Compression Reactor for Hydroprocessing Heavy Crude
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and complexity of equipment required for conventional hydroprocessing of heavy crude oil fractions under high temperatures and pressures pose a challenge, along with the need for efficient processing of low-quality refinery feedstocks that are high in sulfur, metals, and aromatics, which are costly to process.
Innovation Solution
A continuous process using a compression reactor to rapidly compress and expand a mixture of liquid hydrocarbon feedstock and hydrogen, allowing for thermal cracking and hydrogenation at high temperatures and pressures, thereby reducing undesirable reactions and enabling efficient conversion of heavy fractions into lower boiling range products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional hydroprocessing equipment is used to process heavy crude oil fractions at high temperatures and pressures, then conversion efficiency is improved, but equipment cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a compression reactor that operates in periodic cycles of compression and expansion, creating pulsating flow conditions. This periodic action allows the system to achieve high conversion efficiency during the compression phase while avoiding the need for continuously operating high-pressure equipment, thus reducing overall equipment cost and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention dynamically changes operating parameters (pressure, temperature, flow rate) during the reaction process. By varying these parameters through compression and expansion cycles, the system achieves efficient conversion of heavy fractions without requiring expensive equipment designed for constant extreme conditions.
2Manufacturing precision
If high purity hydrogen is used in conventional hydroprocessing, then processing quality is improved, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compression reactor system generates the necessary hydrogen pressure and facilitates the hydrogenation reaction through its own compression operation. The system serves its own hydrogen supply needs by compressing the feedstock-hydrogen mixture, eliminating the need for separate high-purity hydrogen production and supply systems, thereby reducing production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The compression reactor acts as an intermediary that combines and processes the feedstock and hydrogen together. Rather than requiring pure hydrogen as an input, the system uses the compression process to facilitate the reaction between the hydrocarbon feedstock and hydrogen, effectively mediating the hydrogenation process and reducing hydrogen purity requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If heavy crude oil fractions with high sulfur, metals, and aromatics are processed, then cost reduction is achieved, but processing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing function into two distinct stages: (1) compression reactor where heavy fractions are converted to lower boiling range products through thermal cracking and hydrogenation, and (2) separate treatment of the converted products. This segmentation allows the complex feedstock to be processed in a controlled manner, converting high-cost difficult-to-process materials into more valuable lighter products without requiring equally complex equipment throughout the entire process.
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 allows for the efficient conversion of heavy hydrocarbon residues into valuable lower boiling range products, reducing costs and energy consumption while handling high impurity levels, and utilizing lower purity hydrogen sources, thus addressing the economic and operational challenges of conventional hydroprocessing.
Implementation Method 1
compressing said mixture to a pressure, a temperature and for a residence time sufficient to thermally crack at least a portion of hydrocarbon molecules
Implementation Method 2
react hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst with unstable portions of the cracked molecules
Implementation Method 3
using a catalyst prepared in a hydrocarbon oil from a thermally decomposable metal compound catalyst precursor
Implementation Method 4
thermally crack at least a portion of hydrocarbon molecules in said hydrocarbon feedstock
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a process for hydroprocessing of a liquid hydrocarbon feedstock, comprising: (a) mixing liquid, partially vaporized and/or vaporized hydrocarbon feedstock with molecular hydrogen; (b) feeding said mixture into a compression reactor; (c) compressing said mixture to a pressure, a temperature and for a residence time sufficient to: i) thermally crack at least a portion of hydrocarbon molecules in said hydrocarbon feedstock, and ii) react hydrogen in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst with unstable portions of the cracked molecules, forming a hydroprocessed product; and (d) expanding said mixture to reduce the pressure and temperature thereby reducing subsequent undesirable reactions.