JP2007051224A - Method and apparatus for modifying heavy oil - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for modifying heavy oil continuously operable without stopping supercritical water reaction, etc., in modifying the heavy oil by a supercritical water reaction or subcritical water reaction (supercritical water reaction, etc.). <P>SOLUTION: The invention relates to the method and apparatus for modifying heavy oil to the low viscosity modified oil by producing the modified oil emulsion and coke by subjecting the heavy oil to supercritical water reaction, etc., in a continuous reactor 16 and continuously extracting (discharging) the modified oil produced by the supercritical water reaction, etc., and intermittently discharging coke produced simultaneously with the modified oil and accumulated in the reactor, wherein a pressure regulating chamber 18 connected to coke discharging port 16b of the reactor 16 through a gate valve (a first dwell pressure valve) 22 and a gate valve (a second dwell pressure valve) 44 on the coke discharge port 18b of the pressure regulating chamber 18 are installed and discharging of the accumulated coke in the reactor 16 to the pressure regulating chamber 18 is carried out by setting the pressure in the pressure regulating chamber 18 lower than the pressure in the reactor 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reforming heavy oil, and more specifically, high-efficiency continuous operation is possible when a low-viscosity reformed oil is obtained by supercritical water reaction or subcritical water reaction of heavy oil. The present invention relates to a novel reforming method and apparatus. Here, heavy oil includes oil sands, heavy crude oil, reduced pressure residue oil (asphalt), etc., and as such, heavy oil that is difficult to use effectively unless subjected to decomposition treatment such as low viscosity. Refers to hydrocarbons.

  “Heavy oil” is the same fossil resource as oil and coal, and its reserves are said to be comparable to current oil. For this reason, it is drawing attention as a next-generation petroleum-based resource.

  However, heavy oils are sticky like candy (high viscosity) and often contain a large amount of sulfur, and cannot be used (used) as they are.

  Therefore, it is necessary to make it useful by modifying the viscosity (decomposition) and desulfurization.

  Various techniques have been proposed for reducing the viscosity (decomposition) of heavy oil by supercritical water reaction or subcritical water reaction (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “supercritical water reaction”). (See Patent Documents 1 to 3). In addition, these patent documents show only a technical level and do not affect the patentability of the present invention.

  Fig. 1 shows a model of heavy oil decomposition using supercritical water.

  (A) The intermolecular bond of heavy oil is decomposed by the energy of supercritical water or subcritical water.

  (B) An emulsion containing an oil component (modified oil) having a reduced viscosity is produced, and the sulfur component dissolves in water and leaves the oil component.

  (C) The emulsion is subjected to oil-water separation to remove water to obtain a desulfurized oil.

  In the supercritical water reaction of these heavy oils, coke is usually generated and deposited together with the reformed oil in the reactor. When coke is deposited, the coke is mixed into the emulsion and is undesirable.

  In order to remove coke, conventionally, the reactor was opened periodically to remove the deposited coke and to clean the apparatus (see Patent Document 4). That is, in Patent Document 4, the generated coke is collected by a solid collector disposed on the downstream side of the reactor, the reforming reaction is periodically stopped, and from the solid collector side to the reactor side. A technique is described in which a preheated cleaning solution is supplied to the reactor, the coke collected in the solid collector is peeled off, and discharged from the branch pipe connected to the front side of the reactor.

When removing the coke, of course, it is necessary to stop the operation and to lower the temperature in the reactor (reaction chamber) and lower the temperature. This increases the periodic inspection cost and energy cost, and also increases the disposal cost of the removed coke.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-279773 (claims, etc.) JP 2000-109850 A (Claims etc.) JP 2000-109851 (Claims etc.) JP 2003-286491 A (paragraph 0022, etc.)

  An object of the present invention is to provide a heavy oil reforming method and apparatus capable of continuous operation without stopping the supercritical water reaction or the like when reforming heavy oil by supercritical water reaction or the like (problem) ).

  The heavy oil reforming method of the present invention solves the above problems by the following constitution.

In a method for obtaining a low viscosity modified oil from heavy oil,
In the continuous reactor, supercritical water reaction etc. is performed to produce coke together with the emulsion of reformed oil,
When continuously extracting (withdrawing) the reformed oil produced by the supercritical water reaction or the like, and simultaneously discharging the coke produced and deposited,
A coke discharge port of the reactor and a pressure adjusting tank connected via a first pressure holding valve that is a partition valve are provided, and a second pressure holding valve that is a partition valve is provided at the coke discharge port of the pressure adjusting tank. Provided,
The coke deposited in the reactor is discharged into the pressure adjustment tank so that the internal pressure of the pressure adjustment tank is the same as the reaction internal pressure of the reactor or a negative differential pressure within 0.1 MPa. It is characterized by being adjusted.

  By the method of the present invention, coke generated and deposited in the reactor can be continuously discharged without stopping the supercritical water reaction (reforming reaction) or the like.

  In the above method, it is preferable that the coke discharged to the pressure adjusting tank is used as a part of fuel of a coke combustion apparatus attached to the reactor. It is economical because it can be used as a heat source (fuel) for coke produced by supercritical water reaction and the like, and the possibility of zero emission by a closed system is increased.

  A heavy oil reforming apparatus suitable for the heavy oil reforming method has the following configuration.

A heavy oil reformer used to obtain a low viscosity modified oil from heavy oil,
A reactor and a pressure control tank;
The reactor is one in which a heavy oil is subjected to a supercritical water reaction or a subcritical water reaction (hereinafter referred to as “supercritical water reaction”) to produce an emulsion and coke of the modified oil, Emulsion extraction port (extraction port) and coke discharge port,
The pressure adjusting tank temporarily stores the coke discharged from the outlet of the reactor, and includes an inlet and an outlet of the coke, and the internal pressure of the adjusting tank Pressure adjusting means for adjusting so as to be equal to or lower than the internal pressure during the reaction of
The outlet of the coke of the reactor and the inlet of the coke of the pressure adjusting tank are connected via a first holding valve that is a partition valve, and the outlet of the coke of the pressure adjusting tank is a partition valve. A second pressure holding valve is provided.

  Further, in the above apparatus, the coke in the pressure adjusting tank can be used as a part of fuel in a combustion apparatus provided with a fuel supply port attached to the reactor, so that the second pressure holding valve is discharged. It is desirable that the outlet side and the fuel supply port of the combustion apparatus are connected via a coke conveying means.

  The heavy oil reforming method and apparatus according to the present invention has a configuration in which a pressure adjusting tank is provided as described above, so that when a heavy oil is reformed by a supercritical water reaction or the like, a supercritical water reaction or the like is performed. Continuous operation is possible without stopping, and productivity is greatly improved. That is, as in the prior art, there is no need to stop the operation of the reaction vessel, open the reactor in a state where the reactor (reaction chamber) is depressurized and cooled, and remove the stored coke to wash the reactor. .

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is a reformer 12 that uses heavy oil to obtain a low-viscosity reformed oil.

  Basically, a reactor 16 and a pressure adjusting tank 18 are provided.

  The reactor 16 is a continuous type in which coke is produced together with a modified oil emulsion by causing a heavy oil to undergo a supercritical water reaction or a subcritical water reaction (hereinafter referred to as “supercritical water reaction”). Yes, it has a coke discharge port 16b together with an emulsion extraction port (extraction port) 16a.

  The supercritical water reaction or the like is performed in the supercritical water region or the subcritical water region shown in FIG.

  That is, the supercritical water region refers to a range where both the temperature and the pressure are above the critical temperature (374 ° C.) and the critical pressure (22 MPa), and the subcritical water region refers to the temperature at the critical temperature ( 374 ° C.) but a region where the pressure is below the critical pressure (22 MPa).

  The conditions such as the supercritical water reaction of the present invention are not particularly limited. For example, the temperature is suitably selected in the range of 374 to 475 ° C. and the pressure of 1 to 40 MPa according to the required reforming characteristics of heavy oil and the optimum operating conditions of the reactor.

  The reactor 16 and the pressure adjusting tank 18 are arranged one above the other, and the first pressure holding valve 22 in which the coke outlet 16b of the reactor (reaction chamber) 16 and the coke inlet 18a of the pressure adjusting tank 18 are gate valves. Connected through.

  Further, the reactor 16 is preferably a vertical type with a tapered bottom portion as shown in the figure. The separation efficiency between the coke and the emulsion and the movement of the coke to the pressure adjusting tank 18 become smooth.

  The reactor 16 includes a heavy oil supply pipe (heavy oil supply means) 23 and a raw water supply pipe (raw water supply means) via a pressurizing pump and a preheater (heat exchanger) (both not shown). 24 are connected so that heavy oil and raw water (such as supercritical water reaction) can be pumped to the reactor 16, respectively. Furthermore, the emulsion extraction port 16a of the reactor 16 is capable of extracting (extracting) the emulsion of the reformed oil produced by the supercritical water reaction or the like via the emulsion tank (oil / water separation tank) 26 and the emulsion conveying pipe 28. It is connected. A cooler (heat exchanger) 30 and a pressure control valve (back pressure valve) 32 are connected to the emulsion transport pipe 28.

  The heating device (heating means) attached to the reactor is a coke combustion device (burner) 34 provided with a fuel supply port 34a, and uses coke fine powder as the main fuel.

  The pressure adjusting tank 18 temporarily stores coke, and includes a coke inflow port 18a and an outflow port (discharge port) 18b and pressure adjusting means. Specifically, the pressure adjusting means is configured such that a pressure adjusting tank 18 is connected to a pressurizing pipe 37 connected to a compressor (compressor) 36 and an exhaust pipe 40 including a pressure adjusting valve 38. Yes. Further, a second pressure holding valve 44, which is a gate valve, is disposed at the coke outlet 18b.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a coke storage tank 46 opened to the atmosphere is disposed under the coke outlet 18b, and a coke conveyance path 48 is disposed from the coke storage tank 46 to the coke combustion apparatus (burner) 34. Has been. A fine pulverizer 50 that pulverizes the coke and preheats it is connected to the coke conveyance path 48 in front of the fuel supply port 34a of the coke combustion apparatus 34. The pulverizer is not particularly limited, but a pulverizer capable of continuous processing is desirable. Here, the coke conveyance path 48 is formed up to the fine pulverizer 50 by a general-purpose belt conveyor, a bucket conveyor or the like, but the internal pressure of the pressure adjustment tank 18 is slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure is adjusted by the pressure difference. A duct may be conveyed from the tank 18 to the pulverizer 50.

  In the above, the first and second pressure holding valves 22 and 44 are not particularly limited as long as the coke discharge path formed by them can be sealed. For example, a ball valve having a high pressure holding property as shown in FIG. Ball valve) can be used, but a butterfly valve or the like may be used.

  In the ball valve, a spherical valve body 54 having a passage hole 54a in the axial direction is held by a valve case (valve box) 56 having a tapered valve seat 56a. Here, the ball valve is in the valve open position when the axial center of the passage hole of the spherical valve body 54 coincides with the axis of the coke moving path 20 or the coke discharge port 18b, and is in the valve closed position when orthogonal. The spherical valve element 54 is a mechanism that rotates within a range of 90 ° by an air motor drive via a valve shaft 58.

  Next, an example of the heavy oil reforming method in the present invention using the heavy oil reforming apparatus will be described.

  Here, conditions such as supercritical water reaction are, for example, heavy oil / water (mass ratio): 1/1 to 1/10, temperature: 374 to 500 ° C., pressure: 1 to 40 MPa, time: 10 to 60 min. Select from the range of.

  Here, a case of supercritical water reaction with heavy oil / water (mass ratio): 1/2, temperature: 430 ° C., pressure: 35 MPa, reactor passage time: 30 min is taken as an example. The same applies to the reaction.

  First, the first and second pressure holding valves 22 and 44 are closed, that is, the coke discharge port 16b of the reactor 16 and the coke inlet 18a of the pressure adjustment tank 18 are hermetically cut off, and the coke discharge of the pressure adjustment tank 18 is closed. The outlet 18b is hermetically shut off.

  In this state, the reactor 16 is heated by the coke combustion apparatus (burner) 34, and the heavy oil and the raw water are continuously mixed into the reactor 16 by the pressure pumps of the respective supply pipes 23 and 24. It is pumped and fed (supplied) at a flow rate ratio that is equal to the ratio. Then, since the temperature and pressure in the reactor 16 both exceed the critical point of water due to the heating of the coke combustion device 34, the heavy oil pumped into the reactor 16 is moved through the reactor 16. A supercritical water reaction can be continuously performed. Then, the heavy oil is decomposed while passing through the reactor 16 by the supercritical water reaction, and an emulsion (emulsified liquid) and coke of the modified oil are generated.

  In the emulsion recovery pipe, a slight supercritical water reaction may occur until near the cooler.

  Thus, the produced | generated emulsion of the modified oil is cooled by the cooler 30 of the emulsion collection | recovery piping 28 from the emulsion extraction port 16a, is collect | recovered by the emulsion tank (oil-water separation tank) 26, and oil-water separation is carried out as needed.

  The coke produced by the supercritical water reaction is deposited on the bottom side of the reactor 16, and the deposited coke is continuously supercritically reacted (modified) by repeating the steps 1) to 3) below. To discharge out of the system. Here, “coke” means solid carbide, including those containing metals and the like.

  1) Pressure adjustment step: With the first and second pressure holding valves 22 and 44 closed, the compressor 36 increases the internal pressure of the pressure adjustment tank (pressure adjustment chamber) 18 to or near the internal pressure of the reactor (reaction chamber) 16. Boost the pressure with. For example, when the set pressure of the supercritical water reaction is 35.0 MPa, the pressure is increased to 35.0 MPa or a value that results in a negative differential pressure within about 0.1 MPa.

  2) Coke transfer step: Next, the coke transfer path 20 is opened between the coke discharge port 16a of the reactor 16 and the coke inlet 18b of the pressure adjusting tank 18 with the first pressure holding valve 22 in the open position. . Then, the coke in the reactor 16 moves to the pressure adjusting tank 18 by gravity and / or differential pressure.

  At this time, no supercritical water reaction occurs in the pressure adjusting tank 18. This is because the pressure adjusting tank 18 is not heated by the heater and the temperature is significantly lower than that of the reactor 16. In addition, it is thought that there is some inflow of the emulsion.

  3) Coke recovery step: Subsequently, the first pressure holding valve 22 is closed, the coke moving path 20 is hermetically cut off, and the pressure adjusting tank 18 is lowered to atmospheric pressure or close to atmospheric pressure, and the coke outlet 18b is opened to the atmosphere. Collect coke as open. In the illustrated example, coke is dropped into its own coke storage tank 46 and collected.

  When the coke is stored in the coke storage tank 46 to some extent, the coke is conveyed to the pulverizer 50 by using a conveyor that forms the coke conveyance path 48, and the coke is pulverized to obtain hot air (hot air; for example, 200 ° C.). Thus, the main fuel is supplied to the fuel supply port 34a of the coke combustion apparatus 34.

When heavy oil (specific gravity: 1.03) was modified under the above operating conditions (hydrothermal reaction conditions), the modified oil obtained by decomposing the emulsion had a kinematic viscosity (kinematic viscosity): 20 × 10 ^-4 m ² / s (20 cSt).

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and extends to the following various embodiments within the scope of the claims.

  1) A reactor and a pressure adjusting tank are formed by providing a horizontal partition wall in one container, a coke moving path (hole) is formed at the center of the partition wall, and a pressure holding valve is disposed in the moving hole.

  2) A plurality of reactors are used, and a coke discharge port of each reactor is connected to a coke inlet of one pressure regulating tank via a plurality of first pressure holding valves. Mass processing is possible.

  3) A plurality of (multi-stage) pressure adjustment tanks are arranged in series, a coke moving path is provided between them, and the pressure adjustment of each pressure adjustment tank is performed stepwise. Coke can be discharged smoothly from the reactor.

  4) A coke discharge port is provided on the bottom side surface of the reactor, and the coke is moved by the differential pressure.

  5) The pressure regulating tank is not a special container (chamber), but the first pressure-holding valve and the second pressure-holding valve are formed by a large-diameter pressure-resistant pipe, and this portion is used as the pressure-regulating tank (chamber). .

  6) Without providing a coke storage tank, the duct is conveyed directly from the coke outlet to the pulverizer by differential pressure.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the decomposition | disassembly model of heavy oils, such as a supercritical water reaction using this invention. It is a water phase diagram (temperature / pressure relationship diagram of water) showing regions of supercritical water and subcritical water. It is a model figure in one embodiment of the reformer of heavy oil in the present invention. It is the schematic of the ball valve which shows an example of the pressure-holding valve used in embodiment of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

12 Heavy oil reformer 16 Reactor (reaction chamber)
16a Emulsion extraction port 16b Coke discharge port 18 Pressure adjustment tank (pressure adjustment chamber)
18a Coke inlet 18b Coke outlet 20 Coke transfer path 22 Gate valve (first pressure holding valve)
34 Coke combustion device (burner)
44 Gate valve (second holding valve)
48 Coke conveyance path 50 Fine grinding machine

Claims (4)

In a method for obtaining a low viscosity modified oil from heavy oil,
In the continuous reactor, supercritical water reaction etc. is performed to produce coke together with the emulsion of reformed oil,
When continuously extracting (withdrawing) the reformed oil produced by the supercritical water reaction or the like, and simultaneously discharging the coke produced and deposited,
A pressure adjusting tank connected to the coke discharge port of the reactor via a first holding pressure valve as a partition valve is provided, and a second holding pressure valve as a partition valve is provided at the coke outlet of the pressure adjusting tank. ,
The coke deposited in the reactor is discharged into the pressure adjustment tank so that the internal pressure of the pressure adjustment tank is the same as the reaction internal pressure of the reactor or a negative differential pressure within 0.1 MPa. To adjust,
A method for reforming heavy oil, characterized in that:   The heavy oil reforming method according to claim 1, wherein coke discharged to the pressure adjusting tank is used as a part of fuel of a coke combustion apparatus attached to the reactor. A heavy oil reformer used to obtain a low viscosity modified oil from heavy oil,
A reactor and a pressure control tank;
The reactor is one in which a heavy oil is subjected to a supercritical water reaction or a subcritical water reaction (hereinafter referred to as “supercritical water reaction”) to produce an emulsion and coke of the modified oil, Emulsion extraction port (extraction port) and coke discharge port,
The pressure adjusting tank temporarily stores the coke discharged from the outlet of the reactor, and includes an inlet and an outlet of the coke, and the internal pressure of the pressure adjusting tank is set to the reactor. Pressure adjusting means for adjusting so as to be equal to or lower than the internal pressure during the reaction of
The outlet of the coke of the reactor and the inlet of the coke of the pressure adjusting tank are connected via a first pressure holding valve that is a partition valve, and the outlet of the coke of the pressure adjusting tank is a partition valve. A second holding valve,
A heavy oil reformer characterized by that.   Further, the coke in the pressure regulating tank can be used as a part of fuel in a combustion apparatus provided with a fuel supply port attached to the reactor, and the discharge port side of the second pressure holding valve and the combustion apparatus 4. The heavy oil reforming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the fuel supply port is connected via a coke conveying means.

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