Hydroprocessed Deasphalted Oil Fuel Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for producing lubricant base stocks from crude oil fractions face limitations in yield and quality, particularly with deasphalted oils, resulting in lower value products and unsuitable feedstocks for fuel production due to low naphthene content and poor cold flow properties.
Innovation Solution
High lift deasphalting followed by hydroprocessing to increase deasphalted oil yield and improve naphthene content, density, and cold flow properties, allowing for the production of fuels and lubricant base stocks with enhanced combustion and cold flow characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional deasphalting severity is increased to produce suitable feed for lubricant base stock production, then the quality of deasphalted oil improves, but the yield decreases to only about 30 wt%
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operating parameters of the deasphalting process, specifically using moderate severity conditions with solvents having 4-7 carbon atoms (such as butane, pentane, hexane) to produce deasphalted oil with sufficient quality for fuel production while achieving unexpectedly high yields of 60-70 wt%, resolving the contradiction between quality and yield
2Productivity
If high lift deasphalting is used to increase deasphalted oil yield, then the yield improves to at least 50 wt%, but the naphthene content and cold flow properties were traditionally poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts what was traditionally considered a disadvantage (the composition of high yield deasphalted oil) into a benefit by discovering that moderate severity deasphalting followed by hydroprocessing produces fuels with unexpectedly high naphthene content (10-40 volume %) and improved cold flow properties, turning a potential harm into a beneficial characteristic for fuel production
3Reliability
If severe propane deasphalting is performed to make suitable feed for lubricant base stock production, then the suitability for lubricant production improves, but the yield decreases to only about 30 wt% relative to vacuum resid feed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the severity parameter of the deasphalting process from severe (30 wt% yield) to moderate conditions, and changes the solvent parameter to use hydrocarbons with 4-7 carbon atoms, which produces deasphalted oil suitable for fuel production with yields of 60-70 wt%, resolving the contradiction between reliability for production and productivity
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 process achieves unexpectedly high naphthene content and beneficial cold flow properties in fuels and lubricant base stocks, enabling their use in various fuel blends and lubricant applications while overcoming traditional yield and quality limitations.
Implementation Method 1
solvent deasphalting to produce a yield of deasphalted oil of at least 50 wt%
Implementation Method 2
hydroprocessing of the deasphalted oil can have unexpectedly high naphthene content
Data Source
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AI summary
Fuels and/or fuel blending components can be formed from hydroprocessing of high lift deasphalted oil. The high lift deasphalting can correspond to solvent deasphalting to produce a yield of deasphalted oil of at least 50 wt%, or at least 65 wt%, or at least 75 wt%. The resulting fuels and/or fuel blending components formed by hydroprocessing of the deasphalted oil can have unexpectedly high naphthene content and/or density. Additionally or alternately, deasphalted oil generated from high lift deasphalting represents a disadvantaged feed that can be converted into a fuel and/or fuel blending components with unexpected compositions. Additionally or alternately, the resulting fuels and/or fuel blending components can have unexpectedly beneficial cold flow properties, such as cloud point, pour point, and/or freeze point.