Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CONTINUOUS COKING REFINERY METHODS AND APPARATUS
1. TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for refining heavy oils
such
as in transforming heavy oils into lighter, or higher quality components which
are more
commercially useful.
II. BACKGROUND ART
Everyone is aware of the importance that oil and other such materials have on
today's
world. They represent an important topic from a wide range of perspectives
ranging from
environmental to economic to political. At a chemical level, these materials
are significant
because the substances of which they are composed have hydrogen and carbon
containing
molecules whose structure readily yields energy when burned. In some instances
the naturally
occurring raw materials are already in a desirable state. For example, CH4 ,
methane a
"natural gas" -- as its name implies -- is often available in a preferred
chemical composition
in nature. Some hydrocarbons, however, do not significantly occur in a
preferred state in
nature.
Fortunately, most hydrocarbon molecules can be easily separated or transformed
through thermal and chemical processes. The transformation and separation,
usually done on
a larger scale with creation and collection of the desired species is the
process known
popularly as a "refining" the material. To the populace, this is what a
refinery does; it
continuously takes raw, naturally occurring material and refines it into one
or more forms that
are more commercially desirable. As but one example, the heavier molecules
found in
bitumen can be split into lighter components through refining processes. From
a simplified
perspective, the process of refining material involves heating and altering
the composition of
the fuel materials by distillation, breaking or cracking the longer molecules
into shorter ones,
driving the various species off as volatile components, and then collecting
substances in the
desired form.
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Many refining processes produce coke. When hydrocarbons are heated above
certain
temperatures, they can reach a point at which the carbon atoms bind together
and form a
substance known as coke. Coke can be problematic because it is a very hard and
relatively
untransformable substance which usually binds to its container when formed.
Great pains are
often taken in processing relative to coke. For example, there is a newly
invented technique
to identify the point at which coke may precipitously form. This technique,
described in PCT
Application No. WO 00/77120.
Coking processes require careful handling. Here, processes are often
accomplished
in a batch or semi-batch modality. After coke has formed, the container is set
apart to
jackhammer or otherwise remove the coke from it. By its very nature, a true
continuous
process is difficult to achieve. In addition, because of the larger capital
expense of such
handling, at present only large refineries currently utilize coking as the
principal method of
upgrading heavy crude oils. Thus, while desirable for efficiency, smaller
refineries have not
been able to practically utilize coking processes on a commercially viable
basis. Since the
crude oil supplied to refineries is becoming heavier, this need is becoming
more acute.
In spite of this need, however, a solution to the precipitous formation of
coke and
availability of coking processes has not been available to the degree
commercially desired.
Certainly the importance of the refining process is well known. There has been
a long felt but
unsatisfied need for more efficiency, for more availability, and for better
handling of such
processes. In spite of this long felt need, the appropriate process as not
been available,
however. As the present invention shows, through a different approach to the
problems, a
solution now can exist. Perhaps surprisingly, the present invention shows not
only that a
solution is available, it also shows that the solution is one that from some
perspectives can be
considered to use existing implementing arts and elements. By adapting some
features from
other fields of endeavor (such as the remediation or toxic waste recovery
fields as mentioned
in US Patent No. 5259945), the present invention can solve many of the
problems long
experienced by the refinery field.
To an extent, the present invention can be consider as showing that in the
refining field
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those skilled in the art may have simply had too limited a perspective and
while there were substantial
attempts to achieve the desired goals, those involved failed perhaps because
of a failure to
appropriately understand the problem of coke formation in the appropriate
context.
In fact, the efforts may even have taught away from the technical direction in
which the present
inventors went and so the results might even be considered as unexpected. Thus
the present invention
may represent not merely an incremental advance over the prior art, it may
provide a critically
different approach which afford the ability to utilize coking process while
also providing a continuous
process operation. As will be seen, the physical features which permit this
critical difference in
performance are not merely subtleties in batch-type processing (such as might
exist in a semi-batch
modality), they are an entirely different way of dealing with the coke and the
processes. Thus, until
present invention no processes provided the ability to permit truly
continuous, coking processing in
the commercially practical manner now possible.
III. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention provides a continuous refining process which permits the
intentional
formation of coke from the material to be processed while acting to separate
and perhaps create a
greater quantity of refined products. In one embodiment, the invention
utilizes an inclined auger with
a medium such as sand in which the raw material is heated past the coking
point. The auger then
continuously moves the coke out of the bed so that constant and continuous
refinement can occur.
Accordingly, it is one of the many goals of the present invention to provide a
system through
which continuous refining can occur even while permitting coke to form. In
achieving such a goal the
invention provides refinement in one system but with multiple zones so that
the continuous process
can be efficiently conducted.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
differentially
processing continuous coking refinery apparatus comprising:
a. an a continuous input to a single process container adapted to continuously
accept material wherein said material contains at least some heavy
hydrocarbon material;
b. a coke formation heat source to which said material is responsive, which
causes volatilized substances to be emitted from said material, and which
causes the substantial formation of a desired from of coke from at least some
of said material
in said single process container;
c. a first refining environment within said process container and within which
material is processed;
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d. a second refining environment within said process container and within
which
material is processed;
e. a volatiles output which is adapted to receive at least some of said
volatilized
substances; and
f. a continuous coke output element;
wherein said first refining environment comprises a liquid conduction
environment and
wherein said second refining environment comprises a gaseous conduction
environment.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
method of
differentially refining heavy hydrocarbon material comprising the steps of:
a. continuously inputting a material containing at least some heavy
hydrocarbon
material;
b. heating said material;
c. initiating material refinement in a first refining environment;
d. continuing material refinement in a second refining environment;
e. continuously volatilizing substances from said material to form refined
products;
f. collecting at least some of said refined products;
g. substantially exceeding a coke formation temperature within said material;
h. forming a desired form of coke from at least some of said material in a
single
process container; and
i. continuously removing said coke;
wherein said step of initiating material refinement in a first refining
environment comprises
the step of establishing a liquid conduction environment, and wherein said
step of continuing material
refinement in a second refining environment comprises the step of establishing
a gaseous conduction
environment.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
refinery apparatus
comprising:
a. an input adapted to continuously accept material wherein said material
contains
at least some heavy hydrocarbon material;
b. a heat source to which said material is responsive and which causes
volatilized
substances to be emitted from said material;
c. an inclined refinement process area within which at least some of said
material
and at least some of said volatilized substances are contained;
d. an inclined movement element to which said material is responsive;
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e. a liquid seal established at an interface between said material and said
volatilized substances;
f. a sweep gas input established behind said liquid seal;
g. a sweep gas output established behind said liquid seal;
h. a volatiles output which is adapted to receive at least some of said
volatilized
substances;
and further comprising:
i. a first refining environment within which material is processed; and
j. a second refining environment within which material is processed;
wherein said first refining environment comprises a liquid conduction
environment and
wherein said second refining environment comprises a gaseous conduction
environment.
According to still yet another aspect of the present invention there is
provided a method of
refining hydrocarbon material comprising the steps of:
a. inputting a material containing at least some hydrocarbon material;
b. heating said material;
c. refining said material on an incline while creating refined products;
d. establishing a liquid seal between an input and an output;
e. inputting a sweep gas above said liquid seal;
f. outputting said sweep gas above said liquid seal;
g. outputting said refined products;
wherein said step of refining said material on an incline while creating
refined
products comprises the steps of:
h. establishing a first thermal environment within which material is
processed;
and
i. establishing a second thermal environment within which material is
processed;
wherein said step of establishing a first thermal environment within which
material is
processed comprises the step of establishing a liquid conduction environment,
and wherein said step
of establishing a second thermal environment within which material is
processed comprises the step
of establishing a gaseous conduction environment.
Naturally, further objects of the invention are disclosed throughout other
areas of the
specification and claims.
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IV. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a schematic of an inclined auger-type of refining apparatus.
Figure 2 is a diagram of an output of an embodiment of the present invention
in one
application.
Figure 3 is a diagram of a hydrotreating result on the pyrolyzer certain
overheads.
Figure 4 is a schematic of one type of overall system.
Figure 5 is a diagram of one type of process material
Figure 6 is a chart of throughput for one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 is an estimate of the cost of processing drilling muds in one
embodiment of
the present invention.
V. BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As can be seen from the drawings, the basic concepts of the present invention
may be
embodied in many different ways. Figure 1 shows a schematic of an inclined
auger-type of
refining apparatus according to the present invention. This can be considered
one of the many
key components to an improved refining system. As an important feature of one
embodiment, the system is designed not only to be able to accept heavy
hydrocarbon
containing material, it can do it on a continuous basis. As shown in Figure 1,
the refining
apparatus may include a pyrolyzer (1) having a process container (5) within
which refining
can occur. The pyrolyzer (1) may have some type of input (2) through which
material to be
processed may travel. In keeping with one of the goals of the invention, the
input (1) maybe
a continuous input such that material is provided into the pyrolyzer (1) at
the same rate at
which it is processed. The processing of the material may, of course, result
in refined
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products which may flow out of an output such as volatiles output (3). It may
also result in
residuum or unrefined or even perhaps unrefinable material. These may flow out
through
some type of output such as residuum output (4).
As mentioned earlier, an desired aspect of at least one embodiment is the
ability to
process heavy hydrocarbon material. By this not only is the traditional
definition of "heavy"
intended, but also specific goals such as the ability to continuously input a
material having
an API gravity of at most about 11 API, heavy oils, asphalts, pitches,
bitumens, material
having an API gravity of less than about 11 API, material having an API
gravity of less than
about 10 API, material having an API gravity of less than about 7 API, and
even material
having an API gravity of less than about 3 API. Further, in one embodiment,
there is also a
desire to be able to handle and process materials which have significant
amounts ofresiduum,
including but not limited to material having at least 5% by weight residuum,
material having
at least 7% by weight residuum, material having at least 10% by weight
residuum, and even
material having at least 15% by weight residuum or higher.
The pyrolyzer (1) may alter the chemical composition of the material to be
processed.
Such may, of course include a variety of crudes, but also such materials as
stripper bottoms
and the like. For more effective processing, this may be accomplished through
coking and
cracking reactions which rearrange the hydrocarbons and redistribute the
hydrogen. For
example, through an embodiment of the present invention applied to the
processing of Cold
Lake crude, approximately 55% of the flash bottoms fed the stripper were
recovered as
distillate while 45% flowed as underflow to the pyrolyzer (1). The product off
the pyrolyzer
(1) can even be a light, residuum-free distillate with an API gravity in the
25 to 60 degree
range. Importantly, the pyrolyzer (1) can produce a light hydrocarbon oil
which, once
stabilized, can contribute significantly to overall product value.
Pyrolyzing can include coking and cracking of the heavy oil or material to
produce
additional light, residuum-free oil, fuel gas to power the process, and a
solid similar to
petroleum-coke for land-filling. Referring to Figure 2, in this example, it
can be understood
that by weight it is estimated approximately 44% of the feed to the pyrolyzer
(1) can emerge
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as liquid, about 12% can emerge as fuel gas and about 44% can emerge as coke.
The
pyrolyzer (1) can also be used to process solids, particularly hydrocarbon-
laden solids, of
course.
In one design, the pyrolyzer (1) can coke approximately 75 bpd of heavy oils
or even
stripper bottoms at temperatures about 1000 F. The pyrolyzer (1) can also be
combined with
other process elements such as strippers and flashers or the like. Whereas the
pyrolyzer alters
the chemical composition, the flash and stripping operations may be thermal
separations with
a variety of options.
As may be easily understood, the pyrolyzer (1) may achieve the refining of the
hydrocarbon material by utilizing a refining environment and even continuously
volatilizing
substances. The system can then use those substances as or to form refined
products. For
example, desired non-condensible gases can be recovered and reused as process
fuel or can
be flared. As material progresses further into a hot zone, cracking and coking
of the
remaining heavier hydrocarbon may occur. In one embodiment, this can occur to
or even past
the coking point, thus a greater amount of recovery and refining can be
achieved.
Significantly, one system combines a coking type of processing with a
continuous input and
continuously inputting the material to be processed, to permit enhanced
outputs. Thus, the
input (2) to a process container (5) may be adapted to continuously accept
material.
It may be important to understand that the system can provide differential
processing.
This may occur through use of more than one refining environment. By this, it
should be
understood that different conduction, temperature, locational, flow, or other
types of zone can
be encompassed. Referring to Figure 1, it can be understood how a preferred
embodiment can
have multiple refining environments in yet one process container (5). In this
embodiment,
the multiple zones are achieved by inclining process container (5) and
providing it in a less
than full condition. As shown, there is a first refining environment such as
the totally liquid
conduction environment (6) and a second refining environment such as the
totally gaseous
conduction environment (7). These environments may establish different thermal
environments between which the temperature, rate of conduction or other
thermal differences
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may exist. This may occur over an effective processing length (8) in one
container such as
the one process container (5).
As shown, after introducing the material through input (2), the refining or
material
refinement may be initiated in a first refining environment, shown here as
liquid conduction
environment (6). It may then be pushed, be pulled, or otherwise travel to
continue material
refinement in a second refining environment, shown here as gaseous conduction
environment
(7). After the material is introduced through input (2), it may be heated by
some type of heat
source (9). [This may, of course, include a great variety of heat sources and
so is shown only
schematically.] This raises the temperature of the material, and as that
temperature is raised,
different volatile substances are driven off. These can be collected through
volatiles output
(3) as mentioned earlier. Since energy is used to drive off volatiles, as the
material travels
down length (8) ofprocess container (5), it may continue its heating. This may
drive off other
volatiles and may cause cracking of the heavier hydrocarbons and may
eventually reach the
point at which coke forms for that material, that is, the coke formation
temperature.
As shown by the dotted line in Figure 1, liquid conduction environment (6)
eventually
terminates and next exists gaseous conduction environment (7). By inclining
process
container (5), this may exist over a distance. Thus a third refining
environment can be
considered to exist, here, an environment which transitions between purely
liquid and
gaseous states. Again, as the material travels across the pyrolyzer (1), it
can be considered
as being subjecting to a third refining environment, here , the region in
which there is a
combination of said first and said second refining environments, namely the
partially liquid
and partially gaseous environment. This can afford refining advantages. As can
be
understood, the third refining environment can considered be a third thermal
environment or
a transition refining environment. Through the inclined design shown, this
transition
environment can present a gradual transition environment, or even a linear
transition
environment whereby the amount of one environment (liquid) linearly decreases
while the
amount of another environment (gaseous) linearly increases. In this region,
there is, of
course, a combined liquid and gaseous conduction environment.
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The allocation of the amount and changes in the various processing
environments can
be noteworthy as well. As can be understood from the drawing, at least about
the lower one-
third of the processing length (8) or about one-third of the process container
(1) may contain
the or some of the first refining environment or liquid conduction environment
(6). This may
also be increased or decreased to other lengths. Particularly, even at least
about one-half of
the processing length (8) or about one-half of the process container (5) may
be used for the
liquid conduction environment (6). Thus, in an inclined pyrolyzer (1)
embodiment, the lower
one-third or even lower one-half may be the liquid or un-volatilized material
area.
As mentioned earlier, the material being processed may be pushed, be pulled,
or
otherwise travel in the pyrolyzer (1). It may affirmatively be accomplished.
This moving of
the material may be from a first refining environment to a second refining
environment. As
shown a screw or auger (10) may be but one way to accomplish this movement,
among other
purposes. The screw or auger (10) may thus serve as a movement element which
operates
through the liquid conduction environment (6) and into the gaseous conduction
environment
(7). In the arrangement shown, the lower one-third to one-half of the inclined
screw can be
filled with hot liquid which subsequently cokes and is augered up and out of
the system.
Figure 4 is a schematic of an overall system according to one embodiment of
the
invention. As can be understood, volatiles output (3) may feed [with or
without a post-
refinement treater (11)] into some type of collector, such as a condenser
(12). Regardless
as to how designed, the collector usually would act to output the desired
refined products.
Often, of course this maybe done separately, however, for simplicity it is
shown conceptually
only as a single refined product output (13). These various items would
accomplish collecting
the refined products or perhaps condensing at least some of the results of the
refining process.
As envisioned in one preferred embodiment, they would be configured and
operated for
collecting refined products having an API gravity of at least about 25 API, of
up to at least
about 60 API, or perhaps so that the refined products would have an API
gravity of at least
about 26 API, of no more than about 3.7% sulfur content, of no more than about
3.1 % sulfur
content, or even having the characteristics of a fuel gas. Thus the elements
may be adapted
to receive at least some of the volatilized substances created by the refining
processes and for
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collecting at least some of the refined products.
In order to facilitate the refinement process, a sweep gas may be used. This
is shown
in Figures 1 and 4 where a sweep gas input (14) is depicted. As shown, it may
be
advantageous to establish the sweep gas input (14) as situated behind the
point at which the
liquid terminates, an area of a liquid seal as discussed later. Additionally,
of course, the
sweep gas output, shown as coincident with the volatiles output (3) may be
established behind
the liquid seal as well to facilitate the withdrawal of the refined volatiles.
In heating the material to be processed, it may be highly desirable to
intentionally heat
that material beyond the coking temperature. Thus, coke will likely be formed.
Rather than
merely having some incidental formation of coke, this type of an embodiment of
the invention
may intentionally and affirmatively substantially exceed the coke formation
temperature
within the material. This will, of course result in exactly the substance
which had previously
been considered undesirable in some systems and may cause the forming of a
substantial
amount of coke from at least some of said material (e.g. the material that has
not been
volatilized). High residuum material can thus be used efficiently, including
but not limited
to material which would result in at least about 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, or even
as
mentioned 44% of input material by weight of coke material. A variety of
temperatures may
be used to result in the forming of a substantial amount of coke from at least
some of such
material . These can include temperatures in which the heat source (9) is
operated as a coke
formation heat source to cause the material to achieve at least about 650 F,
700 F, 750 F,
800 F, 900 F, 950 F, 1000 F, 1100 F, and even 1200 F or more.
As mentioned earlier, at least some of the material to be processed may be
moved
from input to output.. When coke is formed, this element can take on an
additional role. The
movement element, shown in Figure 1 as the screw or auger (10), may thus
operates at least
between a continuous input and a continuous coke output element. Besides
operating to auger
the material up the incline of the process container (5), it may serve to
force the coke out of
the process container (5). As can be appreciated, the movement element may
serve to grind,
abrade, auger, shearing, break, or otherwise cause the coke formed to be
forced out of the
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process container (5). Importantly for one embodiment, the removing of coke
may occur
while the coke is being formed by the heating of the material. It may present
a continuous
removal process as desired in some embodiments.
The coke, remaining material, or even residuum may then exit the pyrolyzer (1)
at a
remaining material output such as the residuum output (4). By being able to
present a
continuous process, the residuum or remaining material may be especially
appropriate for
disposal. Depending on the initial material processed and the configuration of
the system, it
may even present a residuum which cokes substantially (ie. greater than 80%,
85%, 90%,
95%, or even 98%) all of the un-volatilized organic material or residuum.
Thus, by the time
the material leaves the pyrolyzer, nearly all volatile hydrocarbon may have
been removed and
only inorganic solids and petroleum coke may remain. Even the remaining coke
maybe more
appropriate for disposal. A system according to one embodiment of the present
invention
may continuously remove or create coke having no more than about 6.7% sulfur
content or
even having no more than about 3.7% sulfur content. Thus the screw or auger
(10) may serve
as a continuous coke output element and the system may operate to form coke
out of
substantially all un-volatilized organic material. Obviously, when the system
can be designed
so that the coke formation heat source operates to form coke out of
substantially all residuum,
an optimal situation may exist.
In understanding how the screw or auger (10) may serve as a continuous coke
output
element, it should be appreciated that such an arrangement is but one way to
configure the
system. As one of ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate, many
other way are
possible including but not limited utilizing a coke grinder, a coke abrader, a
coke auger, a
coke shear element, a coke break element, or many other types of elements.
Importantly from
the perspective of efficiency, the output element may be operated while the
coke formation
heat source acts to form coke and may serve as a continuous coke output
element to which
the remaining material is responsive. Again, the inclined screw arrangement is
merely one
representative design.
To promote the desired heat transfer, the pyrolyzer (1) can include a
fluidized bed of
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hot sand such as sand bed (15) as a high conduction energy transfer element.
As is well
known, the sand bed (15) may have a gas feed (18) to enhance conduction. Into
the bed may
be immersed the rotary screws. Incoming material to be processed may be fed
into these
screws and augered into the hot zone of the pyrolyzer. As the material is
heated within the
screw, it can evolve light hydrocarbon vapors which may be removed, condensed
and
recovered as liquid hydrocarbon product. The system may then accomplish
outputting of the
residuum of material or the coke through residuum output (4). The remaining
coke may be
disposed of. By using the sand bed (15) as a high conduction energy transfer
element, proper
processing can be facilitated. For example, the heat may be transferred at a
rate to properly
establish a first thermal environment within which material may be processed.
By
establishing a second thermal environment which differs from the first
environment, heat may
be transferred differentially. For example, by establishing a liquid
conduction environment
there may be a greater conduction of heat in that environment than in the
gaseous conduction
environment. The high conduction energy transfer element which may be
effective over an
effective process length (as one example, a length in which the refining
occurs and is
significantly influenced by the heat source) may thus be coordinated with the
one or more
refinery characteristics (e.g., heat of heat transfer, speed of the screw,
amount of heat
supplied, etc.) to present an optimal system. As mentioned, the pyrolyzer can
use a fluidized
bed of hot sand into which rotary screws are immersed., however, this should
understood as
only one type of highly conducting energy design.
In embodiments utilizing an incline, the material may be moved on an incline
such as
that shown to exist within process container (5) as it moves from input (2) to
an output. Thus
the system may present an inclined refinement process area. Correspondingly,
there may be
an inclined movement element to which the material is responsive, such as the
inclined screw
or auger (10) depicted within the inclined refinement process area. The
incline may also serve
to create a seal between the volatiles and the input (2). As shown, the
pyrolyzer (1) may have
an input end top (16) and an output end bottom (17) which differ in level
height. This may
serve to create a totally liquid area and a totally gaseous area to facilitate
sealing.
The amount of the incline may vary with the amount and type of material being
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process, the geometry of the system, and other factors. As but one example, an
angle of at
least about: 15 , 22.5 , 30 , and 45 may serve to achieve the desired sealing
and refining
operations. Further, all that may be necessary is that the output end bottom
(17) be
substantially higher than said input end top (16) so that blow back of the
volatiles does not
occur. Additionally, the incline should not be so steep that the coke or other
remaining
material cannot pass up the incline through operation of the movement element
such as screw
or auger (10). Thus the movement element may serve as an incline overpower
movement
element so that the refining of the material occurs on the incline creating
refined products
perhaps throughout that element and moves in a manner which overcomes the
effects of the
incline. The output end bottom (17) may even be substantially above said
liquid level so that
once can be certain only coke, and not unprocessed material is removed.
In such a configuration, the unit's throughput can also be determined by
either the
reaction kinetics or the rate of heat transfer. Since the lower portion of the
screw can be
liquid-filled, heat transfer in this region can be rapid on the process side
and can be controlled
by the convective heat transfer on the gas side of the screw. The use of a
fluidized bed on the
gas side can also lead to very rapid heat transfer to the screw, thus, in
service the pyrolyzer
throughput can be controlled by the kinetics of the coking reactions. The
length, speed, and
other process parameters can thus be set based upon a variety of factors,
including but not
limited to the amount of thermal transfer in apparatus, the speed at which
said apparatus is
operated, the amount of heat supplied in the apparatus, the amount of thermal
transfer in the
gaseous conduction environment, the amount of thermal transfer in the high
conduction
energy transfer element, the kinetics of coking reactions occurring within the
refinery
apparatus, etc.
Through providing an inclined process area, an advantage in sealing the system
can
be achieved. As shown in Figure 1, the input end top (16) ofpyrolyzer (1) is
higher than the
output end bottom (17). This can be appreciated from the level line (19) which
represents the
level the liquid would tend to achieve under static conditions. Depending upon
the speed at
which screw or auger (10) operates, some liquid may, of course achieve a
higher level toward
the output end bottom (17). In a coking modality, one goal may be to avoid
having any fluid
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reach the residuum output (4) so that only coke or other remainder is output
from the system.
This can be achieved by the incline creating a totally gaseous area on the
output end. In
addition, the incline can serve to create a totally liquid area on the input
end to facilitate
sealing the volatiles present at volatiles output (3) from pushing back and
exiting out input
(2). Much like a liquid trap, the incline is one way to establish a liquid
seal between the input
(2) and the output. Instead of providing a separate element to achieve the
seal, the present
invention utilizes at least some of the material to be processed as a more
efficient system. A
variety of levels of seal are possible, of course including but not limited
to: at least about a
1 psi seal, at least about a 2 psi seal, a seal having at least 2 feet of
liquid head or depth, a seal
having at least 1 foot of liquid head, a seal located about mid way between
the input and
output, and a seal adequate to avoid blow back of the results from
continuously volatilizing
substances. As can be appreciated, the seal may be established at an interface
between the
material and the volatilized substances. In creating the seal, the incline
serves to establish a
seal-creation inclined refinement process area. It is also made up of and
utilizes the input or
hydrocarbon material.
As will be easily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, the
material being
refined by pyrolyzer (1) may be treated before it goes into the pyrolyzer (1)
and after it comes
out from the pyrolyzer (1). Such steps and elements are shown schematically in
Figure 4. In
a broader sense, the step of pre-treating the material, of course occurs
before accomplishing
the continuous volatilization of substances and may be accomplished by one or
more types
of a pretreater (20).
Some of the types of functions which may be used include, but are not limited
to:
thermal treating, flashing, stripping, and the various permutations and
combinations of these
and other steps. Considering the pyrolyzer (1) as the focus refinery
apparatus, this refinery
apparatus is responsive to the various pretreatment elements whether they be a
thermal treater,
a flasher, a stripper, or the like. As shown in Figure 4, both a flasher (21)
and a stripper (22)
are shown as utilized in this one embodiment.
As can be appreciated from Figure 4, the flow ofmaterial is from unprocessed
material
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source (23) to refined product output (13). As part of the particular
pretreater (20) depicted,
both a flasher (21) and a stripper (22) are utilized. The stripper (22) may be
an atmospheric
distillation unit with the solids agitated by a stripper sweep gas provided
through a stripper
sweep gas feed (24) to bubble through the still. In addition to providing
agitation, this gas
may also lower the partial pressures of the distilling hydrocarbons thus
achieving some of the
advantages of a vacuum still. The nature of the oil or other hydrocarbons fed
to the stripper
(22) (particularly its boiling point curve and specific gravity) can have a
significant influence
on the amount of product taken off the stripper (22) in stripper output (25)
as well as the
pyrolyzer (1) and the quality of that product. Varying the operating
temperature of stripper
(22) may produce greater or lesser amounts of distillate in the overhead with
the balance
reporting with the residuum to the stripper bottoms. These stripper bottoms
may be fed to the
pyrolyzer (1). Using the Cold Lake crude as an example, it is estimated that
approximately
55% of the crude will be recovered as distillate from the stripper as a 20.2
deg API oil having
a sulfur content of 2.9 weight percent. Then the refined product off the
pyrolyzer (1) can be
a light, residuum-free distillate with an API gravity in the 25 to 60 degree
range. The entire
stripper operation can of course be varied. This may include a variety of
steps including but
not limited to: atmospherically distilling, bubbling a sweep gas through
material, both
atmospherically distilling and bubbling a sweep gas through the material;
creating at least
about some 20 API material, creating at least about some 60 API material, and
the
permutations and combinations of each of these. Thus the stripper (22) may
include an
atmospheric distiller, a sweep gas feed (24) , and both of these.
As shown in Figure 4, the pretreater (20) may also include elements to flash
the
material. This is shown generically as flasher (21). As summarized in Figure
5, feed to one
type of process material can consist of a mixture of oil, water and suspended
solids. In
processing such material, the mixture may be first heated under pressure to
temperatures near
400 F, and then expanded through a flash valve to atmospheric pressure. This
is a type of
flashing with a sudden let-down in pressure to release the emulsified water as
steam. This
may be vented harmlessly to the stack (26). The warm flash bottoms can then be
sent to the
stripper (22) where the first product oil or other refined product can be
recovered. The act of
flashing the material can, of course be accomplished before accomplishing the
step of
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WO 01/38458 PCT/US00/32029
continuously volatilizing substances. It may also be greatly varied and may
include the steps
of. heating the material to at least about 400 F, rapidly reducing the
pressure of the heated
material to about atmospheric pressure, and both of these. The unit, depicted
generically as
flasher (21) will then outputs at least some heavy hydrocarbon material for
the refinery
apparatus. Thus elements used may include a heat source which operates to
achieve a
material temperature of at least about 400 F, a pressure reducer, and
generically an
atmospheric flasher.
Treating the refined products of pyrolyzer (1) may also be included. As shown
this
may be accomplished generically by a post-refinement treater (11). As its name
implies, it
may be configured to permit post-treating after the refined products of
pyrolyzer (1) are
created and may be located either before or after condenser (12). At least
some of the
volatilized substances may be fed into it and so the post-refinement treater
(11) may be
responsive to the refinery apparatus. One type of post-refinement treating may
be
hydrotreating such as where post-refinement treater (11) includes or serves as
a hydrotreater.
The chart in Figure 3 is a summary of some hydrotreating results obtained on
pyrolyzer
overheads in the example. The sample labeled "Untreated 2" and the one labeled
"Stripper
Oil" were the samples discussed earlier. The remaining samples were generated
during a test
from an original material which is labeled "Untreated 1". The bromine number
and diene
value by maleic anhydride are empirical indications of the presence of olefins
(bromine
number) and conjugated dienes (dienes by maleic anhydride). The maleic
anhydride value
does not directly reflect the concentrations of dienes in the sample because
the mass of each
individual sample and the molality of the titrant is required for this
calculation. Similarly, the
diene value is an indication of conjugated double bonds and subject to
interference from
species such as anthracene and other polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons which
are abundant
in these oils. As a result, the absolute significance of these values should
be interpreted with
caution.
The hydrotreating accomplished in this example is a hydrotreating of the
refined
products at least about 1800 psi through a pressure element (depicted as part
of the pretreater)
capable of achieving that pressure. From the result shown in Figure 3, it is
shown that
CA 02393120 2002-05-24
WO 01/38458 PCT/US00/32029
hydrotreating at 1800 psi can lead to low hydrogen consumption, significantly
reduced or
eliminated olefin concentrations, an acceptable H/C ratio, and operating
conditions conducive
to maximum catalyst life. If some residual olefins do remain, these may not be
highly
reactive and it will likely not be necessary to saturate them in order to
prevent gum formation.
In addition, the extreme ease of cracking and subsequent resaturation suggests
an alternate
configuration where all material is first sent to the pyrolyzer and then
hydrotreated so as to
produce maximum quantities of light product oil for condensate replacement,
blending and
sale.
Efficient energy utilization and hydrogen management can be valuable to the
self-
sustaining design's thermal efficiency and low operating costs. The pyrolyzer
can produce
a light hydrocarbon oil which, once stabilized, can contribute significantly
to overall product
value. The hydrogen required to achieve this stabilization and to hydrotreat
additional
stripper overhead can also be derived from the coking of a portion of the
stripper bottoms.
In so doing, petroleum coke suitable for fueling the pyrolyzer may be
produced. The
remaining products, C, to C4 hydrocarbons, may be sold as product. Overall,
all of the
incoming material can be converted to high value products or consumed as fuel.
On a BS&W-free basis, the process in the example can be configured to be
capable
of recovering approximately 80-85% of the original hydrocarbon as product oil
with the
remaining material split between process fuel gas and coke. On an overall
process basis, and
as but one example, processing the Cold Lake crude with the present invention
process can
produce 16,404 bpd of 26.5 deg API product oil containing 3.67% sulfur, 712
tons per day
of coke containing 6.7% sulfur, and 6.18 MM scf/day of fuel gas with a HHV of
1328 Btu/scf.
Of course, these processing steps have applications similar to those in a
modern refinery. As
a result, the technology, with appropriate variations and upgrades, is ideally
suited for
deployment in the oil fields as a mobile, modular, shop-fabricated refinement.
For further efficiency, the system may be designed to return some or even all
the
energy needed to run the process. It may be self sustaining by utilizing
energy generated from
the refined products in the method of refining. This may be accomplished by
combusting
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CA 02393120 2002-05-24
WO 01/38458 PCT/US00/32029
non-condensible refined products generated in the method, among other returns.
Thus the
system may utilize substantially no input power to power the steps of the
method of refining.
In the schematic of Figure 4, the energy reuse element (27) is conceptually
shown as utilizing
some output from stripper output (25) to return energy to the refinery
apparatus (depicted as
returning as heat input to pyrolyzer (1). It may also be wise to use some non-
condensible
refined products combustion element (depicted as part of the energy reuse
element) to
facilitate the energy return.
Plant example:
Cold Lake bitumen. An example of a 20,000 b/d plant processing the Cold Lake
bitumen, an 11 API crude containing 4.6% sulfur is used to illustrate the
principles
involved in one approach. Upgrading this crude may produce 16,404 bpd of a
26.5
0API product containing 3.1 % sulfur by weight. The plant additionally may
produce
712 tons/day of coke (6.74% S) and 6.2 MMscf/day of fuel gas having a HHV of
1328
Btu/scf. The facility may require no import power or fuel and would likely
have an
operating cost (exclusive of capital related charges) of less than
Cdn$0.65/bbl.
Capital costs for such a facility and others like it may be determined in
partnership
with heavy oil producers and the assignee of the present invention. However,
based
upon experience and estimates of the National Center for Upgrading Technology
in
Devon, Alberta, a total capital investment of Cdn $98.2 million for facilities
and an
operating cost, including capital costs, of Cdn $2.66 per barrel may be
achieved. Of
this, $2.02 are capital related charges and so a figure of this nature may be
included
as well. In this example, the process may also be configured to produce coke
and fuel
gas and may use no import power.
Although a different application, drilling muds and other challenging
materials can
be processed as well. In a powered system, gas and electric charges may be
approximately
$3.25/ton assuming power at 5 0/ kWh and natural gas at $2.25/Mcf. As much as
30 gallons
of diesel oil can be recovered per ton of material processed. This has been
credited to the
process at $10/ton after allowance for waste solid disposal by landfilling
with operating labor,
17
CA 02393120 2009-09-03
assumed to be $40/hour for two operators/shift around the clock. Capital
charges can be
estimated to be 15% of total capital investment. Although preliminary, these
economics
suggest that processing charges of $30/ton or less should be possible for
reasonable ranges
of specific capital investment and for reasonable plant operating factors.
In this different type of application, namely that not for a continuous
refinement of
supplied heavy oils but rather that of thermally removing hydrocarbon from
drilling muds or
other such waste products, heat transfer can be arranged to be rapid from the
fluidized bed to
the shell of the screw and vaporization can be nearly instantaneous once
evaporation
temperatures are reached. In this instance, the material in the screw can be
either a mud or
a damp solid with a resultant process side heat transfer coefficient which
might be
considerably lower than that of the earlier case. Here the overall throughput
may be
controlled by the rate of heat transfer from the shell of the inclined screw
to the interior mass
of damp solid on the process side. Such individual heat transfer coefficients
and their effects
on any such process or the overall heat transfer may need to be measured
experimentally.
Thus it can be seen that the present invention may apply to, but not be
limited to, heavy oils
from crude oil and any other mixtures of hydrocarbon products, water and
sediments.
Although perhaps of less commercial significance it maybe used to transform
waste materials
such as tank bottom wastes and drilling muds. Such a use of some components of
the present
invention can be for waste material recovery as discussed in a U.S. Patent No.
5,259,945.
This process, referred to as"TaBoRR" processing (a trademark of the assignee),
is a
process of recovering distilled and upgraded oil from mixtures of oil, water
and
sediments. The economics of processing such drilling muds or the like in a
pyrolyzer of
the present invention is preliminarily estimated in the chart in Figure 3.
Specific capital
investment may depend upon the heat transfer coefficients determined during
the
experimental program, but are expected to vary between 0.1 to I $MM/ton/hour.
As can be easily understood from the foregoing, the basic concepts of the
present
invention may be embodied in a variety of ways. It involves both refining
techniques as well
as devices to accomplish the appropriate refining. In this application, the
refining techniques
are disclosed as part of the results shown to be achieved by the various
devices described and
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as steps which are inherent to utilization. As but a few examples, the
refining techniques may
be used in, but not limited to, heavy oil upgrading, tar sand processing,
production pits, crude
oil refining, and other small or large refineries. They are simply the natural
result of utilizing
the devices as intended and described. In addition, while some devices are
disclosed, it
should be understood that these not only accomplish certain methods but also
can be varied
in a number of ways. Importantly, as to all of the foregoing, all of these
facets should be
understood to be encompassed by this disclosure.
The discussion included in this patent is intended to serve as a basic
description. The
reader should be aware that the specific discussion may not explicitly
describe all
embodiments possible; many alternatives are implicit. It also may not fully
explain the
generic nature of the invention and may not explicitly show how each feature
or element can
actually be representative of a broader function or of a great variety of
alternative or
equivalent elements. Again, these are implicitly included in this disclosure.
Where the
invention is described in device-oriented terminology, each element of the
device implicitly
performs a function. Apparatus claims may not only be included for the device
described, but
also method or process claims may be included to address the functions the
invention and
each element performs. Neither the description nor the terminology is intended
to limit the
scope of the claims available to the applicant.
It should also be understood that a variety of changes may be made without
departing
from the essence of the invention. Such changes are also implicitly included
in the
description. They still fall within the scope of this invention. A broad
disclosure
encompassing both the explicit embodiment(s) shown, the great variety of
implicit alternative
embodiments, and the broad methods or processes and the like are encompassed
by this
disclosure. It should be understood that such disclosure may cover numerous
aspects of the
invention both independently and as an overall system.
In addition, unless the context requires otherwise, it should be understood
that the term
"comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", are intended to
imply the
inclusion of a stated element or step or group of elements or steps but not
the exclusion of any
19
CA 02393120 2009-09-03
other element or step or group of elements or steps. Such terms should be
interpreted in their
most expansive form so as to afford the applicant the broadest coverage
legally permissible.
Further, each ofthe various elements ofthe invention and claims may also be
achieved
in a variety of manners. This disclosure should be understood to encompass
each such
variation, be it a variation of an embodiment of any apparatus embodiment, a
method or
process embodiment, or even merely a variation of any element of these.
Particularly, it
should be understood that as the disclosure relates to elements of the
invention, the words for
each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms or method terms --
even if only
the function or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even more
generic terms
should be considered to be encompassed in the description of each element or
action. Such
terms can be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broad
coverage to
which this invention is entitled. As but one example, it should be understood
that all actions
may be expressed as a means for taking that action or as an element which
causes that action.
Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understood to encompass a
disclosure
of the action which that physical element facilitates. Regarding this last
aspect, as but one
example, the disclosure of a "stripper" should be understood to encompass
disclosure of the
act of "stripping" -- whether explicitly discussed or not -- and, conversely,
were there only
disclosure of the act of "stripping", such a disclosure should be understood
to encompass
disclosure of a "stripper" and even a "means for stripping" Such changes and
alternative
terms are to be understood to be explicitly included in the description.
In addition, as to each term used it should be understood that unless its
utilization
in this application is inconsistent with such interpretation, common
dictionary definitions
should be understood for each term. Additionally, the applicant (s) should be
understood
to have support to claim the various combinations and permutations of each of
the
elements disclosed.
