Rapid thermal processing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks

PATENT
Rapid thermal processing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks
United States Patent 8105482
Inventors:
Freel, Barry (Greely, CA)
Graham, Robert G. (Greely, CA)
Application Number: 09/958261
Publication Date:01/31/2012
Assignee: Ivanhoe Energy, Inc. (Vancouver, CA)
Abstract
The present invention is directed to the upgrading of heavy hydrocarbon feedstock. The process of the present invention provides for the preparation of a partially upgraded feedstock exhibiting reduced viscosity and increased API gravity. This process reduces the viscosity of the feedstock in order to permit pipeline transport of the upgraded feedstock with little or no addition of diluents. The method for upgrading a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprises introducing a particulate heat carrier into an upflow reactor, introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor at a location above that of the particulate heat carrier, allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with the heat carrier to produce a product stream, separating the product stream from the particulate heat carrier, regenerating the particulate heat carrier, and collecting a gaseous and liquid product from the product stream.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Heavy oil and bitumen resources are supplementing the decline in the production of conventional light and medium crude oil, and production form these resources is expected to dramatically increase. Pipeline expansion is expected to handle the increase in heavy oil production, however, the heavy oil must be treated in order to permit its transport by pipeline. Presently heavy oil and bitumen crudes are either made transportable by the addition of diluents or they are upgraded to synthetic crude. However, diluted crudes or upgraded synthetic crudes are significantly different from conventional crude oils. As a result, bitumen blends or synthetic crudes are not easily processed in conventional fluid catalytic cracking refineries. Therefore, in either case the refiner must be configured to handle either diluted or upgraded feedstocks.

Many heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks are also characterized as comprising significant amounts of BS&W (bottom sediment and water). Such feedstocks are not suitable for transportable by pipeline, or upgrading due to the sand, water and corrosive properties of the feedstock. Typically, feedstocks characterized as having less than 0.5 wt. % BS&W are transportable by pipeline, and those comprising greater amount of BS&W require some degree of processing and treatment to reduce the BS&W content prior to transport. Such processing may include storage to let the water and particulates settle, followed by heat treatment to drive of water and other components. However, these manipulations are expensive and time consuming. There is therefore a need within the art for an efficient method for upgrading feedstock comprising a significant BS&W content prior to transport or further processing of the feedstock.

The use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), or other, units for the direct processing of bitumen feedstocks is known in the art. However, many compounds present within the crude feedstocks interfere with these process by depositing on the contact material itself. These feedstock contaminants include metals such as vanadium and nickel, coke precursors such as Conradson carbon and asphaltenes, and sulfur, and the deposit of these materials results in the requirement for extensive regeneration of the contact material. This is especially true for contact material employed with FCC processes as efficient cracking and proper temperature control of the process requires contact materials comprising little or no combustible deposit materials or metals that interfere with the catalytic process.
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