Integrated system for bitumen partial upgrading

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10508245-B2
Application number	US-201816150664-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2018
Priority date	Dec 18, 2015
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

The present invention relates to decreasing the amount of diluent needed to convert a heavy oil to a bitumen product that can be transported by pipeline. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for partially upgrading heavy oil into a lower viscosity bitumen product.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An integrated system for partially upgrading a hydrocarbon containing heavy oil into a hydrocarbon product, comprising:
(a) a reactor with a thermal nozzle operating an oxyfuel combustion process producing a hot gas that atomizes a hydrocarbon containing heavy oil and induces upgrading reactions to produce a reactor effluent containing a partially upgraded oil, wherein the thermal nozzle is configured with a central fuel conduit that extends throughout a combustion chamber to a converging/diverging nozzle, at least one fuel line is disposed around the central fuel conduit, at least two oxygen lines disposed around the fuel line and coextensive thereto to produce the hot gas that automizes the hydrocarbon containing heavy oil;
(b) a heat recovery/process boiler for receiving and cooling the partially upgraded reactor effluent producing steam;
(c) a flash drum for receiving and separating the reactor effluent into a lighter hydrocarbon and cracked combustion gases portion which is removed overhead from the top of the flash drum, and a flash drum bottom portion of heavier oil hydrocarbons;
(d) at least one heat exchanger to cool the product from the top portion of the flush drum; and
(e) a treater to receive the cooled flash drum portion and separate it into a gas fraction, a water fraction and a light hydrocarbon liquid fraction and (4) combining the flash drum bottom portion from step (c) with the light hydrocarbon liquid fraction from step (e) to form a partially upgraded oil product.

2. The integrated system of claim 1 , further comprising a free water knock out drum upstream of said reactor.

3. The integrated system of claim 1 , where the water removed treater is routed to a steam assisted gravity drainage water treatment facility.

4. An integrated system for partially upgrading a hydrocarbon containing heavy oil into a hydrocarbon product, comprising:
(a) a free water knock out drum receiving a hydrocarbon containing heavy oil and removing substantially all the freely associated water therefrom;
(b) one or more oil treaters receiving the effluent from the free water knock out drum wherein the remainder of the water is removed;
(c) a reactor with a thermal nozzle operating an oxyfuel combustion process for receiving and atomizing the hydrocarbon effluent from the oil treater into a partially upgraded reactor effluent, wherein the thermal nozzle is configured with a central fuel conduit that extends throughout a combustion chamber to a converging/diverging nozzle, at least one fuel line is disposed around the central fuel conduit, at least two oxygen lines disposed around the fuel line and coextensive thereto to produce the hot gas that automizes the hydrocarbon containing heavy oil;
(d) a process boiler for receiving and cooling the partially upgraded reactor effluent;
(e) a flash drum for receiving the partially upgraded reactor effluent from step (d) and separating the partially upgraded reactor effluent into a lighter hydrocarbon and cracked combustion gases which are removed overhead from a top portion of the flash drum, and a flash drum bottom portion of a partially upgraded hydrocarbon; and (I# combining the flash drum bottom portion from step (c) with the light hydrocarbon liquid fraction from step (e) to form a partially upgraded oil product.

5. The integrated system of claim 4 , further comprising:
a diluent source for providing diluent upstream of the free water knock out drum or the oil treater.

6. An integrated system for partially upgrading dilbit, comprising:
(a) heating dilbit to about 200 C to evaporate diluent and produce a partially evaporated dilbit stream
(b) a first flash drum to separate the partially evaporated dilbit stream into a light hydrocarbon diluent fraction that is removed from the top and a heavy hydrocarbon fraction that is removed from the bottom
(c) a reactor with a thermal nozzle operating an oxyfuel combustion process for receiving and atomizing the hydrocarbon effluent from the flash drum bottom into a partially upgraded reactor effluent, wherein the thermal nozzle is configured with a central fuel conduit that extends throughout a combustion chamber to a converging/diverging nozzle, at least one fuel line is disposed around the central fuel conduit, at least two oxygen lines disposed around the fuel line and coextensive thereto to produce the hot gas that automizes the hydrocarbon containing heavy oil;
(d) a process boiler for receiving and cooling the partially upgraded reactor effluent; (e) a second flash drum for receiving the partially upgraded reactor effluent from step (d) and separating the partially upgraded reactor effluent into a lighter hydrocarbon and cracked combustion gases which are removed overhead from a top portion of the flash drum, and a flash drum bottom portion of a partially upgraded hydrocarbon;
(f) at least one heat exchanger to cool the product from the top portion of the second flush drum;
(g) a treater to receive the cooled flash drum portion and separate it into a gas fraction, a water fraction and a light hydrocarbon liquid fraction; and (h) combining the flash drum bottom portion from step (e) with the light hydrocarbon liquid fraction from step (g) to form a partially upgraded oil product.

7. The integrated system of claim 6 , wherein the partially upgraded hydrocarbon product is a bitumen having a viscosity of less than 100,000 cSt at 20° C.

Assignees

• Papavassiliou Vasilis
• Panuccio Gregory J
• Praxair Technology Inc

Inventors

• Papavassiliou Vasilis
• Panuccio Gregory J

Classifications

• C10G9/42 Primary

  by passing the material to be cracked in thin streams or as spray on or near continuously heated surfaces · CPC title

• C10G9/002

  Cooling of cracked gases · CPC title

• C10G9/38

  produced by partial combustion of the material to be cracked or by combustion of another hydrocarbon · CPC title

• Y02E20/34

  Indirect CO2mitigation, i.e. by acting on non CO2directly related matters of the process, e.g. pre-heating or heat recovery · CPC title