Hydrocarbon Stream Processing with Coalescing Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
The oil and gas industry faces challenges in managing impurities, particularly high viscosity components, in hydrocarbon streams processed in pyrolysis reactors, leading to coke accumulation and reduced reactor reliability, as existing knock-out drums are ineffective in removing these impurities.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that involves depressurizing and vaporizing hydrocarbon streams to separate vapor and non-vapor phases, using a combination of knock-out drums, cyclonic devices, and coalescing elements to remove impurities, thereby producing an upgraded hydrocarbon stream that reduces coking and optimizes pyrolysis reactor performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If heavy hydrocarbon liquid is processed under gas cracking conditions in pyrolysis reactors, then the hydrocarbon conversion occurs, but severe over-cracking takes place resulting in high coke accumulation and short reactor run-length
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by removing heavy hydrocarbon liquid contaminants from the feed stream before it enters the pyrolysis reactor. This is achieved through a combination of knock-out drums to separate liquid from gas phase, followed by coalescing elements to remove remaining liquid droplets. By performing this separation action beforehand, the feed entering the reactor is cleaned of components that would cause over-cracking and excessive coke formation, thereby maintaining high conversion rates while reducing harmful coke accumulation.
2Reliability
If knock-out drums are used to remove impurities from pyrolysis reactor feed, then some liquid removal occurs, but high viscosity components remain ineffective to be removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs coalescing elements with porous structures as a secondary separation mechanism after the knock-out drum. These porous coalescing elements provide a large surface area with numerous small pores that capture and coalesce fine liquid droplets and high viscosity components that passed through the knock-out drum. The porous structure allows gas to pass through while trapping and merging small liquid particles, effectively removing high viscosity components that conventional knock-out drums cannot handle, thereby improving overall impurity removal effectiveness.
3Productivity
If high pressure dense phase hydrocarbon stream is transported to pyrolysis reactor, then efficient transport is achieved, but depressurization is required before processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the depressurization function with the impurity removal function by integrating knock-out drums and coalescing elements into the depressurization system. As the high pressure dense phase stream is depressurized before entering the pyrolysis reactor, the pressure reduction causes liquid and vapor phases to separate. The knock-out drums and coalescing elements are positioned to capture and remove liquid contaminants during this depressurization process, combining what would otherwise be separate operations into a single integrated system, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
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
The solution effectively reduces coke accumulation, extends reactor run-length, and optimizes energy usage by improving hydrocarbon processing efficiency and increasing conversion rates, allowing for higher recovery operations with fewer recycles and reduced dilution steam.
Implementation Method 1
depressurizing an alkane stream to form a mixed phase stream
Implementation Method 2
vaporizing at least a portion of a non-vapor phase hydrocarbon of the hydrocarbon stream to form a vaporized stream
Implementation Method 3
filtering the first product from the mixed phase stream with cyclonic devices
Implementation Method 4
The portion of the non-vapor droplets in the first product can be removed from the first product in a coalescer having coalescing elements
Implementation Method 5
The third product with steam can be pyrolysed to form a fourth product under pyrolysis conditions that include a temperature of about 815° C. to about 925° C.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method of processing hydrocarbons including depressurizing a hydrocarbon stream, vaporizing at least a portion of a non-vapor phase hydrocarbon of the stream, and separating first and second products. The first product includes at least a portion of the vaporized stream's vapor phase hydrocarbon that became vapor during the vaporization, and the second product includes at least a portion of the vaporized stream remaining as non-vapor during the vaporization. The separation includes a gross separator such as a cyclone, a vane pack device, a knock-out drum optionally having a demister pad, or combination(s) thereof. Non-vapor phase droplets of the first product are removed from the first product of the stream using coalescing elements before processing in a pyrolysis reactor.