Decreasing excess octane during gasoline blending

Abstract

Systems and methods that blend at least one finished gasoline from a refined petroleum product comprising at least one neat gasoline with ethanol and optionally butane utilizing a blend model that calculates a volumetric blend ratio comprising at least one neat gasoline, ethanol and optionally, butane. The blend model utilizes estimated values for the octane number and the volatility of the ethanol and butane when calculating the volumetric blend ratio.

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         6 . A process for blending gasoline, comprising:
 flowing of a premium octane neat gasoline having an anti-knock index in the range from 88 to 93 through a premium octane pipe comprising a first valve that regulates the flowing of the premium octane gasoline at a known rate;   flowing a regular-octane neat gasoline having an anti-knock index in the range from 80 to 87 through a regular octane pipe comprising a second valve that regulates the flowing of the regular octane gasoline at a known rate;   flowing butane through a butane pipe comprising a third valve that regulates the flowing of the butane at a known rate,   flowing ethanol through an ethanol pipe comprising a fourth valve that regulates the flowing of the ethanol at a known rate;   periodically analyzing the premium octane gasoline to obtain a premium research octane number, a premium motor octane number and a first premium volatility measurement;   periodically analyzing the regular octane gasoline to obtain a regular research octane number, a regular motor octane number and a first regular volatility measurement, and   blending a finished gasoline from the premium octane gasoline using a programmable logic controller that periodically calculates a volumetric blend ratio of the premium octane neat gasoline, the regular octane neat gasoline, the butane, and the ethanol that produces the finished gasoline,
 wherein the programmable logic controller accounts for the premium research octane number, the premium motor octane number, the first premium volatility measurement, the regular research octane number, the regular motor octane number, the first regular volatility measurement and assigned values for an octane number and a volatility value for each of the ethanol and the butane when calculating the volumetric blend ratio, wherein the octane number is selected from a research octane number, a motor octane number and an anti-knock index value and the volatility value is selected from a vapor pressure, a distillation temperature and a liquid to vapor ratio temperature, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller does not receive octane number measurements or vapor pressure measurements of the butane or the ethanol when calculating the first volumetric blend ratio and the second volumetric blend ratio, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller operates the first valve, the second valve the third valve and the fourth valve to implement the volumetric blend ratio and produce the finished gasoline, 
 wherein the blending is performed in a receptacle that is downstream from the premium octane pipe, the regular octane pipe and the butane pipe; 
 wherein the finished gasoline is selected from the group consisting of a finished premium octane blended gasoline, a finished mid-grade octane blended gasoline, and a finished regular octane blended gasoline. 
   
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 6 , additionally comprising periodically analyzing the premium octane gasoline to obtain a second premium volatility measurement and periodically analyzing the regular octane gasoline to obtain a second regular volatility measurement,
 wherein the second premium volatility measurement and the first premium volatility measurement are different members of the group consisting of vapor pressure, distillation temperature and a liquid to vapor ratio temperature for the premium octane neat gasoline,   wherein the second regular volatility measurement and the first regular volatility measurement are different members of the group consisting of vapor pressure, distillation temperature and a liquid to vapor ratio temperature for the regular octane neat gasoline,   wherein the programmable logic controller additionally receives and accounts for the second premium volatility measurement and the second regular volatility measurement when calculating the volumetric blend ratio.   
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the vapor pressure is a Reid vapor pressure, wherein the distillation temperature is selected from 10% distillation temperature, 50% distillation temperature and 90% distillation temperature, wherein the liquid to vapor ratio temperature is a temperature at which the liquid to vapor ratio equals 20. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the first premium volatility measurement and the first regular volatility measurement are a vapor pressure measurement and the second premium volatility measurement and the second regular volatility measurement are a 50 percent distillation temperature measurement. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein analyzing of the premium octane neat gasoline and the regular octane neat gasoline is performed by the same analyzer. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein analyzing of the premium octane neat gasoline and the regular octane neat gasoline is performed by an infrared spectroscopy analyzer. 
     
     
         12 . A process for blending gasoline comprising:
 flowing of a premium octane neat gasoline through a premium octane pipe comprising a first valve that regulates flow of the premium octane neat gasoline into a first receptacle and second valve that regulates flow of the premium octane neat gasoline into a second receptacle;   flowing a regular octane neat gasoline through a regular octane pipe that comprising a third valve that regulates flow of the regular octane neat gasoline into the first receptacle and a fourth valve that regulates flow of the regular octane neat gasoline into the second receptacle;   flowing butane through a butane pipe comprising a fifth valve that regulates flow of the butane into the first receptacle and sixth valve capable of regulating flow through the butane pipe into the second receptacle,   flowing ethanol through an ethanol pipe comprising a seventh valve that regulates flow of the ethanol into the first receptacle and an eighth valve that regulates flow of the ethanol into the second receptacle;   periodically analyzing the premium octane gasoline to obtain a premium research octane number, a premium motor octane number, a first premium volatility measurement and a second premium volatility measurement, wherein the first premium volatility measurement and the second premium volatility measurement are different members of the group consisting of a vapor pressure, a distillation temperature and a liquid to vapor ratio temperature for the premium octane neat gasoline;   periodically analyzing the regular octane gasoline to obtain a regular research octane number, a regular motor octane number a first regular volatility measurement and a second regular volatility measurement, wherein the first regular volatility measurement and the second regular volatility measurement are different members of the group consisting of vapor pressure, distillation temperature and a liquid to vapor ratio temperature for the regular octane neat gasoline;   blending a first finished gasoline in the first receptacle and a second finished gasoline in a second receptacle using a programmable logic controller that periodically calculates a first volumetric blend ratio for the first finished gasoline and a second volumetric blend ratio for the second finished gasoline,
 wherein the first volumetric blend ratio and the second volumetric blend ratio include the butane, the ethanol and at least one of the premium octane neat gasoline and the regular octane neat gasoline, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller periodically executes programing that calculates the first volumetric blend ratio and the second volumetric blend ratio, wherein the programming accounts for the premium research octane number, the premium motor octane number, the first premium volatility measurement, the second premium volatility measurement, the regular research octane number, the regular motor octane number, the first regular volatility measurement, the second regular volatility measurement and an assigned octane value and volatility value for each of the butane and the ethanol when calculating the first volumetric blend ratio and the second volumetric blend ratio, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller does not receive octane number measurements or vapor pressure measurements of the butane or the ethanol when calculating the first volumetric blend ratio and the second volumetric blend ratio, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller implements the first volumetric blend ratio by operating the first valve, the third valve the fifth valve and the seventh valve to produce the first finished gasoline, 
 wherein the programmable logic controller implements the second volumetric blend ratio by operating the second valve, the fourth valve, the sixth valve and the eighth valve to implement the second volumetric blend ratio and produce the second finished gasoline, 
 wherein the first finished gasoline and the second finished gasoline are different and selected from the group consisting of a finished premium octane blended gasoline, a finished mid-tier octane blended gasoline, and a finished regular octane blended gasoline. 
   
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the programmable logic controller executes programming that comprises a trained algorithm that recognizes features in spectral data obtained that directly correlate with octane number of the premium octane neat gasoline or the regular octane neat gasoline. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the analyzing of the premium octane gasoline is conducted in a first analyzer cell and the analyzing of the regular octane gasoline is conducted in a second analyzer cell. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the estimated octane value for each of the ethanol and the butane is selected from a research octane number, a motor octane number and an anti-knock index and the volatility value for each of the butane and the ethanol is selected from a vapor pressure measurement, a distillation temperature measurement and a liquid to vapor ratio measurement. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the vapor pressure measurement is a Reid vapor pressure and wherein the distillation temperature measurement is selected from 10 percent distillation temperature, 50 percent distillation temperature and 90 percent distillation temperature. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the first finished gasoline is a premium octane finished gasoline comprising an anti-knock index that is in the range from 91-95 and the second finished gasoline is selected from a mid-grade finished gasoline comprising an anti-knock index in the range from 88-90 and a regular octane finished gasoline comprising an anti-knock index that is in the range from 80-87.