MX2008014630A

MX2008014630A - Process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids.

Info

Publication number: MX2008014630A
Application number: MX2008014630A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Olav Ellingsen; Bjarte Soereboe Ellingsen
Original assignee: Tarblaster As
Priority date: 2006-05-15
Filing date: 2007-05-10
Publication date: 2009-02-06
Also published as: NO20085143L; RU2008149093A; RU2434049C2; AU2007250630B2; CA2546940A1; EP2029695A4; CN101484550A; AU2007250630A1; US20090120844A1; CA2546940C; EP2029695A1; WO2007133089A1; BRPI0711480A2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids such as tar sand and oil shale. With this process a number of the obstacles with the existing technology are solved, and the process upgrades the oil into a lighter product than the existing technology, remove sulphur in the order of 40% and heavy metals in the order of 90%.

Description

PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY AND DEBUGGATION / SIMULTANEOUS IMPROVEMENT OF OIL FROM SOLIDS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for the recovery of petroleum from tar sand (also called petroleum sands) and / or oil shale and the improvement of petroleum in the same process. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tar sand is found in huge quantities in a number of countries, the largest resources are found in Canada and consists of extra heavy crude oil and sand in natural resources at different depths. These resources have been the subject of intense research in an effort to develop technologies for the recovery of oil from sand. In this way, there are a number of different technologies. Alberta's most important mineral resources are oil and natural gas and account for 90 percent of Alberta's income from mining. Alberta produces approximately two thirds of Canada's oil and more than three quarters of its natural gas. Almost half of Alberta's oil is extracted from tar sands, which are deposits of extra-heavy crude oil called bitumen. The tar sands of Alberta represent the largest known deposits of bitumen in the world. Tar sands are found in three major areas of the province: the Athabasca River Valley in the northeast, the Peace River area in the north, and the Cold Lake region in eastern central Alberta. Bitumen is more expensive to extract than conventional crude oil, which flows naturally or is pumped from the ground. This is because the thick black oil must be separated from the surrounding sand and water to produce a crude oil that can also be refined. During the 1950's and 1960's, oil deposits were discovered in other regions, such as the Peace River area and Swan Hills, south of Lesser Slave Lake. At the end of 1960 's the last most important deposits were found. Bitumen, unlike normal crude found in deep reservoirs, does not have the same light fractions as this one, it has been evaporated for thousands of years. Bitumen consists of heavy molecules with a density that exceeds 1000 kg / dm3 (less than 10API) and a viscosity 1000 s greater than light crude. In addition, tar sand contains more than 4% sulfur by weight and hundreds of ppm of heavy metals. The content of organic matter in the tar sand can be, oscillate, between % by weight up to 20% by weight and also the extraction of oil from the tar sand involves a huge mass transport. Because the bitumen composition has to be improved before it can be refined in a light crude refinery. Due to the economic potential of these huge resources, there are a number of different processes for oil recovery from tar sand. Such technologies involve biological, solvent, thermal and processes where oil is washed (extracted) from the sand by superheated water. Due to the huge amounts of sand (waste) associated with the extraction of tar mines, the different processes face a number of environmental obligations. Contrary to tar sand, shale is shale (slate) containing organic matter known as kerosene which can not be washed or dissolved as the bitumen of tar sand. To recover the oil from the oil shale, it must be heated to a temperature of 500-600 ° C through which the organic matter is disintegrated into liquid products. As for tar sand, the oil shale contains a number of unwanted components, which cause environmental restrictions. And as for oil recovery technologies from tar sand, there exists a number of different technologies for the recovery of oil from the oil shale. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a self-sustaining energy process where a number of the obstacles with the existing technologies are solved and in which in addition to recovering the oil, the oil is improved in a lighter product than any other of the existing technologies, the sulfur is removed in the order of 40% and heavy metals in the order of 90%. In addition, the process has waste with limited environmental restrictions, as inorganic matter (sand) is disposed in a dry condition. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Fig. 1.- It is a simplified flow chart of the process. Fig. 2.- It shows an illustration of a plant of 10000 bbl / day Fig. 3.- It is the design of the platform Fig. 4.- It shows the platform during the test Fig. 5.- It shows the tar sand, recovered oil and clean sand from the test DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The process is a fast fluidized "drying" process where the sand is mixed in a fluidized reactor supplied with part of the organic components in the tar sand. The combustion gases separate the oil from the sand, together they act as a pneumatic conveyor that transports sand and its associated gases to a cyclone reactor where the sand is separated from the gaseous current, which is also guided to a condensing system. A portion of the condensed oil can be guided back to the flow path, an atomization nozzle for a second disintegration through which the process recovers and improves the oil in an operation without the need for improvement units. To optimize the collisions between the particles in order to obtain maximum shear forces between the solids, the sand stream, the combustion gases and the hydrocarbon gases are accelerated and delayed in a variable diameter riser. The collisions between the particles cause a moderate hydrogenation of the oil by sono-luminescence of the microscopic current of bubbles trapped between the solid particles that collide. When current bubbles are trapped between the turbulence of the particles, the current is subject to a compression Adiabatic through which the temperature and pressure in the bubbles is elevated several hundred times above the global temperature and pressure in a supercritical state where the water is disintegrated to hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals. Hydrogen, which is absorbed by superheavy oil chains, reduces its bonds through which the turbulence impact forces of grains can break down molecules and the "explosion" of the microscopic bubble current takes place . Most of the hydrogen is then released and reacts back with the hydroxyl radicals in water, but a part of the hydrogen causes a moderate hydrogenation of the product. It is very desirable to perform a good sand / oil mix as soon and as quickly as possible. The described method to carry out requires the acceleration mentioned above and the current delay. Traditionally, the current is the means used to keep the solid bed fluidized and moving in the elevator. The current, however, has a destructive effect on the very hot solids found in the residues of the disintegration processes. Under these conditions the current causes the hydrothermal deactivation of the catalyst in, for example FCC-disintegrators (catalysts of disintegration of fluids, FCC-crackers for its acronym in English). This is overcome by the present invention which utilizes the exhaust gases of the fluidized bed reactor regenerator (CO / CO and hydrocarbon gases) as the solids carrier, which will act as a catalyst in the disintegration of the oil. In order to have the process verified, a test platform of 2.5 x 2.5 x 3 m was built and is located in SINTEF ENERGY RESEARCH AS in Trondheim, Norway with a maximum power of 125 kW. The energy required to process one kg of tar sand is given by: Q = xs * cs * dt + x0 (cs * dt + r0) + xw * H Where: xs = the weight part of sand (including metals and sulfur) ), example 80% xo = part by weight of oil, example 15% xw = part by weight of water, example 5% cs = specific heat of the sand kJ / kgK = 1 kJ / kgK c0 = specific heat of the oil to the operating temperature kJ / kgK = approximately 2.25 kJ / kgK r0 = evaporation heat kJ / kg = approximately 225 kJ / kg dt = temperature differential between operating temperature and sand feed temperature K H = enthalpy of water at operating temperature kJ / h = 3500 kJ Operating temperature 360 ° C = 633 K Supply temperature 90 ° C = 363 K dt = 270 ° CQ = 516 kJ / kg and to which a capacity of the test platform of 872 kg / hr of sand containing 130 kg of oil which offers a capacity of approximately 20 bbl / day. The tests were carried out with tar sand from the Athabasca River Valley deposits with the properties listed above where the following results were obtained: • Density of oil recovered from the fluidizer: 21 API. • Density of oil recovered in the elevator: 29.3 API. • Density of oil drained from the oil condenser: 25.15 API. • Coke remaining in the spent sand: 1.25% by weight • Reduction of sulfur in oil: 45% • Reduction of heavy metals: 87% • Energy consumption in% of recovered oil: 9.3 = approximately 12.5 kg of oil / hr approximately 3.93 USD per bbl. (Price of oil 50 USD per bbl) The process is described below as it appears in the simplified flow diagram of Figure 1. A) It shows the vertical fluidized reactor which has a fluidizing mesh B) placed at a distance from the bottom of the cell. The space between the bottom and the fluidized mesh B) is a plenum C) which receives the combustion gases from a combustor D) which can be fed by gas and / or recovered oil. The combustion gases will heat and fluidize the solids (sand) E) entrained in reactor A). the pressure of the combustion gases accumulated in the reactor will cause the solids and the entrained gases, which consist of combustion gases, steam and hydrocarbon gases, to be pneumatically transported through the elevator JJ) in a cyclonic reactor G) which is designed in such a way, contrary to ordinary cyclones, the solids are rotated several hundred times in the cylindrical part of the cyclone before falling to the conical part H) and returning to the fluidizer. At the bottom of the conical part of the cyclone, the superheated steam is injected into the cyclone by the pipe I) to remove the hydrocarbons between the solids that fall into the cyclone which falls into reactor A) via a dipleg.

The tar sand is injected into reactor A) by a feed system Ce) and Dd). The same amount of sand injected into reactor A) has to be drained from the reactor. This is done through the adapted pipe K) where the sand is transported to a combustor that fluidizes it L) where the remaining coke is burned by air injection through M). The exhausted gases of L) pass through a gas cleaner and the recovery heat system N) is first vented in air. The "clean" solids of L) are guided to a solid / liquid hot exchanger O) which is heated, cooled with water from the heat exchanger Z) transported from the pump supplying water P). the hot water is also transported to a boiler Q) located in the combustor L). The boiler is producing steam where a part of it is guided to a superheater R) located in plenum C) of reactor A). the superheated steam is guided to the injection nozzle S) for the atomization of the petroleum vapor, the dipleg J) in the cyclone of the reactor H) and the dipleg T) in the separation cyclone U). The "clean" chilled sand can be disposed from the heat exchanger 0) to a landfill as the sand will be dried and released from any volatile hydrocarbon.

The excess steam that was not superheated is guided through the pipe V) by feed preheating, process purposes or by electricity generation through a turbine steam system. From the cyclone of the reactor G) and the separation cyclone U) the gaseous vapor is guided to a condenser W) tends to approximately 95 ° C through which the main part of the petroleum gas is condensed to liquid petroleum. The gas is condensed to half the recovered oil as the oil collected at the bottom of the condenser is pumped by the pump X) through a heat exchanger Z) and cooled by water carried by the pump P). From the heat exchanger Z), the cooled oil is guided to the top of the condenser and condenses the incoming oil gases. As the level of oil rises in the condenser, the product is drained through the pipe BB). The non-condensable gases and steam are guided to a second condenser CC) which is cooled by the water injected from pump P). the condensed water is drained from the condenser through the pipe DD) and collected in a sedimentation tank EE). In the decant tank EE), the light oil brought from the petroleum condenser CC) will be decanted through the pipe FF) to the product line from the oil condenser W) and guided to a receiver via the AA pipe). The water is drained through the pipe GG) to drain. The non-condensable in the condenser CC) is exhausted through the pipe HH) by an air or gas cleaning system depending on local emission requirements. A portion of the product is returned to the elevator JJ) through the pipe NN) by a high pressure pump LL) to the atomization nozzle S) attached to the elevator JJ). The atomization nozzle S) receives the vapor- for the atomization of the oil from the superheater R). The combustion gases formed in excess in the reactor which are not necessary for the transport of the sand in the elevator JJ), can be ventilated from the reactor via the pipe 00) in a system of recovery of gas cleaner and heat not shown . When the reactor is heated to the operational temperature by combustor D), the supply of gas or oil by combustion can be gradually cut through which the injected air will cause internal combustion of the hydrocarbon gases formed in reactor A ) through which the process will be self-sustained by the energy extracted from the tar sand itself. Alternatively the combustor can be fed with a part of the recovered oil transported by the pump LL).

To obtain the acceleration and delay of the current in the elevator, mentioned above, you can use elevators of variable diameters. A preferred embodiment is to form a part of the elevator as a Laval nozzle where the atomization nozzle (s) S) is (are) located in a very narrow part of the ejector or where the ejector begins to expand. The entire process is a highly intensive thermal process with a high energy density due to gas velocity and sand flow. Because of the process speeds, intense heat exchange; between sand and oil; and the low partial pressure of hydrocarbon gases, caused by gases and steam. combustion, the process can operate at a temperature in the range of 300-500 ° C. Apart from the reduced thermal stress and the energy consumption, this low temperature reduces the polymerization of the disintegrated products.

Claims

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:
CLAIMS 1. - A process for the simultaneous recovery and disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, characterized in that the oil-containing solids are injected into a fluidized bed reactor where they are evaporated the hydrocarbons and where the heat for evaporation is transported by the internal combustion of a part of the hydrocarbons in the solids by an external combustor and that the combustion gases together with the evaporated hydrocarbons act as a pneumatic conveyor of the solids and reduce the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon gases and where the current is guided by a cyclonic reactor and also by a solids removal separator and also by a condensation system for the condensable gases. 2. - A process - for the recovery and simultaneous disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, according to claim 1, characterized in that a portion of the product from the
The condenser system is guided back into the current in an elevator via an atomization nozzle through which the stream of solids acts as a means of disintegration by shear forces, heat exchange and sono-luminescence. 3. - A process for the recovery and disintegration / simultaneous operation of the oil from solids, such as tar sand and bituminous shale, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the elevator has different diameters to obtain the acceleration , delay and optimized collisions between the particles of the solid in the stream.
4. A process for the simultaneous recovery and disintegration / improvement of petroleum from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, according to claim 1, characterized by the temperature in the regenerator is controlled by the Dry tar sand injected into the regenerator.
5. - A process for the recovery and simultaneous disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, according to claim 1, characterized in that the unbleached tar sand is guided to a fluidized combustor where the coke remaining on the sand is burned by the injection of air into the combustor and where the spent gas from the combustor is alternatively guided to the plenum of the removal reactor to participate with heat and fluidized gas in the removal of the oil trapped on the sand.
6. A process for the recovery and simultaneous disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, according to claim 1, characterized in that a portion of the unmade sand is mixed with tar sand for heat recovery and homogenization of the sand, improving the reactor feed.
7. A process for the recovery and simultaneous disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, according to claim 1, characterized in that the fluidised bed reactor has two diameters , where 'the lower part of the regenerator has a diameter so small that the top part in order to reduce the velocities of the gas in the upper part of the regenerator.
8.- A process for the recovery and disintegration / simultaneous improvement of petroleum from solids, such as tar sand and bituminous slate, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sand disposed in the regenerator is discharged continuously from the regenerator via a pipe outside the regenerator which has a trap " water "which can be U-shaped and where the steam or gas is ejected in the pipe opposite the" water trap "by pneumatic transport of the sand that falls into the trap.
9.- A process for the recovery and simultaneous disintegration / improvement of oil from solids, such as the tar sand and the bituminous slate, according to claim 1, characterized in that a battery of regenerators are arranged around a joint charging system and a joint reception sand collector and a recovery fluidizer of heat (L) and where the exhaust gases of the regenerator divides a joint sand separation system and an open joint condenser and where the condensed cooled oil acts as a condensing medium in the condenser by direct contact between the hot gases of oil and condensed chilled oil.