Integrated supercritical water and steam cracking process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11149218-B2
Application number	US-202015930337-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2020
Priority date	Mar 14, 2017
Publication date	Oct 19, 2021
Grant date	Oct 19, 2021

Abstract

A method for producing a supercritical water (SCW)-treated product is provided. The method comprising the steps of introducing a crude oil stream and a water stream to a supercritical water process, wherein the crude oil stream can undergo conversion reactions to produce the supercritical water (SCW)-treated product, wherein the SCW-treated product includes an increased paraffin concentration as compared to crude oil stream. The method further includes the step of introducing the SCW-treated product to a steam cracking process, wherein the SCW-treated product can undergo conversion reactions to produce furnace effluent.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A system for upgrading a crude oil stream, the system comprising:
a pre-reaction stage configured to produce a mixed stream from the crude oil stream and a water stream, the pre-reaction stage comprising a feed pump, a feed heater, a water pump, a water heater, and a mixer;
a reaction stage fluidly connected to the pre-reaction stage, the reaction stage comprising:
a convection section of a furnace fluidly connected to the pre-reaction stage, the convection section of the furnace configured to mix the mixed stream and a first fraction of components of a supercritical water (SCW)-treated product to undergo conversion reactions to produce a convection upgraded stream, wherein the convection upgraded stream is at a temperature between the critical temperature of water and 500° C.,
a supercritical reactor fluidly connected to the convection section of the furnace, wherein the supercritical reactor is configured to subject the convection upgraded stream to one or more conversion reactions to produce a reactor effluent, wherein the supercritical reactor is maintained at a temperature between 380° C. and 450° C. and a pressure between 23 MPa and 35 MPa,
a radiation section of the furnace fluidly connected to the convection section of the furnace, wherein the radiation section is configured to receive a second fraction of components of the SCW-treated product from the convection section of the furnace and upgrade the second fraction of components of the SCW-treated product and diluents to produce a furnace effluent, where the second fraction of components of the SCW-treated product flow from the convection section of the furnace to the radiation section of the furnace, where the second fraction of components of the SCW-treated product are subject to radical-mediated reactions; and

a post-reaction stage fluidly connected to the reaction stage, the post-reaction stage configured to separate the reactor effluent to produce the supercritical water (SCW)-treated product such that the SCW-treated product is introduced to the convection section of the furnace, wherein the SCW-treated product comprises an increased paraffin concentration as compared to the crude oil stream, wherein the SCW-treated product comprises an amount of water.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the post-reaction stage is configured to adjust the amount of water in the SCW-treated product.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an intermediate unit fluidly connected to the post-reaction stage, the intermediate unit configured to produce a product stream.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the intermediate unit is selected from the group consisting of a hydrotreating process, a distillation process, and a thermal conversion process.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the intermediate unit is a hydrotreating process and wherein the product stream is a hydrotreating process (HTP)-product.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the crude oil stream comprises a concentration of a vacuum residue fraction that is greater than 20 wt %, wherein the crude oil stream comprises a total sulfur content that is greater than 1.5 wt % sulfur.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the amount of water in the SCW-treated product is less than 1,000 wt ppm.

8. The system of claim 3 , wherein the intermediate unit is a distillation process, further wherein the product stream is a distilled product.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the distillation process is selected from the group consisting of an atmospheric distillation unit, a vacuum distillation unit, and a combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the crude oil stream comprises a vacuum residue fraction that is greater than 20 wt %.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the SCW-treated product comprises a concentration of a vacuum residue fraction that is greater than 20 wt %.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein a cut point of distillation of the distillation process is between 650° F. and 1050° F.

13. The system of claim 3 , wherein the intermediate unit is a thermal conversion process, further wherein the product stream is a thermal liquid product.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the thermal conversion process is selected from the group consisting of a coking process and a visbreaking process.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the crude oil stream comprises a concentration of a vacuum residue fraction that is greater than 20 wt %.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the thermal liquid product comprises a concentration of a vacuum residue fraction that is less than 5 wt %.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the feed pump is configured to increase a pressure of the crude oil stream to produce a pressurized oil, wherein the pressurized oil is at a pressure at or greater than the critical pressure of water;
the feed heater fluidly connected to the feed pump, the feed heater configured to heat the pressurized oil to a temperature at or less than 150° C. to produce a hot oil stream;
the water pump configured to increase a pressure of water stream to a pressure at or greater than the critical pressure of water to produce a pressurized water;
the water heater fluidly connected to the water pump, the water heater configured to heat the pressurized water to a temperature at or greater than the critical temperature of water to produce a supercritical water stream; and
the mixer fluidly connected to the feed heater and the water heater, the mixer configured to mix the hot oil stream and the supercritical water stream to produce the mixed stream.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the convection section of the furnace operates at a pressure between 2 bar and 5 bar and wherein the radiation section of the furnace operates at pressure between 2 bar and 5 bar.

Assignees

• Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Inventors

• Choi Ki-Hyouk
• Alabdulhadi Abdullah T
• Martinez Gonzalo Feijoo
• Alsomali Ali M
• Alabdullah Mohammad A
• Al-Sayed Essam A

Classifications

• C10G9/36

  with heated gases or vapours · CPC title

• C10G53/02

  plural serial stages only · CPC title

• B01J3/008

  Processes carried out under supercritical conditions · CPC title

• C10G55/04

  including at least one thermal cracking step · CPC title

• C10G31/08

  by treating with water · CPC title