact by minimizing hydrogen gas usage and water consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The alkali metal source is electrochemically reduced to produce the alkali metal
Implementation Method 2
The sulfur and nitrogen heteroatoms are reduced by the alkali metals to form ionic salts
Implementation Method 3
The hydrogen atom bonds to the carbon atoms that were previously bonded to the heteroatoms, thereby increasing the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio
Implementation Method 4
a membrane conductive to alkali metal ions... The alkali metal enters the feedstock chamber
Data Source
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AI summary
A reactor has two chambers, namely an oil feedstock chamber and a source chamber. An ion separator separates the oil feedstock chamber from the source chamber, wherein the ion separator allows alkali metal ions to pass from the source chamber, through the ion separator, and into the oil feedstock chamber. A cathode is at least partially housed within the oil feedstock chamber and an anode is at least partially housed within the source chamber. A quantity of an oil feedstock is within the oil feedstock chamber, the oil feedstock comprising at least one carbon atom and a heteroatom and/or one or more heavy metals, the oil feedstock further comprising naphthenic acid. When the alkali metal ion enters the oil feedstock chamber, the alkali metal reacts with the heteroatom, the heavy metals and/or the naphthenic acid, wherein the reaction with the alkali metal forms inorganic products.