Heavy Crude Oil Upgrading via Thermal Cracking and Solvent Deasphalting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons, such as heavy crude oil, face challenges including high metal content contamination, coke formation, excessive cracking times, and the need for expensive purge gases, which limit efficiency and scalability, and result in high viscosity and sulfur content.
Innovation Solution
A method involving thermal cracking of heavy crude oil with simultaneous venting of volatile components, using tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) to reduce viscosity and acidity, and recycling THFA, which allows for efficient conversion to lighter oils without excessive coke formation and the need for sweep gases, while producing synthetic crude oil with improved properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If heavy crude oil is thermally cracked at elevated temperature to convert to lighter hydrocarbons, then the volume of lighter hydrocarbons increases, but coke formation occurs which fouls equipment and limits conversion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes coke precursors (asphaltenes and resins) from the heavy crude oil feedstock before thermal cracking through solvent deasphalting. This prevents coke formation during cracking while maintaining high conversion rates to lighter hydrocarbons, resolving the contradiction between productivity and harmful byproduct formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary solvent deasphalting treatment before the thermal cracking process. By removing asphaltenes and resins in advance, the feedstock is prepared to undergo cracking without forming excessive coke, thus enabling higher conversion rates without equipment fouling.
2Productivity
If hydrocracking is used to increase lighter hydrocarbon volume, then hydrogen-to-carbon ratio improves, but metal content contaminates the catalyst and limits process application
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes metal-containing asphaltenes and resins through solvent deasphalting before cracking. This extraction of impurities prevents catalyst contamination in subsequent hydrocracking or catalytic cracking processes, enabling reliable operation while maintaining high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary removal of metal-containing components via solvent deasphalting before the cracking process. This pre-treatment protects catalysts from contamination while allowing the cracking process to proceed efficiently with high conversion rates.
3Manufacturing precision
If sequential cracking and distillation is performed to separate volatiles from non-volatiles, then product separation is achieved, but excessive cracking time is required to minimize coke formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the upgrading process into distinct stages: solvent deasphalting, thermal cracking, and distillation. By separating these operations and removing asphaltenes beforehand, each stage can be optimized independently, reducing overall processing time while maintaining product separation quality and minimizing coke formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary solvent deasphalting to remove coke precursors before cracking. This allows the cracking step to proceed faster without excessive coke formation, reducing cracking time while still achieving proper product separation through subsequent distillation.
4Device complexity
If heavy crude oil is upgraded without solvent deasphalting, then process complexity is reduced, but high metal content and sulfur content limit further refining
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes metal-containing asphaltenes and high-sulfur components through solvent deasphalting. This produces a cleaner naphthenic fraction with lower metal and sulfur content that is suitable for downstream refining operations, resolving the contradiction between process simplicity and feedstock quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary solvent deasphalting to remove impurities before downstream refining. This pre-treatment improves feedstock quality for subsequent hydrocracking or catalytic cracking, enabling reliable operation even though it adds a process step.
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 approach achieves high conversion rates of heavy crude oil to synthetic crude oil with reduced viscosity, acidity, and sulfur content, minimizing coke formation and operational costs, and producing a pipeline-able product with superior properties.
Implementation Method 1
mixing THFA with the heavy crude oil prior to or during the thermal cracking
Implementation Method 2
thermally cracking the heavy crude oil in a cracking vessel to convert a portion of the heavy crude oil to volatile components
Implementation Method 3
separating the vented volatile components into condensable and non-condensable volatile components
Data Source
AI summary
A method of upgrading a heavy crude oil (10) by thermally cracking (12) the heavy crude oil in a cracking vessel to convert a portion to volatile components (14) while simultaneously venting the volatile components from the cracking vessel. Tetrathydrofurfuryl alcohol is optionally added to the heavy crude oil feedstock before or during cracking. The vented volatile components are separated (16) into condensable volatile components (18) and non-condensable volatile components (20). The condensable components are collected and comprise cracked-distilled oil. The cracking residue (48) is removed from the cracking vessel and a cracking residue extract is prepared and mixed with the cracked-distilled oil to produce synthetic crude oil.