Methods and systems for acoustically-assisted hydroprocessing at low pressure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10059890-B2
Application number	US-201615154870-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2016
Priority date	Dec 18, 2013
Publication date	Aug 28, 2018
Grant date	Aug 28, 2018

Abstract

Hydroprocessing can be performed at low pressure using acoustic energy. For example, hydroprocessing a feedstock having one or more hydrocarbon compounds carried in, or mixed with, a transport gas involves flowing the feedstock through a reaction zone in a reactor that has a bulk pressure less than 68 atm and applying acoustic energy through the reaction zone. The hydrocarbon compounds are chemically reacted with a hydrogen source in the presence of a catalyst, wherein the reacting occurs in the reaction zone.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of hydroprocessing a feedstock, the method comprising:
flowing the feedstock through a reaction zone in a reactor, the reaction zone having a bulk pressure less than 3 atm, wherein the feedstock comprises one or more hydrocarbon compounds and a transport gas;
inducing acoustic streaming in the reaction zone by applying acoustic energy through the reaction zone; and
chemically reacting the hydrocarbon compounds with a hydrogen source in the presence of a catalyst in the reaction zone, in the presence of the induced acoustic streaming.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon compounds comprise solid particulates.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon compounds comprise liquid fluid.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon compounds comprise vapor.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaction zone has a bulk pressure approximately equivalent to atmospheric pressure.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrocarbon compounds comprise derivatives or distillate cuts of oils, tars, or asphaltenes.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the oil, tars, or asphaltenes comprise petroleum, coal-derived oils, biomass-derived oils, oil sands, and/or oils shale.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrogen source comprises one or more of the following: hydrogen, methane, natural gas, or light hydrocarbons (≤C4).

9. The method of claim 1 having a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) greater than 0.1 hr −1 .

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaction zone has a bulk temperature from 120° C. to 450° C.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said reacting comprises a reaction selected from the group consisting of hydrogenation, hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodeoxygenation, hydrodemetalization, and combinations thereof.

12. A method of hydroprocessing a feedstock, the method comprising:
flowing the feedstock through a reaction zone in a reactor, the reaction zone having a bulk pressure less than 68 atm, wherein the feedstock comprises one or more hydrocarbon compounds and a transport gas;
inducing acoustic streaming in the reaction zone by applying acoustic energy through the reaction zone; and
chemically reacting the hydrocarbon compounds with a hydrogen source in the presence of a catalyst in the reaction zone, in the presence of the induced acoustic streaming, wherein the acoustic streaming is characterized by a Reynolds number between about 1 to about 200.

Assignees

• Battelle Memorial Institute

Inventors

• Strohm James J
• Roberts Benjamin Q
• Denslow Kayte M

Classifications

• Y02P30/20

  using bio-feedstock · CPC title

• C10G2300/202

  Heteroatoms content, i.e. S, N, O, P · CPC title

• C10G45/22

  with hydrogen dissolved or suspended in the oil · CPC title

• C10G45/02 Primary

  to eliminate hetero atoms without changing the skeleton of the hydrocarbon involved and without cracking into lower boiling hydrocarbons; Hydrofinishing · CPC title

• C10G31/00 Primary

  Refining of hydrocarbon oils, in the absence of hydrogen, by methods not otherwise provided for (by distillation C10G7/00) · CPC title