US2020140764A1PendingUtilityA1
System and method for solvent de-asphalting
Assignee: CNOOC PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA ULCPriority: Sep 26, 2016Filed: Sep 21, 2017Published: May 7, 2020
Est. expirySep 26, 2036(~10.2 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
C10G 21/14C10G 21/00C10G 21/003C10G 21/30C10G 2300/107C10G 2300/206C10G 2300/44
20
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Claims
Abstract
A de-asphalting system for solvent de-asphalting including a desasphalter and a controller. The deasphalter defines a contacting zone and a separation zone. The contact zone contacts a feed, including asphaltenes, and a solvent to form a mixture, where the contacting of the feed and the solvent causes at least a portion of the asphaltenes to precipitate out of the mixture. The contacting is disposed at an operating temperature. The separation zone separates the mixture into a de-asphalted oil-comprising material fraction (“S+PDAO”) and a asphaltene-rich material fraction. The asphaltene-rich material fraction includes the precipitated asphaltenes. The controller controls at least one operating parameter of the deasphalter based on at least on a refractive index of the S+PDAO phase. The operating parameter is selected from: the operating temperature; the composition of the feed; the composition of the solvent; a ratio of the mass of precipitated asphaltenes to the mass of asphaltenes within the feed; and a ratio of the mass of the solvent to the mass of the feed.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedWhat is claimed is:
1 . A method for solvent de-asphalting comprising:
selecting a solvent based on RI; and contacting the selected solvent with a feed including asphaltenes to effect de-asphalting.
2 . A de-asphalting system for solvent de-asphalting comprising:
a deasphalter, the deasphalter defining:
a contacting zone for contacting a feed, including asphaltenes, and a solvent to form a mixture, wherein the contacting of the feed and the solvent causes at least a portion of the asphaltenes to precipitate out of the mixture, the contacting disposed at an operating temperature; and
a separation zone to separate the mixture into a de-asphalted oil-comprising material fraction (“S+PDAO”) and a asphaltene-rich material fraction, the asphaltene-rich material fraction including the precipitated asphaltenes; and
a controller for controlling at least one operating parameter of the deasphalter based on at least on a refractive index of the S+PDAO phase, the operating parameter selected from: the operating temperature; the composition of the feed; the composition of the solvent; a ratio of the mass of precipitated asphaltenes to the mass of asphaltenes within the feed; and a ratio of the mass of the solvent to the mass of the feed.
3 . The de-asphalting system of claim 2 further comprising at least one flow regulator operatively connected to the controller, such that the controller, via the flow regulator, controls the feed flow rate of the feed, a solvent flow rate of the solvent or both.
4 . The de-asphalting system of claim 2 further comprising a temperature regulator operatively connected to the controller, such that the controller, via the temperature regulator, controls the operating temperature of the contacting zone.
5 . The de-asphalting system of claim 2 further comprising a refractive index determining device operatively connected to the controller.
6 . The de-asphalting system of claim 5 , wherein the refractive index determining device includes a densitometer, wherein the densitometer is provided for effecting a determination of the refractive index of the S+PDAO, such that the controlling of the at least one operating parameter of the deasphalter, by the controller, is based on at least the refractive index of the S+PDAO phase that is determined by the densitometer.
7 . The de-asphalting system of claim 6 , wherein the refractive index determining device includes a refractometer, wherein the refractometer is provided for effecting a determination of the refractive index of the S+PDAO, such that the controlling of the at least one operating parameter of the deasphalter, by the controller, is based on at least the refractive index of the S+PDAO phase that is determined by the refractometer.
8 . The de-asphalting system of claim 2 wherein the refractive index of the S+PDAO is calculated as a function of the portion of the precipitated asphaltenes, the refractive index of the feed composition, the refractive index of the solvent, the UOP-K characterization factor of the solvent, and the operating temperature according to the following formulas:
RI
S
+
PDAO
@
T
°
C
.
=
RI
S
+
PDAO
0
@
T
°
C
.
+
slope
×
M
Pitch
M
Feed
C
5
-
asphaltenes
;
RI
S
+
PDAO
0
@
T
°
C
.
=
A
0
+
(
A
1
×
RI
Feed
@
T
°
C
.
+
A
2
×
RI
Solvent
@
T
°
C
.
)
×
UOP
-
K
Solvent
A
3
;
and
slope
=
A
4
+
(
A
5
×
RI
Feed
@
T
°
C
.
+
A
6
×
RI
Solvent
@
T
°
C
.
)
×
UOP
-
K
Solvent
A
7
.
9 . A method for solvent de-asphalting comprising:
providing a feed, including asphaltenes, at a feed flow rate; providing a solvent at a solvent flow rate; contacting the solvent and the feed at an operating temperature to effect precipitation of at least a portion of the asphaltenes to obtain a S+PDAO and an asphaltene-rich material fraction, wherein the asphaltene-rich material fraction includes the precipitated asphaltenes; and controlling one operating parameter based on at least a refractive index of the S+PDAO, the operating parameter selected from: the operating temperature; the composition of the feed; the composition of the solvent; a ratio of the precipitated asphaltenes to the mass of asphaltenes within the feed; and a ratio of the feed flow rate to the solvent flow rate.
10 . A deasphalted oil obtained by a method comprising the steps of:
providing a feed, including asphaltenes, at a feed flow rate; providing a solvent at a solvent flow rate; contacting the solvent and the feed at an operating temperature to effect precipitation of at least a portion of the asphaltenes to obtain a S+PDAO and an asphaltene-rich material fraction, wherein the asphaltene-rich material fraction includes the precipitated asphaltenes; and controlling one operating parameter based on at least a refractive index of the S+PDAO, the operating parameter selected from: the operating temperature; the composition of the feed; the composition of the solvent; a ratio of the precipitated asphaltenes to the mass of asphaltenes within the feed; and a ratio of the feed flow rate to the solvent flow rate.
11 . A method for solvent de-asphalting comprising:
defining at least the following operating parameters: a composition of a feed including asphaltenes; a target ratio of a mass of removed asphaltenes to the mass of asphaltenes within the feed; an operating temperature for contacting the feed and a solvent; and a ratio of a feed flow rate of the feed to a solvent flow rate of the solvent; determining an RI of the solvent based at least on calculating the RI of a S+PDAO formed by contacting the feed with the solvent, selecting a solvent based at least on the determined solvent RI, and contacting the selected solvent with the feed at the operating parameters to effect de-asphalting.
12 . A method for starting up a solvent deasphalting process comprising:
pre-determining four operating parameters, the operating parameters are selected from: an operating temperature; a composition of a feed; a composition of a solvent; a target ratio of a mass of precipitated asphaltenes to a mass of asphaltenes initially within the feed; and a ratio of a feed flow rate to a solvent flow rate determining the non-predetermined operating parameter based on at least an expected RI of an S+PDAO stream generated by the process; and starting up the process using the pre-determined operating parameters and the determined operating parameter.Join the waitlist — get patent alerts
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