Methods and systems for processing crude oil using cross-flow filtration

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-8981174-B2
Application number	US-201313873913-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2013
Priority date	Apr 30, 2013
Publication date	Mar 17, 2015
Grant date	Mar 17, 2015

Abstract

Methods and systems for processing crude oil comprise adding water to the crude oil to produce an emulsion comprising brine and oil and solids; separating oil from brine including producing brine comprising a rag layer; separating the rag layer into a hydrocarbon emulsion having finer solids and brine comprising larger solids; and passing the hydrocarbon emulsion along a cross-flow filter to produce a retentate comprising brine and solids and a permeate comprising hydrocarbon.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of processing crude oil comprising:
adding water to the crude oil to produce oil and brine and a rag layer including an emulsion comprising brine and oil and solids;
separating oil from brine including producing brine comprising the rag layer;
separating the rag layer into a hydrocarbon emulsion having finer solids and brine comprising larger solids; and
passing the hydrocarbon emulsion and finer solids along a cross-flow filter to produce a retentate comprising brine and solids and a permeate comprising hydrocarbon.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising separating brine from the brine comprising the rag layer.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein separating brine from the brine comprising the rag layer comprises passing the brine comprising the rag layer through a settling tank, gravity separator, or a coalescing plate interceptor (CPI) separator.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising adding one or more of additional hydrocarbon, a demulsifier, a reverse demulsifier, a coagulant, and a flocculant to the rag layer.

5. A method of processing crude oil comprising:
passing the crude oil through a desalter, including separating oil from brine comprising a rag layer and removing the brine comprising a rag layer from the desalter via a first port and removing the oil via a second port;
passing the brine comprising the rag layer through a separator including separating the rag layer into a hydrocarbon emulsion having finer solids and brine comprising larger solids, including removing the brine comprising larger solids from the separator via a third port and removing the hydrocarbon emulsion and finer solids from the separator via a fourth port; and
filtering the hydrocarbon emulsion and finer solids using a cross-flow filter to produce a retentate comprising brine and solids and a permeate comprising hydrocarbon, including removing the retentate from the cross-flow filter via a fifth port and removing the permeate from the cross-flow filter via a sixth port.

6. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising adding one or more of additional hydrocarbon, a demulsifier, a reverse demulsifier, a coagulant, and a flocculant to the rag layer.

7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising mixing the rag layer and the one or more of the additional hydrocarbon, the demulsifier, the reverse demulsifier, the coagulant, and the flocculant in a mixer.

8. The method according to claim 5 , wherein separating the rag layer into a hydrocarbon emulsion having finer solids and brine comprising larger solids comprises passing the rag layer through a settling tank or a mixing tank.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising recirculating the retentate to the cross-flow filter.

10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising directing the hydrocarbon emulsion and finer solids from the separator to a working tank and recirculating the hydrocarbon emulsion to the cross-flow filter via the working tank.

Assignees

• Pall Corp

Inventors

• Wines Thomas Harris

Classifications

• C10G33/04

  with chemical means · CPC title

• C10G33/00

  Dewatering or demulsification of hydrocarbon oils (by distillation C10G7/04) · CPC title

• C10G31/08

  by treating with water · CPC title

• C10G31/09 Primary

  by filtration · CPC title

• C10G33/06

  with mechanical means, e.g. by filtration · CPC title