Micro-interface Generator for Heavy Oil Hydrogenation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The fixed-bed heavy oil hydrogenation process faces challenges with high pressure drops due to metal sulfide deposition, leading to uneven load distribution and increased energy consumption, as well as inefficient hydrogen mixing with heavy oil, resulting in high operational costs and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A micro-interface strengthening reaction system that generates microbubbles from hydrogen to form a gas-liquid emulsion with heavy oil, enhancing mass transfer and reaction efficiency by using a liquid phase feed unit, gas phase feed unit, micro-interface generators, and a fixed-bed reactor with a catalyst bed for improved hydrogenation of ship fuel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plurality of reactors are connected in series for fixed-bed heavy oil hydrogenation, then demetallization reaction load is distributed, but pressure drop increases rapidly in the front reactor leading to uneven load distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of hydrogen from bulk gas to microbubbles (diameter 1-1000 μm), fundamentally altering the mass transfer parameters. This micro-bubbling technique increases the gas-liquid interfacial area by several orders of magnitude, enabling efficient hydrogenation at lower pressures (3-15 MPa) and reducing the pressure drop across reactors while maintaining reaction effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a micro-interface generator as an intermediary device that creates microbubbles from hydrogen gas. This intermediary transforms the hydrogen delivery mechanism, allowing better distribution and reducing the harsh pressure conditions that cause metal sulfide deposition and pressure drop in traditional direct injection methods
2Device complexity
If hydrogen is mixed with heavy oil in traditional manner, then simple mixing is achieved, but hydrogen molecules cannot fully mix with heavy oil resulting in decreased reaction efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase transition by breaking hydrogen gas into microbubbles, creating a gas-liquid emulsion system. This phase transition approach dramatically increases the interfacial area between hydrogen and heavy oil, enabling thorough mixing and efficient mass transfer without requiring complex mechanical mixing equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic principles by using pressure energy and kinetic energy to generate and distribute hydrogen microbubbles through the heavy oil stream. The micro-bubbling process leverages fluid dynamics to achieve intimate contact between gas and liquid phases, significantly enhancing reaction efficiency through improved mass transfer
3Reliability
If higher reaction temperature is used to ensure catalyst activity, then catalyst performance is improved, but energy consumption of the process is further increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the mass transfer regime by introducing microbubbles, which compensates for lower reaction temperatures. The enhanced interfacial area and mass transfer coefficient allow maintaining catalyst activity at moderate temperatures (300-450°C) rather than requiring high temperatures, thereby reducing energy consumption while preserving catalyst performance
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 system reduces pressure drop by 10-80%, decreases energy consumption, and enhances reaction efficiency, leading to lower material and energy costs, improved safety, and increased production competitiveness.
Implementation Method 1
converting a pressure energy of a gas and/or a kinetic energy of a liquid into a surface energy of a bubble
Implementation Method 2
the hydrogen is broken to form microbubbles with a diameter greater than or equal to 1 μm and less than 1 mm
Implementation Method 3
to increase a mass transfer area between the heavy oil and the hydrogen
Implementation Method 4
the heavy oil is mixed with the microbubbles to form a gas-liquid emulsion
Implementation Method 5
The fixed-bed heavy oil hydrogenation technique... wherein the desulfurization, denitrification, demetalization, etc. of atmospheric or vacuum heavy oil to maximize the acquisition of light products
Implementation Method 6
under high temperature and high pressure in the presence of hydrogen
Implementation Method 7
a fixed-bed reactor equipped with a specific catalyst... hydrodemetalization, hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation reaction sections
Implementation Method 8
hydrodesulfurization... to greatly reduce the content of impurities such as sulfur
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a micro-interface strengthening reaction system and method for heavy oil hydrogenation preparation of ship fuel, including a liquid phase feed unit, a gas phase feed unit, a micro-interface generator, a fixed-bed reactor and a separation tank. The present invention may reduce the pressure during the reaction by 10-80% while ensuring the efficiency of the reaction by breaking the gas to form micro-sized micro-bubbles and making the micro-bubbles mix with heavy oil to form an emulsion to increase the area between the gas and the liquid phase and to achieve the effect of enhancing mass transfer in a lower preset range. And, the present invention greatly enhances the mass transfer, so that the gas-liquid ratio can be greatly reduced. Also, the method of the present invention has low process severity, high production safety, low product cost per ton, and strong market competitiveness.