Removal of silicon-containing chemicals from hydrocarbon streams

Abstract

Methods of removing silicon-containing (organosilicon) compounds from petroleum-based feedstreams are disclosed herein. The methods can include providing a petroleum-based feedstream having a first silicon content of at least 1.0 wppm, and filtering the petroleum-based feedstream to yield a permeate having a second silicon content lower than the first silicon content, wherein the second silicon content is at least 25% lower than the first silicon content, the second silicon content is less than 1.0 wppm, or both.

1 . A method of removing organosilicon compounds from a petroleum-based feedstream, the method comprising:
 providing a petroleum-based feedstream having a first silicon content of at least 1.0 wppm; and   filtering the petroleum-based feedstream to yield a permeate having a second silicon content lower than the first silicon content,   wherein the second silicon content is at least 25% lower than the first silicon content, the second silicon content is less than 1.0 wppm, or both.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the petroleum-based feedstream comprises a bituminous crude oil, a diluted heavy crude oil, an at least partially deasphalted heavy crude oil, a diluted and at least partially deasphalted heavy crude oil, a tracked crude oil, a tight oil, a bottoms stream from a refinery distillation separator, an off-spec fuel stream, an off-spec lubricant stream, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the petroleum-based feedstream exhibits one or more enumerated characteristics: a solids content of at least 0.5 wt %; an insolubility number (IN) of at least 10; a solubility blending number (SBN) of 90 or less; a difference between SBN and IN of at least 15; and a silicon content of at least 1.3 wppm. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the petroleum-based feedstream exhibits at least four of the enumerated characteristics. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the petroleum-based feedstream exhibits one or more enumerated characteristics: a solids content less than 0.5 wt %; an insolubility number (IN) less than 10; a solubility blending number (SBN) of greater than 90; a difference between SBN and IN of less than 15; and a silicon content of at least 1.5 wppm. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the petroleum-based feedstream exhibits at least three of the enumerated characteristics. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adding solids to the petroleum-based feedstream to form a solids-enriched petroleum-based feedstream before the filtering step, which then filters the solids-enriched petroleum-based feedstream. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the added solids comprise silica, alumina, a silicate, an aluminosilicate, sand, a silicon-containing clay, an aluminum-containing clay, hydrocarbon conversion catalyst fines, at least partially spent hydrocarbon conversion catalyst fines, a zeolite, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the solids-enriched petroleum-based feedstream has a solids content of at least 0.5 wt %, and wherein the permeate from the filtering step additionally exhibits a solids content of 0.2 wt % or less. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising blending the petroleum-based feedstream with a petroleum-based blendstock to form a petroleum-based blended stream before the filtering step,
 wherein the petroleum-based blended stream retains a silicon content of at least 1.3 wppm and exhibits one or more enumerated characteristics: a solids content of at least 0.5 wt %; an insolubility number (IN) of at least 10; a solubility blending number (SBN) of 90 or less; and a difference between SBN and IN of at least 15.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the permeate from the filtering step additionally exhibits a solids content of 0.2 wt % or less. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second silicon content is less than 1.0 wppm and at least 50% lower than the first silicon content. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filtering step utilizes a porous solid filter made of a material that has substantially no catalytic activity for hydrocarbon conversion and having a pore size of 1 micron or less. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the porous solid filter comprises a polymer with repeat units comprising an amine, an amide, an ester, an ether, an imine, a urethane, a urea, a siloxane, polymerized ethylene, polymerized propylene, a polymerized styrenic, a polymerized diene, a polymerized acrylate, a polymerized acetate, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filtering step is conducted at a temperature between 0° C. and 225° C., at a pressure between 50 kPaa and 2.2 MPaa, or both. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the organosilicon compounds accounting for at least 10% of the first silicon content have a high molecular weight corresponding to a viscosity of at least 25000 cPs. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the molecular weight of the organosilicon compounds corresponds to a viscosity between 50000 cPs and 1000000 cPs. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a distilling step before the filtering step, wherein the distilling step yields the petroleum-based feedstream as a side draw or as a bottoms stream. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the permeate is further subject to one or more catalytic hydrocarbon conversion refinery processes to form an unadditized fuel/lubricant product or blendstock selected from the group consisting of motor gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, jet fuel, avgas, Group I lubricant, Group II lubricant, Group III lubricant, Group IV lubricant, Group V lubricant a biofuel, a biolubricant, and combinations thereof.