Process for partial upgrading of heavy and/or extra-heavy crude oils for transportation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016060549-A1
Application number	US-201514799801-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 15, 2015
Priority date	Aug 27, 2014
Publication date	Mar 3, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the partial upgrading of properties of heavy and/or extra-heavy crude oil by low severity catalytic hydrotreatment in only one reaction step. The process of the present invention is obtained upgraded oil with properties required for its transportation from offshore platforms either to maritime terminal or to refining centers. The process reduces the viscosity of heavy and/or extra-heavy crude oil, and decreases the concentration of impurities, such as sulfur, nitrogen, and metals, in such a way that heavy and/or extra-heavy crude oils can be transported to maritime terminals or to refining centers. The process increases the lifetime of the catalyst and decreased operating costs by reducing consumption of utilities because the operation of the process is carried out at lower severity. The partially upgraded oils obtained in this process can be transported directly to the maritime terminals or to existing refineries.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A process for partial upgrading of properties of heavy and/or extra-heavy crude oils, by catalytic hydrotreatment, which comprises the following steps:
1) desalting of the heavy or extra-heavy crude oil by an arrangement of two (2) desalters connected in series; 2) catalytic hydrotreating of the heavy and/or extra-heavy desalted crude oil at maximum temperatures of 400° C. and 100 kg/cm 2 of pressure or less in a single reaction step to obtain a partially upgraded crude oil; and 3) separation of partially upgraded oil;
wherein said heavy and/or extra heavy crude oils have an API gravity of 3-16 units, and said partially upgraded oil has a kinematic viscosity equal to or less than 250 cSt at 37.8° C., and API gravity increase of 4 to 8 degrees and where said upgraded oil has better quality for its transportation from platforms to maritime terminals or to refining centers.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the desalters employed in step 1) are of the dielectric type, for crude oil containing less than 200 pounds salt per 1,000 barrels.

3 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein step 1) is carried out under pressure of 7 to 14 kg/cm 2 and temperature of 125 to 150° C.

4 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein in step 1) the pressure value is preferably at least 2 kg/cm 2 above the vapor pressure of a crude oil-water mixture at the operating temperature.

5 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalytic hydrotreatment of crude oil in step 2) is performed in a fixed bed reactor with a catalyst containing metals selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Ni, Mo and Co.

6 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalyst employed in step 2) has a low metal loading: molybdenum from 2 to 8 weight % and nickel or cobalt from 0.1 to 3 weight % in the catalyst, supported on gamma alumina, with surface area of 180 to 200 m 2 /g, pore volume of 0.7 to 0.8 cm 3 /g, and having a shape profile selected from the group consisting of cylindrical extrudates, lobular and spheres with a diameter of 1 to 3 mm.

7 . The process of claim 1 , wherein the catalytic hydrothermal treatment is carried out in a fixed bed reactor with a catalyst selected from the group consisting of Ni, Mo and Co, nickel-molybdenum (Ni—Mo) mixtures and cobalt-molybdenum (Co—Mo) mixtures supported on a support selected from aluminum oxide (alumina), silicon, titanium and mixtures thereof, wherein said aluminum oxide is in the gamma alumina phase.

8 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the catalytic hydrotreatment of crude oil in step 2) in addition to the catalyst bed materials further includes pressure drop relaxers, with or without catalytic activity of hydrogenation, hydrocracking, or both, with shapes selected from the group consisting of spheres, tablets, and raschig rings.

9 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein step 2) is carried out at pressure of 40 to 100 kg/cm 2 , hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon ratio of 2,000 to 5,000 ft 3 /bbl, temperature of 360 to 400° C. and space velocity or volumetric flow relative to the volume of catalyst (LHSV: liquid hourly space velocity) of 0.25 to 3 h −1 .

10 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the separation of the partially upgraded oil in step 3) removes sour gases produced in the hydrotreatment from the partially upgraded oil.

11 . The process according to claim 10 , wherein up to 63% of sulfur is removed from the partially upgraded oil.

12 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein up to 66% of the metal (Ni+V) is removed with a global deposit rate equal to 0.0168 weight % per hour, equivalent to a catalyst life of 10 months.

13 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the partially upgraded oil has a formed sediment content is less than 0.04 weight %.

14 . A method of transporting heavy and/or extra heavy crude oil including the steps of
hydrotreating heavy and/or extra heavy crude oil at a temperature of not higher than 400° C. and pressure of 100 kg/cm 2 or less in a single reaction step to increase the API about 4 to 8 degrees, recovering the partially upgraded crude oil, and transporting the crude oil through a pipeline.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said catalytic hydrotreatment is carried out under a pressure of 7 to 14 kg/cm 2 and a temperature of 125° C. to 150° C.

Assignees

• Mexicano Inst Petrol

Inventors

• Ancheyta Juarez Jorge
• Castaneda Lopez Luis Carlos
• Munoz Moya Jose Antonio D
• Centeno Nolasco Guillermo
• Marroquin Sanchez Gustavo Jesus
• Ramirez Amador Sergio
• Alonso Martinez Fernando

Classifications

• C10G45/08

  in combination with chromium, molybdenum, or tungsten metals, or compounds thereof · CPC title

• C10G2300/202

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

• C10G5/06

  by cooling or compressing · CPC title

• C10G45/60

  characterised by the catalyst used · CPC title

• C10G45/04

  characterised by the catalyst used · CPC title