CA2866968C

CA2866968C - Method for recovering oil and tailings from mineral, rock, or shale

Info

Publication number: CA2866968C
Application number: CA2866968A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Robin Setyono
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-10-10
Filing date: 2014-10-10
Publication date: 2016-11-29
Anticipated expiration: 2034-10-10
Also published as: CA2866968A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for recovering oil and tailing from a raw material such as shale, sand, and a rock, each of which contains oil. The raw material is heated in a fluidized bed, and heat from the fluidized bed is utilized for heating an additional raw material in at least three retorts to produce oil and tailings.

Description

METHOD FOR RECOVERING OIL AND TAILINGS
FROM MINERAL, ROCK, OR SHALE
Technical Field [0001] This invention relates to a process for recovering oil and tailings from mineral, rock or shale. In particular, this invention uses a fluidized bed and at least three retorts for the process.
Background Art

[0002] Indonesia has a potential for its natural resources and especially the mines such as coal, asphalt sand, and oil shale. These materials are processed to manufacture various products, and many industries need these materials for various purposes.

[0003] With the advancement of technology, a lot of industries have been engaged in processing asphalt, rocks, and sand containing oil for a wide range of products. However, there has been a problem found in treatment processes of those raw materials, particularly in processing sand, rock or shale that contains oil.
For example, a dry distillation or a retort, which utilizes heat, has a problem with less efficiency when processing the raw material. A better solution for recovering oil from sand, rocks and shale has always been desired.
Brief Summary of the Invention

[0004] One embodiment of the present invention uses a fluidized bed and at least three retorts to achieve a maximal and efficient outcome. In this embodiment of the present invention, at least three retorts are used for recovering oil and tailings from a raw material such as a mineral, rock, or shale.

[0005] One embodiment of this invention relates to a method for recovering oil and tailings from raw material such as rocks, shale, and sand that contain oil, including:
heating the raw material in a fluidized bed at a temperature of 800-950 C to produce a flue gas and an ash from the raw material;
heating a first retort and a second retort with the flue gas from the fluidized bed;
feeding an additional raw material into the first retort;
heating the additional raw material in the first retort with a first combustor;
transferring the additional raw material from the first retort to the second retort through a connecter between the first retort and the second retort;
heating the additional raw material in the second retort with a second combustor;
collecting an oil and a non-condensed gas from the additional raw material in the first retort and the second retort in an oil condenser;
transferring a residue derived from the additional raw material in the second retort from the second retort to a third retort through a connecter between the second retort and the third retort;
heating the third retort with the ash from the fluidized bed;
feeding a further additional raw material into the third retort;
collecting an oil and a non-condensed gas from the further additional raw material in the third retort in the oil condenser;
transferring a heat of a residue derived from the further additional raw material in the third retort to the fluidized bed via a heat exchanger; and collecting tailings from the residue in the third retort.

[0006] The flue gas from the fluidized bed is used for heating the additional raw materials in the first retort and the second retort, and the ash from the fluidized bed and the residue from the second retort are used for heating the further additional raw material in the third retort.

[0007] In one embodiment, heat at the fluidized bed is transferred to the first retort and the second retort; the heated ash is transferred from the fluidized bed to the third retort; and a heat steam from the third retort is recycled into the fluidized bed continuously.

[0008] In one embodiment, heat at the fluidized bed is transferred to the first retort and the second retort, and additional heat is obtained from the first combustor and the second combustor.

[0009] In one embodiment, the raw materials are heated in the first, second, and third retorts to transfer the oil into the oil condenser, and an exhaust gas is expelled from the retorts through a chimney having a cyclone filter.

[0010] In one embodiment, the raw materials are selected from the group consisting of a shale, sand, and rocks, each of which contains oil.

[0011] In one embodiment, the raw materials are oil sand or oil shale with a particle size of 2 mm to 50 mm.

[0012] One embodiment of this invention relates to a process for recovering oil and tailings from a raw material such as rocks, sands or shale that contain oil. The process includes transferring a heated gas from a fluidized bed into a first retort and a second retort.

The raw material is inserted into the fluidized bed and (is blown by air, so that there will be fluidization and raw oil sand) is in touch with air, and then combustion occurs.

[0013] In one embodiment, the raw material is heated in the first and second retorts. A combuster can be utilized for efficiently heating the raw material in at least one of the retorts. The maximum heat in the retort can last for 1 hour.

[0014] Also, a chimney can be included in the process. The chimney can include a filter or cyclone to separate environmentally friendly air from exhaust gas of the retorts.
From the first and second retorts, the hot gas can be channeled back to the cyclone to clean the gas from the dust particles that are still carried before the gas is disposed of to the environment, meanwhile the dust as a result of the cyclone separation (lower part) is disposed of. The exhaust gas may include vapor.

[0015] The oil is produced as the retort process product. The resulting condensed gas can also be used for a power plant with a gas generator. The oil may still contain water which can be separated by a separator utilizing a deposition or other separation processes. The first and second retorts produce sediments in the form of residue that is also called tailings which have high heat. The residue is passed into a third retort through a connector such as a pipe between the second retort and the third retort. An additional raw material and hot ashes generated from the fluidized bed are also inserted into the third retort. The third retort supplies oil to the oil condenser. Tailings from the third retort have heat which can be utilized for a heating boiler and/or flowed back to the fluidized bed, while the tailings are transferred into a reservoir or container. The first and second retorts produce oil, and the third retort produces oil and tailings. The tailings can be used as an alternative material for construction.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of the oil and tailing recovery process using a fluidized bed and three retorts.
Detailed Description of the Invention

[0017] The preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 1.

[0018] Figure 1 shows one embodiment of the oil and tailing recovery process using a fluidized bed 1 and three retorts 2, 3, and 4. The fluidized bed 1 can be elongated vertically or horizontally. Raw oil sand 7 or oil shale is introduced in the fluidized bed 1.
The fluidized bed 1 heats the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale at 800-950 C to produce flue gas 9 and hot ash 13. Air 8 is supplied to the fluidized bed 1. The fluidized bed 1 includes a heat source such as a fire gun or burner. The raw oil sand 7 or oil shale can be entered into the fluidized bed 1 after the heat is generated in the fluidized bed 1.

[0019] The flue gas 9 is subsequently transferred from the fluidized bed 1 to the retorts 2 and 3. The retort 2 includes raw material which is raw oil sand 7 or oil shale.
The retorts 2 and 3 can be a drum dryer or rotary mixer with a single- and double screw or other form that can heat up a raw material. In the retorts 2 and 3, the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale is heated to transfer oil to an oil condenser 5 to collect oil 14.
The flue gas 9 from the fluidized bed 1 is utilized for heating the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale. Other gases can also be entered through combustors 10 to increase heating temperature in addition to the flue gas 9 from the fluidized bed 1 with a certain ratio such as 1:2 and 1:3. The oil 14 is a product from the raw material. When collecting the oil 14 in the oil condenser 5, a non-condensable gas 11 is obtained as a side product.

[0020] The raw oil sand 7 or oil shale and/or hot residues after heating the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale are transferred from the retort 2 to the retort 3, and then from the retort 3 to the retort 4. By including raw oil sand 7 or oil shale in the retort 4, the retort 4 can produce oil. Since the residues of the retorts 2 and 3 have high temperature and the hot ash 13 with a temperature of 600-700 C is transferred from the fluidized bed 1 to the retort 4, the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale is heated in the retort 4. The ash 13 (tailing or combustion residual ash) that is still hot as a result of the combustion in the fluidized bed 1 can be directly mixed with the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale in the retort 4.
After reaching a sufficient temperature in the retort 4, the oil is transferred to the oil condenser 5 to collect the oil 14 and the non-condensable gas 11. Residues from the retort 4 are flowed through a heat exchanger 15 to transfer heat to a boiler 18 and/or the fluidized bed 1. The residues are put in a container in the form of coke or tailings 17. The container can contain water 16.

[0021] The retorts 2 and 3 produce the oil, and the retort 4 produces the oil and the tailings 17.

[0022] The oil may exit from the retort 2, the retort 3, and the retort 4 as vapor, and will be channeled to the condenser 5 through at least one vapor pipe. The condenser can function as a cooler to change the oil vapor to liquid oil. The tailings 17 from the retort 4 can be used as an alternative material for construction.

[0023] A chimney is used for expelling an exhaust gas. The exhaust gas is filtered by a cyclone 6 in the chimney so that a released gas is environmentally friendly. Ash 12 is separated from the exhaust gas. In one embodiment, the cyclone is connected with the fluidized bed 1 that produces hot flue gas 9, the hot flue gas 9 is channeled to heat the retort 2 and the retort 3, and then channeled back to the cyclone to clean the gas from dust before being disposed of to the environment.

[0024] The fluidized bed 1 generates the flue gas 9 with a high temperature and the hot ash 13. The fluidized bed 1 utilizes the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale to produce heat.
The retorts 2, 3, and 4 produce oil by utilizing the heat from the fluidized bed 1. In the retort 4, the raw oil sand 7 or oil shale can be mixed with the residues from the retorts 2 and 3 and/or a gas from outside at a temperature of 600 C.

[0025] The raw oil sand 7 or oil shale are inserted into the fluidized bed 1, the retort 2, and retort 4, respectively. The process can efficiently utilize the heat by obtaining the heat from the heat flux using a heat exchanger 15. The raw oil sand 7 or oil shale used in the process preferably have a diameter of 2 mm up to 50 mm.
However, the oil sand or oil shale can have any size which can be introduced in the fluidized bed 1 and the retorts 2, 3, 4. The process can utilize several retorts, but three retorts are preferably utilized in combination with one fluidized bed.

[0026] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A method for recovering an oil and tailings from a raw material, comprising:
heating the raw material in a fluidized bed at a temperature of 800-950 °C to produce a flue gas and an ash from the raw material;
heating a first retort and a second retort with the flue gas from the fluidized bed;
feeding an additional raw material into the first retort;
heating the additional raw material in the first retort with a first combustor;
transferring the additional raw material from the first retort to the second retort through a connecter between the first retort and the second retort;
heating the additional raw material in the second retort with a second combustor;
collecting an oil and a non-condensed gas from the additional raw material in the first retort and the second retort in an oil condenser;
transferring a residue derived from the additional raw material in the second retort from the second retort to a third retort through a connecter between the second retort and the third retort;
heating the third retort with the ash from the fluidized bed;
feeding a further additional raw material into the third retort;
collecting an oil and a non-condensed gas from the further additional raw material in the third retort in the oil condenser;
transferring a heat of a residue derived from the further additional raw material in the third retort to the fluidized bed via a heat exchanger; and collecting tailings from the residue in the third retort;

wherein the flue gas from the fluidized bed is used for heating the additional raw materials in the first retort and the second retort, and the ash from the fluidized bed and the residue from the second retort are used for heating the further additional raw material in the third retort.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a heat of the flue gas is transferred from the fluidized bed to the first retort and the second retort; a heat of the ash is transferred from the fluidized bed to the third retort; and a heat from the third retort is recycled in the fluidized bed continuously.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a heat of the flue gas is transferred from the fluidized bed to the first retort and the second retort, and an additional heat is obtained from the first combustor and the second combustor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the raw materials are heated in the first, second, and third retorts to collect the oil in the oil condenser, and an exhaust gas is expelled from the retorts through a chimney having a cyclone filter.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the raw materials are: sand that contains oil; rock that contains oil; shale that contains oil; or any combination thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the raw materials are oil sand or oil shale with a particle size of 2 mm to 50 mm.