PT1169412E - Rapid thermal processing of bitumen feedstocks - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is directed to the use of an upgraded liquid feedstock as a product for pipeline transport to permit further processing of the upgraded liquid feedstock elsewhere. The upgraded liquid feedstock is produced from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock, which is not transportable by pipeline to an offsite location without addition of diluents, by a method for upgrading a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprises introducing a particulate heat carrier into an upflow reactor, introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor at a location above that of the particulate heat carrier so that a loading ratio of the particulate heat carrier to feedstock is from about 15:1 to about 200:1, allowing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to interact with the heat carrier with a residence time of less than about 1 second, to produce a product stream, separating the product stream from the particulate heat carrier, regenerating the particulate heat carrier, and collecting a gaseous and liquid product from the product stream. The upgraded feedstock exhibiting reduced viscosity and increased API gravity.

Description

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DESCRIPTION " QUICK THERMAL PROCESSING OF RAW MATERIALS OF HEAVY HYDROCARBONS " heat treatment of viscous oil. The present invention relates to the fasting of raw materials of this invention, the use of pyrolysis in order to viscosity of these oils.

Background of the invention

The bitumen and heavy oil resources are supplementing the decline in conventional light and medium crude oil production and production of these resources is expected to increase significantly. Expansion of pipelines is also expected to cope with increased production of heavy oils, however, heavy oil must be treated to allow transport by pipelines. At present, crude heavy oil and bitumen are transportable through the addition of diluents or are beneficiated through synthetic crude oil. However, diluted crudes or beneficiated synthetic crudes are significantly different from conventional crude oils. As a result, bitumen blends or synthetic crudes are not easily transformed into conventional fluid catalytic cracking refineries. Therefore, in both cases the refiner has to be configured to handle either diluted or beneficiated raw materials.

Many heavy hydrocarbons are also characterized as comprising significant amounts of BS & W (background and water sediments). Such raw materials are not suitable for transportation in pipelines or improvement because of the sand, water and corrosive properties of the feedstock. Typically, raw materials characterized as having less than 0.5% by weight of BS & W are transportable by pipeline, and those which include higher amount of BS & W require some degree of processing and treatment to reduce BS & W before transport. Such treatment may include storage to allow water and particles to settle, followed by heat treatment to conduct water and other components. However, these manipulations are expensive and time-consuming. There is therefore a need in the art for an efficient method for the modernization of the feedstock, comprising a significant BS & W content prior to the transportation or subsequent processing of the feedstock.

Heavy oils and bitumen may be improved using a range of rapid processes, including thermal procedure (for example, US 4,490,234; US 4,294,686; US 4,161,442), hydrocracking (US 4,252,634), visco-retraction (US 4,427,539, US 4,569,753, US 5,413,702) or catalytic cracking (US 5,723,040, US 5,662,868, US 5,296,131, US 4,985,136, US 4,772,378, US 4,668,378; 4,578,183). Several of these processes, such as catalytic cracking or cracking, utilize inert or catalytic particulate contacting materials within upstream or downstream reactors. Catalytic contact materials are mostly based on zeolite (see, for example, US 5,723,040, US 5,662,868, US 5,296,131, 4,985,136, 4,772,378, 4,668,378, 4,578,378 (US Pat. No. 4,427,539, US Pat. No. 4,569,753), the carbonaceous solids (for example, US Pat. No. 5,413,702) , or inert kaolin (e.g., US Pat. No. 4,569,753). The use of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) or other units for the direct processing of bitumen raw materials is known in the art. However, many compounds present in raw raw materials interfere with these processes by deposition on the contact material itself. These contaminants of the feedstock include metals such as nickel and vanadium, coke precursors such as Conradson carbon and asphaltenes, and sulfur, and the deposition of these materials results in the need for extensive regeneration of the contact material. This is especially true for the contact material employed with FCC processes such as efficient cracking and proper temperature control of the process requires contact materials comprising few or no combustible deposit material or metals that interfere with the catalytic process.

To reduce contamination of the catalytic material within the catalytic cracking units, pretreatment of the feedstock by visbreaking (US 5,413,702; US 4,569,753; US 4,427,539), thermal (US 4,252,634; US No. 4,161,442) or other processes, typically using reactors such as FCC, operating at temperatures below that required for cracking of feedstock (e.g., US 4,980,045, US 4,818,373 and US 4,263,128) have been suggested. These systems operate in series with FCC units and function as pre-treated for FCC. These pre-treatment processes are designed to remove contaminant materials from the feedstock and operate under conditions that attenuate any cracking. This ensures that any controlled and improved cracking of the feedstock occurs within the FCC reactor under ideal conditions. Several of these processes (e.g., US 4,818,373, US 4,427,539, US 4,311,580, US 4,232,514, US 4,263,128) were specifically adapted to process " resids " (ie raw materials produced from the fractional distillation of a total crude oil) and the bottom fractions in order to optimize the recovery from the initial feedstock. The processes described for recovering residues or bottom fractions are physical and involve the selective vaporization or fractional distillation of the feedstock with minimal or no chemical change in the feedstock. These processes are also combined with the removal of metals and provide raw materials suitable for FCC processing. Selective resid vaporization occurs under non-cracking conditions without any reduction in the viscosity of the raw material components and ensures cracking occurs within an FCC reactor under controlled conditions. None of these approaches describes the improvement of the feedstock within this pretreatment process (ie metals and coke removal). Other processes for the thermal treatment of raw materials involve the addition of hydrogen (hydrotreatment), which results in some chemical alteration of the raw material. US 4,294,686 discloses a steam distillation process in the presence of hydrogen for the pretreatment of raw materials for the FCC processing. This document also indicates that this process may also be used to reduce the viscosity of the feedstock, such that the feedstock may be suitable for transport within an oil pipeline. However, the use of short residence time reactors for the production of a transportable raw material is not disclosed. US 4,080,285 discloses a process for the non-catalytic increase of cracking of shale oil to produce ethylene in the presence of inert solids entrained in hot. 5

There is a need in the technical area for a rapid and effective improvement process of bitumen or heavy oil feedstock which involves a partial chemical improvement or a gentle cracking of the feedstock, in order to obtain a product characterized by having a reduced viscosity on the starting material. Ideally, this process would be able to accommodate raw materials comprising significant amounts of BS & W. This product must be transportable for further processing and improvement. Such a process should not involve any catalytic cracking activity due to the known contamination of catalyst contact materials with the components present in the bitumen or heavy oil feedstocks. The rapid and effective breeding process should yield a product characterized by having reduced viscosity, reduced metal content, increased API and optimum yield of the product. The present invention is directed to the improvement of bitumen raw materials, which uses a pyrolytic reactor with a short residence time, operating under conditions which crack and chemically improve the feedstock. The feedstock used in this process may comprise significant levels of BS & W and still be processed efficiently, thereby increasing the handling efficiency of the feedstock. The process of the present invention provides the preparation of a partially improved feedstock having reduced viscosity and higher API density. The process described herein selectively removes metals, salts, water and nitrogen from the feedstock, while at the same time maximizing the yield of the liquid and minimizing the production of coke and gas. In addition, this process reduces the viscosity of the feedstock to an extent which may allow transportation of the feedstock into the pipeline without addition of diluents. The partly-improved product optionally allows off-site transportation of raw material to better equipped locations for refining handling. These facilities are usually located at a distance from the point where raw raw material is obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the rapid thermal processing of bitumen raw materials. More specifically, this invention relates to the use of pyrolysis in order to improve and reduce the viscosity of these oils.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of producing an improved bitumen liquid product for the transportation of said pipeline improved liquid product to an external site for refinement, said method comprising: i) supplying sand of silica as a particulate thermal conveyor in an upflow reactor; ii) introducing said bitumen in a preheated state into said upflow reactor in at least one location above said particulate thermal conveyor, so that a particulate thermal conveyor loading ratio to said heavy oil or bitumen is from 10: 1 to 200: 1, wherein said upflow reactor is operated at a temperature of from 480 ° C to 620 ° C; iii) allowing said bitumen to interact with said particulate thermal conveyor, with a residence time of less than about 5 seconds, to produce a product stream; Iv) separating said product stream from said particulate thermal conveyor; v) regenerating said particulate thermal conveyor, and vi) collecting an improved gaseous product and liquid product from said product stream, wherein the improved liquid product exhibits an increase in API density, reduced melting point, reduced viscosity and a reduced level of contaminants over that of said bitumen.

Preferably, the loading ratio of the method as outlined above is from 20: 1 to 30: 1. The present invention also relates to the method, as defined above, wherein the residence time is 0.5 to 2 seconds.

This invention is also directed to the above method in which the contaminants, including the carbon Conradson (coke), BS & W, nickel and vanadium are either removed from the feedstock or deposited on the thermal conveyor. The present invention also includes the method, as defined above, wherein said product stream of a first pyrolysis is separated into a lighter fraction and a heavier fraction, collecting the lighter fraction from the product stream, and recycling of the heavier fraction back to the upflow reactor, for further processing into a second pyrolysis to produce a second product stream. Preferably, further processing comprises mixing the heavier fraction with particulate heat carrier, wherein the temperature of the second particulate thermal conveyor used in the pyrolysis is about, or above, processing the feedstock into the first pyrolysis . The residence time of the second pyrolysis is the same as, or greater than, the residence time of the first pyrolysis. In addition, the heavier fraction may be added to the raw material, before being introduced into the upflow reactor, for the second pyrolysis.

An improved bitumen is characterized by the following properties: i) an API density of 10 to 21; ii) a density of 0.93-1.0; iii) a viscosity at 40 ° C (cSt) of 15 to 300, and iv) a reduced vanadium content of 60 to 100 ppm, and v) a reduced nickel content of 10 to 50 ppm. The liquid product is characterized in that it has at least one of the following properties: i) less than 50% of the components evolving temperatures above 538 ° C during the simulated distillation; ii) from 60% to 95% of the product evolving below 538 ° C during the simulated distillation; iii) from 1.0% to 10% of the liquid product below 193 ° C during the simulated distillation; iv) from 2% to 6% of the liquid product evolving between 193-232 ° C during the simulated distillation; v) from 10% to 25% of the liquid product evolving between 232-327 ° C during the simulated distillation; vi) from 6% to 15% of the liquid product evolving between 327-360 ° C during the simulated distillation, and vii) from 34.5% to 60% of the liquid product evolving between 360-538 ° C during distillation. 9

An upflow pyrolysis reactor for the improvement of the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock comprises: i) a medium for preheating the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock; ii) at least one injection medium in at least one of a plurality of locations along the upflow reactor, at least one injection medium for introducing the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock into the upflow reactor; iii) an inlet for the introduction of a particulate thermal conveyor, the inlet located below at least one injection means, the particulate thermal conveyor present in a charge ratio of at least 10: 1; iv) a conversion section into the upflow reactor; v) separating means at an output of the upflow reactor for the separation of the gaseous and liquid products from the particulate thermal conveyor; vi) regenerating means of the particulate thermal conveyor; vii) a recirculating line of the particulate thermal conveyor, from means for the regeneration of the inlet to the supply of particulate thermal conveyor to said mixing section; viii) curing means for cooling and condensing the liquid products;

In the upflow reactor, as defined above, the plurality of locations includes locations distributed along the length of said reactor. Additionally, the upflow reactor may comprise means for a hot condenser prior to condensing means. Preferably, the particulate thermal carrier is silica sand and the loading ratio is from 20: 1 to 30: 1. The upflow reactor as defined above may also comprise means for recirculating a fraction of the heavy product from means for the hot condensation to injection means of the upflow reactor. The present invention addresses the need in the technical area for a rapid improvement process of the bitumen feedstock involving partial chemical improvement or light cracking of the feedstock. This product may, if desired, be transportable for further processing and breeding. The process as described herein also reduces the levels of contaminants in the raw materials, thus there is a mitigation of the contamination of catalytic materials from contact with the components present in bitumen raw materials.

In addition, a variety of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks may be processed by methods such as those described herein, including feedstocks comprising a significant amount of BS & W. Raw materials comprising a significant BS & W content are non-transportable because of their corrosive properties. Current practices for the treatment of raw materials to lower their BS & W content is time consuming and costly, and still requires further processing or partial improvement prior to transportation. The methods described herein enable the use of raw materials having a substantial BS & W component and produce a liquid product which is partially improved and suitable for pipelines or other transport methods. Thus, the present invention provides an initial bitumen transformation and reduces associated costs and processing time.

Brief description of the drawings become what is

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention relating to a system for the pyrolysis processing of the raw materials, cousins. Figure 2 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention relating to the system for introducing the feedstock into the system for the pyrolytic processing system of the feedstocks. Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention relating to the feed system for introducing feedstock into the second stage of a two-stage process using the system for the pyrolytic processing of feedstocks, as described herein. Figure 4 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention relating to the raw material recovery system to be collected from the primary or recycled condenser for the second step of a two-step process using the system for the pyrolytic processing of raw materials, as described herein. Figure 5 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of the present invention relating to a multi-stage system for the pyrolytic processing of the starting materials.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention relates to the rapid thermal processing of bitumen. More specifically, this invention relates to the use of pyrolysis in order to improve and reduce the viscosity of these oils. The following description is of a preferred embodiment by way of example only and without limitation to the combination of features necessary for the execution of the invention. The feedstock may contain significant amounts of BS & W (bottom and water sediments), for example, but not limited to, more than 0.5% (wt%) of BS & W. These bitumen feedstocks are typically viscous and difficult to transport. Bitumens typically comprise a large proportion of complex polynuclear hydrocarbons (asphaltenes) which add to the viscosity of this feedstock and some form of pretreatment of the feedstock is required for transport. Such pretreatment typically includes dilution in solvents prior to shipping.

Typically, raw materials derived from tar sands (see Example 1 for an analysis of examples of such raw materials, which are not to be considered as limiting) are pre-processed prior to breeding, as described herein, so to concentrate the bitumen. However, pre-treatment may also involve methods known in the art, including hot or cold water treatment, or solvent extraction, which produces a bitumen-gas oil solution. These pre-processing treatments usually reduce the sand content of the bitumen. For example, such a pre-processing water treatment involves the formation of a tar sand containing a NaOH / hot water bitumen suspension, from which the sand is allowed to settle, and more hot water is added to the floating bitumen to dilute the base and ensure the removal of sand. Processing with cold water involves crushing the tar sand in water and float the bitumen containing tar sands in fuel oil and then diluting the bitumen with solvent and separating the bitumen from the sand-water residue. A more complete description of the cold water process is disclosed in US 4,818,373. Such pre-processed or pretreated raw materials may also be used for further processing as described herein.

The liquid product resulting from the process as described herein may be suitable for transport within a conduit to allow further processing of the feedstock elsewhere. Typically, further processing occurs at a location far from where the feedstock is obtained. However, it is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the liquid product produced using the present method may also be directly introduced into a unit capable of further improving the feedstock, such as but not limited to FCC, carbonization , viscorreduction, hydrocracking or pyrolysis, etc. In this capacity, the pyrolysis reactor of the present invention partially improves the feedstock, while at the same time acting as a feedstock pretreator for further processing, as described in, for example, but not limited to, US 5,662. 868, US 4,980,045, US 4,818,373, US 14,4569,753, US 4,435,272, US 4,427,538, US 4,427,539, US 4,328,091, 4,311,580, 4,243,514, US 4,294,686 .

The raw materials of the present invention are processed through a rapid pyrolysis reactor, such as that described in US 5,792,340 (WO 91/11499; EP 513051), involving contact times between the thermal conveyor and the feedstock of 0.01 to 2 sec. Other known vertical tubular reactors with short residence times may also be employed, for example, but not limited to, US 4,427,539, 4,569,753, 4,818,373, 4,243,514. It is preferred that the thermal conveyor used within the pyrolysis reactor exhibits a low catalytic activity. Such a thermal conveyor consists of silica sand. By silica sand is meant that it is a sand which comprises more than 30% silica, preferably greater than 95% silica, and more preferably greater than 99% silica. Other components of the silica sand may include, but are not limited to, from 0.01% (about 100 ppm) to 0.04% (400 ppm) of iron oxide, preferably about 0.035% (358 ppm), about 0.00037% (3.78 ppm) of potassium oxide, about 0.00688% (68.88 ppm) of aluminum oxide, about 0.0027 (27.25) of magnesium and about 0.0051% (51.14 ppm) of calcium oxide. It is understood that the above composition is an example of a silica sand which may be used as a heat carrier as described herein, however, variations may exist within the proportions of such ingredients within other silica sands and may still be suitable for use as a thermal conveyor. Processing of raw materials using rapid pyrolysis results in the production of product vapors and solid by-products associated with the thermal conveyor. After removal of the thermal conveyor from the product stream, product vapors are condensed to obtain a liquid product and gaseous by-products.

Following the methods as described herein, a liquid product obtained from the processing of the bitumen feedstock is characterized as: • an API density of 10 to 21; A density at 15 ° C of 0.93-1.0; • very low metal content, including V and Ni; • a very low viscosity, more than 20 times less than the starting material (for example, as determined at 40 ° C), and • liquid product yields of at least 60% by volume, preferably the yields are greater than about 75% by volume.

The high yields and low viscosity of the liquid product produced in accordance with the present invention may allow the liquid product to be transported by pipeline to the refineries for further processing with the addition of little or no diluent. On the other hand, liquid products exhibit reduced levels of contaminants (eg metals and water), with slightly reduced sulfur and nitrogen content. Therefore, the liquid product may also be used as feedstock either directly or after transportation for further processing using, for example, FCC, hydrocracking, etc.

In addition, the liquid products of the present invention may be characterized using simulated distillation analysis (SimDist), as is commonly known in the art, for example, but not limited to, ASTM D 5307-97 or HT 750 (NCUT). The SimDist analysis indicates that liquid products obtained after bitumen processing can be characterized by any of or a combination of the following properties (see Examples 1, 2 and 5): having less than 50% of their components at rising temperatures above 538 ° C (residual fraction in vacuo); Comprising from 60% to 95% of the product below 538 ° C. Preferably, from 62% to 85% of the product evolves during SimDist below 538 ° C (i.e., before residual fraction in vacuo); Having from 1.0% to 10% of the liquid product evolves below 193 ° C. Preferably from 1.2% to 6.5% evolves below 193 ° C (i.e., before the naphtha / kerosene fraction); Having from 2% to 6% of the liquid product evolves between 193-232 ° C. Preferably from 2.5% to 5% evolves between 193-232 ° C (kerosene fraction); Having from 10% to 25% of the liquid product evolves between 232-327 ° C. Preferably, from 13 to 24% evolves between 232-327 ° C (diesel fraction); • having from 6% to 15% of the liquid product evolves between 327-360 ° C. Preferably, from 6.5 to 11% evolves between 327-360 ° C (VGO light fraction); • having between 34.5% and 60% of the liquid product evolves between 360-538 ° C. Preferably, from 35 to 55% evolves between 360-538 ° C (VGO heavy fraction);

A first method for improving the raw material for obtaining liquid products with desired properties involves a one-stage process. Referring to Figure 17, in brief form, the rapid pyrolysis system includes a feed system, generally indicated as (10; see also Figures 2 and 3), which injects the feedstock to a reactor (20), a which separates the thermal conveyor from the product into steam (i.e., 100 and 180) and recycles the thermal conveyor to the reheat / regeneration system (30), a reheat system of the inorganic particulate thermal conveyor ( 30), which reheats and regenerates the thermal conveyor and primary (40) and secondary (50) condensers collecting the product. The preheated feedstock enters the reactor immediately below the mixing zone (170) and is brought into contact with the stream flowing up the hot inert conveyor into a transport fluid, typically a recycle gas provided by a recycling gas line (210). Conductive thermal transfer through rapid mixing from the thermal conveyor to the feedstock takes place in the short residence time conversion section of the reactor. The feedstock may enter the reactor through at least one of several locations along the length of the reactor. The different entry points indicated in Figures 1 and 2 are non-limiting examples of such entry sites. By providing multiple points of entry along the length of the reactor, the residence time duration within the reactor can be varied. For example, for longer residence times, the feedstock enters the reactor at a lower location in the reactor, whereas for shorter residence times, the feedstock enters the reactor at a location higher than the reactor. In all these cases, the introduced feedstock is mixed with the upflowing thermal conveyor within a mixing zone (170) of the reactor. The product vapors produced during the pyrolysis are cooled and collected, using a suitable condenser medium (40, 50), so as to obtain a liquid product. It is understood that other rapid pyrolysis systems, comprising differences in reactor design using separators on the thermal transposer, different numbers or sizes of different capacitors, or different condensing means, may be used for the preparation of the improved product of the present invention . For example, which should not be considered as limiting, the reactors disclosed in US 4,427,539, 4,569,753, 4,818,373, 4,243,514 may be modified to operate under the conditions as described herein, for the production of an improved product chemically, with increased API and reduced viscosity.

After the pyrolysis of the feedstock in the presence of the inert thermal conveyor, some contaminants present within the feedstock are deposited on the inert thermal conveyor. These contaminants include metals (especially nickel and vanadium), coke and, to some extent, nitrogen and sulfur. Thus, the inert thermal conveyor requires regeneration (30) prior to re-introduction into the reaction stream. The thermal conveyor can be regenerated by combustion within a fluidized bed at a temperature of 600 to 900 ° C. Additionally, if necessary, the tanks may also be removed from the heat carrier by an acid treatment, for example, as disclosed in US 4,818,373 (which is incorporated by reference). The heated, regenerated thermal conveyor is then reintroduced into the reactor (20) and acts as a thermal conveyor for rapid pyrolysis. The feed system (10) supplies a preheated feedstock to the reactor (20). An example of a feed system, which should not be considered limiting in any way, is shown in Figure 2, however, other embodiments of the feed system are within the scope of the present invention, for example, but not limited to a feed preheater unit as shown in Figure 5 (discussed below) and may optionally be used in conjunction with a feed system (10; Figure 5). The feed system (generally shown as 10, Figures 1 and 2) is designed to provide a regulated flow of the preheated feedstock to the reactor unit (20). The feed system shown in Figure 2 includes an equilibrium tank for preheating the feedstock 110, heated using outer belt heaters 130 at 80 ° C and is associated with a recirculation / transfer pump 120 ). The raw material is constantly heated and mixed in this tank at 80 ° C. The hot raw material is pumped from the balance tank into a primary feed tank 140, also heated using outer belt heaters 130, as required. However, it is understood that variations in the feed system may also be employed in order to provide a heated raw material to the reactor. The main feed tank 140 may also be provided with a recirculation / delivery pump 150. The heat transfer lines 160 are maintained at about 150Â ° C and the feedstock is preheated prior to entry into the reactor through an injector 170. The atomization in the injector 70 positioned near the mixing zone 170 within the reactor 20 can be achieved by any suitable means. The injector arrangement should provide for a homogeneous dispersed material flow in the reactor. For example, which is not considered limiting in any mode, mechanical pressure using single phase flow atomization or atomization of a two phase flow can be used. With a two-phase flow of the atomization nozzle, preheated air, recycled nitrogen or by-product gas, can be used as a conveyor. Instrumentation is also dispersed throughout the system for precise control (eg pressure transducers, temperature sensors, DC controllers, 3-way gas flow measuring valves, etc.) of the system. The conversion of the feedstock is initiated at the mixing zone (170, for example, Figure 1), under moderate temperatures and continues through the conversion section within the reactor unit (20) and connections (e.g., pipes, work) to the primary separation system (e.g., 100), where most of the thermal conveyor is removed from the steam stream of the product. The solid heat carrier and the solid coke by-product are removed from the primary product vapor stream in a separation unit. Preferably, the product vapor flow is separated from the thermal conveyor as quickly as possible after its exit from the reactor (20), so that the residence time of the product vapor flow in the presence of the thermal conveyor is as short as possible. The primary separation unit may be any suitable solids separation device, for example, but not limited to a cyclone separator, a U-Beam separator or Rams Horn separator, as are known in the prior art. A cyclone separator is shown schematically in Figures 1, 3 and 4. The solids separator, for example, a primary cyclone (100), is preferably equipped with a high abrasion resistant coating. Any solids that avoid the collection in the primary collection system 21 are collected downstream and recovered in a secondary collection system (180). The secondary separation unit may be the same as the primary separation unit, or may comprise an alternative solids separation device, for example, but not limited to a cyclone separator, a 1/4 turn separator, for example a Rams Horn separator, or an impact separator, as are known in the art. A secondary cyclone separator 180 is shown graphically in Figures 1 and 4, however, further separators may be used as a secondary separator unit.

Solid products that have been removed in the primary and secondary collection systems are transferred to a vessel for the regeneration of the thermal conveyor, for example, but not limited to, a direct contact reheating system (30). In a direct contact reheating system (30), the coke and by-products gases are oxidized to provide thermal energy processes, which is transported directly to the solid thermal conveyor, as well as regeneration of the thermal conveyor. The direct contact reheat temperature is maintained independently of the feedstock of the raw material conversion system (reactor). However, as indicated above, other methods for the regeneration of the heat carrier may be employed, for example, but not limited to, acid treatment. The hot product stream from the secondary separation unit is extinguished in a primary collection column (or primary condenser, 40; Figure 1). The vapor stream is rapidly cooled from the conversion temperature to below 400 ° C. Preferably, the vapor stream is cooled to about 300 ° C. The product 22 is withdrawn from the main column and pumped (220) into product storage tanks. A secondary condenser (50) may be used to collect any material escaping from the primary condenser (40). The product obtained from the secondary condenser (50) is also being pumped (230) into the product storage tanks. The remaining noncondensible gas is compressed in a blower 190 and a part is returned to the regeneration system of the thermal conveyor 30 through the line 200 and the remaining gas is returned to the reactor 20 via the line 210, and acts as a thermal and medium conveyor. It is preferred that the reactor used with the process of the present invention be capable of producing high yields of liquid product, for example at least greater than 60% by volume, preferably the yield is greater than 70% by volume, and more preferably the yield is greater than 80%, with a minimum production of by-product, such as coke and gas. Without wishing to limit the scope of the invention in any way, for example, to conditions suitable for a pyrolysis treatment of the feedstock and the production of a liquid product is disclosed in US 5,792,340. This process uses sand (silica sand) as the thermal conveyor, and a reactor temperature ranging from 480 ° to 620 ° C, thermal conveyor load ratios for the feedstock from 10: 1 to 200: 1 and times of residence of 0.35-0.7s. Preferably, the reactor temperature ranges from 500 ° to 550 ° C. The preferred loading ratio is from 15: 1 to 50: 1, with a more preferred ratio of 20: 1 to 30: 1. Furthermore, it should be understood that the longer residence times within the reactor, for example up to 5 seconds, can be obtained, if desired, by introducing the feedstock into the reactor to a position toward 23 (eg as long as there is sufficient velocity for the product vapor and thermal conveyor to exit the reactor) or a combination of these. The preferred residence time is 0.5 to 2 s.

Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the chemical improvement of the feedstock which takes place within the reactor system, as described above, is in part due to the high loading rates of raw materials for the conveyor which are used in the method of the present invention. The loading rates of the prior art typically range from 5: 1 to 12.5: 1. However, the loading rates as described herein, from 15: 1 to 200: 1, result in a very rapid, ablative and consistent heat transfer from the thermal conveyor to the feedstock. The high volume and density of the thermal conveyor within the mixing and conversion zones ensures that a fast and uniform processing temperature is achieved and maintained. Thus, the temperatures required for the cracking process described herein are easily controlled. This also allows the use of relatively low temperatures to minimize over-cracking, while ensuring a smooth cracking of the feed load. In addition, with increasing thermal density inside the reactor, undesirable contaminants and components present in the raw materials and by-products of the reaction, including metals (eg nickel and vanadium), coke and at some point nitrogen and sulfur , are easily absorbed due to the large surface area of the thermal conveyor present. This ensures an efficient and optimized removal of contaminants from the raw material during pyrolysis processing of the raw material. As a larger surface area of the thermal conveyor is used, the thermal conveyor itself is not unduly contaminated and any metal or coke adsorbed is readily withdrawn during regeneration of the thermal conveyor. With this system the residence times can be carefully regulated in order to optimize the treatment of the raw material and the yields of the liquid products.

After the methods as described herein, a liquid product obtained from the processing of bitumen feedstock followed a single step process is characterized as having, and not to be considered as limiting, an increase in the API 10 (the API of the raw material is typically about 8.6). Again, higher API densities can be achieved with a reduction in volume. The product obtained from bitumen is also characterized as having a density of 0.93-1.0 and a very low viscosity, at least 20 times less than the feedstock (i.e., from 15 g / ml at 60 g / ml at 40øC in the product, the feedstock comprising about 1500 g / ml). Yields of the liquid product obtained from bitumen at least 60% by volume, and preferably greater than 75% volume. The SimDist analysis also demonstrates significantly different properties between the bitumen feedstock and the liquid product, as produced herein. Highlights of the SimDist analysis indicate that for a bitumen feedstock, approx. 1% (wt%) of feedstock was distilled below 232 ° C (kerosene fraction), ca. 8.6% from 232Â ° to 327Â ° C (diesel fraction) and 51.2% evolved above 538Â ° C (residual fraction of vacuum, see Example 2 for complete analysis). The SimDist analysis of the liquid product produced from bitumen as described above can be characterized but is not limited to the following 25 properties: approx. 5.7% (wt%) is evolved below 232 ° C (kerosene fraction), approx. 14.8% from 232Â ° to 327Â ° C (diesel fraction) and 29.9% with the residual fraction of vacuum (above 538Â ° C). Again, these results may differ depending on the raw material used, however, they demonstrate the significant change in many of the components of the liquid product as compared to the bitumen feed material and the general tendency to decrease molecular weight of the components , which evolve earlier during the SimDist analysis of the liquid product produced from rapid thermal processing.

Therefore, the present invention is directed to a liquid product obtained from a single stage of bitumen processing, which is characterized as having at least one of the following properties: having less than 50% of its components at increasing temperatures above 538 ° C (residual fraction of vacuum); • comprising from 60% to 95% of the evolving product below 538 ° C. Preferably, from 60% to 80% during Simulated Distillation below 538 ° C (i.e., before residual vacuum fraction); • have 1.0% to 6% of the net product evolving below 193 ° C. Preferably from 1.2% to 5% below 193 ° C (i.e., before the naphtha / kerosene fraction); Having from 2% to 6% of the liquid product between 193-232 ° C. Preferably 2.0% to 5% between 193-232 ° C (diesel fraction); • having from 12% to 25% of the liquid product between 232-327 ° C. Preferably, from 13 to 18% between 232-327 ° C (diesel fraction); • have from 5% to 10% of the liquid product between 327-360 ° C. Preferably, from 6.0 to 8.0% at 327-360øC (VGO light fraction); • having from 40% to 60% of the liquid product between 360-538 ° C. Preferably, from 30 to 50% between 360-538 ° C (VGO heavy fraction). The liquid product produced as described herein also exhibits a high degree of stability. Analysis of the liquid product over a period of 30 days indicates a negligible change in the SimDist profile, viscosity and API density for liquid products produced from heavy oil or bitumen raw materials (see Example 1 and 2).

Because cracking is not so severe and because residence times are short, undesirable reactions can generate excessive amounts of undesirable aromatic and olefin compounds. In addition, contaminants such as metals and water have been found to be significantly reduced. There is no concentration of contaminants in the liquid product.

Additionally, as disclosed herein, further treatment of the liquid product obtained from the bitumen feedstock process may take place following the method of the present invention. Such further processing may utilize conditions that are very similar to the initial rapid pyrolysis treatment of the feedstock, or the conditions can be modified to increase the removal of lighter products (a single phase process with a medium cracking) followed by further cracking of the recycled fraction (i.e., a two-stage process). 27

In the first case, the additional processing under similar conditions, the liquid product from a first pyrolytic treatment is recycled back to the pyrolysis reactor in order to further improve the properties of the final product to produce a lighter product. In this arrangement, the liquid product from the first pyrolysis cycle is used as the feedstock for a second pyrolysis cycle, after the lighter fraction of the product has been removed from the product stream. In addition, a recycle compound may also be made where the heavy fraction of the product stream from the first process is fed back into the reactor along with the addition of fresh raw material (for example, Figure 3, below) in more detail). The second method of improving the raw material to obtain liquid products with desired properties involves a two stage pyrolysis process (see Figures 2 and 3). These two-stage processes comprise a first stage in which the feedstock is exposed to moderate cracking conditions of the hydrocarbon components in order to avoid over-cracking and production of excess gas and coke. An example of such conditions include, but is not limited to, injection of the feedstock at about 150 ° C into a hot gas stream comprising the thermal conveyor at the inlet of the reactor. The feedstock is processed with a residence time of less than about one second in the reactor, at less than 500 ° C, for example 300 ° C. The product, comprising lighter materials (low boiling point) is separated (100 and 180, Figure 3), and removed after the first phase of the condensation system (40). The heavier materials 240, spaced outwardly at the bottom of the condenser 40 are collected, subjected to a more severe cracking within the reactor 20, so as to process a liquid product of reduced viscosity and high yield . Conditions used in the second step include, but are not limited to, a processing temperature of 530 ° to 590 ° C. The product of the second step is processed and collected as shown in Figure 1, using a primary and secondary cyclone (100, 180, respectively) and primary and secondary capacitors (40 and 50, respectively).

After the two step process, an example of the product, which should not be considered limiting, of the first step (light boilers) is characterized in a yield of about 30% by volume, an API of about 19 and a reduction of relative to the starting material. The boiler heavy fraction product produced after the processing of the recycle fraction in the second stage is typically characterized by a yield of greater than 75% by volume and an API density of about 12 and a reduced viscosity over the fraction of materials recycled raw materials. The SimDist analysis for the liquid product produced from bitumen feedstock is characterized by approx. 10.6% (wt.%) Of feedstock, which was distilled below 232 ° C (kerosene fraction of 1.0% by volume, for the feedstock), approx. 19.7% from 232 ° to 327 ° C (diesel fraction 8.6% by volume for the raw material) and 19.5% evolved above 538 ° C (residual fraction in vacuum 51.2% in volume, for the raw material, see Example 2 for a full analysis).

Alternative conditions of a two stage process may include a first stage of operation where the feedstock is preheated to 150øC and injected into the reactor and processed at 530øC to 620øC, and with a time of residence time of less than one second inside the reactor (see Figure 2). The product is collected using primary and secondary cyclones (100 and 180, respectively, Figures 2 and 4) and the remainder is transferred to a hot condenser (250). The condensation system (Figure 4) is designed to selectively recover heavy asphaltene components using a hot condenser (250) placed prior to the primary condenser (40). The heavy asphaltenes are collected and returned to the reactor (20) for further processing (i.e., the second stage). The second phase uses reactor conditions that operate at higher temperatures or longer residence times, or at higher temperatures and longer residence times (eg, injection at a lower point in the reactor), than that used in first step to optimize the liquid product. In addition, a portion of the product stream may be recycled to extinction following this method.

However, another modification of the compounds and two-stage processing systems, referred to as " multi-stage " processing, comprises introducing the primary feedstock (untreated feedstock) into the main condenser (see Figure 5) through line 280 and using the main feedstock to quickly cool product vapors into the primary condenser. The product obtained from the condenser of the primary product is then recycled to the reactor via line 270 to be combined with that of the " first phase " and " second phase " (i.e., recycled processing). The recycled feedstock is exposed to conditions that crack the hydrocarbon components on average so as to avoid over-cracking and production of coke and excess gas. An example of such conditions include, but is not limited to, injection of the feedstock at about 150 ° C into a stream of hot gas comprising the thermal conveyor at the inlet of the reactor. The stock 30 is processed with a residence time of less than about two seconds inside the reactor at a temperature between 500 ° C to 600 ° C. Preferably, the residence time is from 0.8 to 1.3 s. And the reactor temperature is 52 ° to 580 ° C. The product, comprising lighter materials (low boiling point) is separated (100 and 180, Figure 5) and removed in the condensation system (40). The heavier materials 240 are separated outwardly at the bottom of the condenser 40, collected and reintroduced into the reactor 20 through line 270. Product gases exiting the primary condenser 40 enter the secondary condenser (50), where a liquid product of reduced viscosity and high yield (300) is collected (see Example% for run analysis using this method). With multi-stage processing, the feedstock is recycled through the reactor so as to produce a product that can be collected from the second condenser, improving and optimizing the properties of the liquid product.

Alternative feed systems can also be used as needed for one, two, or multi-step processing. For example, in the system described in Figure 5, the feedstock (raw or raw feedstock) is obtained from the feed system (10) and is transported within the line 280 which can be heated , as described above) to a primary condenser (40). The primary product obtained from the primary condenser can also be recycled back into the reactor 20 within a primary product recycling line 270. The primary product recycling line may be heated if necessary and may also comprise a preheater unit 290, as shown in Figure 5, to reheat the recycled feedstock to the desired temperature, inside the reactor (20). 31

Subsequently to the recycling process, as described above and shown graphically in Figure 5, the product having a yield of greater than 60, and preferably above 75% (wt%), and having the following characteristics, which are not to be considered as limiting in some way, can be produced from any bitumen feedstock or heavy oils: API 14-19; viscosity of 20 to 100 (cSt at 40 ° C); and a low metal content (see Example 5). The liquid product obtained from multi-step processing of bitumen may be characterized as having at least one of the following properties: having less than 50% of its components at increasing temperatures above 538 ° C (residual fraction in vacuo); • comprising from 60% to 95% of the product below 338 ° C. Preferably, from 60% to 85% during the simulated distillation below 538 ° C (i.e., before residual fraction in vacuo); • have 1.0% to 8% of the liquid product below 193 ° C. Preferably from 1.5% to 7% below 193 ° (i.e., before the naphtha / kerosene fraction); • having from 2% to 6% of the liquid product between 193-232 ° C. Preferably from 2.5% to 5% between 193-232 ° C (diesel fraction); • having from 12% to 25% of the liquid product between 232-327 ° C. Preferably, from 15 to 20% between 232-327 ° C (diesel fraction); • have between 5% and 12% of the liquid product between 327-360 ° C. Preferably, from 6.0 to 10.0% at 327-360øC (VGO light fraction); • having from 40% to 60% of the liquid product between 360-538 ° C. Preferably, 35-50% between 360-538 ° C (VGO heavy fraction);

Collectively these results show that a substantial proportion of the low volatility components in any of the feedstocks were converted into higher volatility components (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that the liquid product is substantially improved and exhibits properties suitable for transport. The present invention will be further illustrated in the following examples. However, it is to be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

Example 1: Heavy Oil (single phase)

Examples relating to heavy oil are not in accordance with the invention. Pyrolytic processing of Saskatchewan heavy oil and Athabasca bitumen (see Table 1) were performed at more than one temperature range using a pyrolysis reactor as described in US 5,792,340.

Table 1: Characteristics of raw materials of bitumen and heavy oil

Compound Heavy Oil1 * Bitumen ** Carbon (wt%) 84.27 83.31 Hydrogen (wt%) 10.51 10.31 Nitrogen (wt%) <0.5 <0.5 Sulfur (wt%) 3, 6 4.8 Ash (wt%) 0.02 0.02 33

Vanadium (ppm) 127 204 Nickel (ppm) NA 82 Water content (% at 0.8 0.19 weight) API gravity 11.08.6 Viscosity at 0 ° C 6343 30380 (cSt) Viscosity at 0 ° C 892, (CSt) Aromaticity (C13 0.31 0.35 1) heavy oil Saskatchewan 2) Athabasca bitumen (pure)

Briefly the processing conditions include a reactor temperature of 500 ° to 620 ° C. The loading rates for the particulate thermal conveyor (silica sand) for the feedstock are between 20: 1 to 30: 1 and residence times of 0.35-0.7s. These conditions are described in more detail below (Table 2).

Table 2: Saskatchewan single-stage heavy-oil processing

Cracking temperature ° C Viscosity at 40 ° C (cSt) Yield% weight Density at 15 ° C g / ml API ° Yield% Vol. 620 4, 61 '71.5 0.977 13.3 72.7 592 15, 21 '74.5 0, 970 14.4 76.2 590 20.2 70.8 0, 975 13, 6 72.1 590 31, 6 75, 80, 977 13, 3 77.1 560 10, 1 '79, 9Z &gt; 0, 963 15.4, 82.3Z &gt; 34

560 10.031.83.03) 0.96366.33) 16.23) 550 20.8 78.5 0.973 14.0 80.3 5504) 15.7 59.82) 0.95616, 5 61.52) 5504 '15.73.03) 0.956 18.32-3 65.13) 530 32.2 80.92) 0.962 15.7 82.82) 530 32.2 83.83) 0, 962 16, 63) 87, 13) 1) Viscosity at 80 ° C 2) Yields do not include top condensation 3) The estimated yields and API with top condensation 4) Not all liquids were captured therein - 1 X-Λ / -VO x-. test. γλλΟο r r r O were analyzed for the content of metals, water and sulfur. These results are presented in Table 3. Nickel, vanadium and water levels were reduced 72, 69 and 87%, respectively, while the sulfur and nitrogen remained the same or were slightly reduced. The metals were not concentrated in the liquid product.

Table 3: Analysis of Metals of liquid products (ppm) X)

Component Heavy oil Saskatchewan Cycle at 620 ° C Cycle at 592 ° C Cycle at 560 ° C Aluminum <1 <1 11 <1 Iron <1 2 4 <1 Nickel 44 10 12 9 Zinc 2 <1 2 1 Calcium 4 2 3 1 Magnesium 3 1 2 <1 Boron 21 42 27 <1 Sodium 6 5 5 4 Silicon 1 10 140 4 Vanadium 127 39 43 39 Potassium 7 7 <1 4 35

Water (% by weight) Sulfur (wt.%) 0.78 0.19 0.06 0.06 0.6 3, 5 3.9 3, 5 tin, chromium, lead, cadmium, titanium, molybdenum, barium and manganese all showed less than 1 ppm in raw materials and liquid products.

The gas yields for the two cycles are shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Pyrolysis cycle gas analysis.

Gas (wt%) Cycle at 620 ° C Cycle at 560 ° C Total gas yield 11.8 7.2 Ethylene 27.0 16.6 Etane 8.2 16.4 Propylene 30.0 15.4 Methane 24.0 21 , The flow point of the improved feedstock was reduced from 32 ° F to about -54 ° F. The Conradson carbon was reduced from 12 wt% to about 6.6 wt%.

Based on the analysis of these cycles, the highest API values and yields of the product were obtained at cracking temperatures of 530-560øC. At these temperatures, API densities of 14 to 18.3, product yields of 80-87% by volume and viscosities of 15 to 35cSt (at 40øC) or about 10øC (at 80øC) were obtained (the cycle yields from 550 ° C are not included in this range, as the net yield capture 36 was not optimized during this cycle). These liquid products reflect a significant degree of improvement and show the qualities suitable for pipeline transport. The simulated distillation analysis of the feedstock and the liquid product obtained from several separate cycles is presented in Table 5. The SimDist analysis followed the protocol described in ASTM D 5307-97, which reports the residue as something with boiling point greater than 538 ° C. Other methods for SimDist, for example HT 750 (NCUT, which includes boiling point distribution up to 750 ° C) may also be used. These results indicate that more than 50% of the components within the feedstock evolve at temperatures above 538 ° C. These are the components of high molecular weight and with low volatility. On the other hand, in the liquid product, the majority of the components, to about 62.1% of the product are the most volatile and evolve below 538 ° C.

Table 5: SimDist analysis of raw material and liquid product after single-phase processing (reactor temperature 538 ° C)

Fraction Temperature (° C) Raw material R245 Light naphtha &lt; 71 0.0 0.5 Light naphtha / med 71-100 0.0 0.3 Naphtha med 100-166 0.0 1.4 Naphtha / kerosene 166- 193 0.1 1.0 Kerosene 193-232 1.0 2, 8 Diesel 232-327 8.7 14.2 Light VGO 327-360 5.2 6, 5 VGO heavy 360-538 33.5 35.2 Residual vacuum &gt; 538 51.5 37.99 The feedstock may further be characterized with approx. 0.1% of its components evolving below 193 ° C (naphtha / kerosene fraction), v. approx. 6% for the liquid product. The diesel fraction also shows significant differences between the raw material and the liquid product with 8.7% and 14.2%, evolving at this temperature range (232-327 ° C), respectively. Collectively, these results show that a substantial proportion of components with low volatility in the feedstock were converted into components of higher volatility (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. The stability of the liquid product was also determined over a period of 30 days (Table 6). No significant change in viscosity, API or density of the liquid product was observed over a period of 30 days.

Table 6: Stability of liquid products after processing with a single stage.

Fraction time = 0 7 days 14 days 30 days Density at 15.6 ° C (g / cm 3) 0.9592 0.9590 0.9597 0.9597 API (API degrees) 15, 9 15, 8 Viscosity D) OOO 79.7 81.2 81.2 83.2 (cSt) 38

Example 2: Bitumen (single phase) Several tests using Athabaska bitumen were conducted using the pyrolysis reactor described in US 5, 792,340. Processing conditions include a reactor temperature of 520 ° to 590 ° C. Charge ratios of the particulate thermal conveyor for the feed are from 20: 1 to 30: 1, and the residence times 0.35-1.2 sec. Such conditions and the resulting liquid products are described in more detail below (Table 7).

Table 7: Single-stage processing with undiluted Athabasca bitumen

Cracking Time Viscosity at 40 ° C (cSt) Yield% by weight Density at 15 ° C Metals V (ppm) * Metals Ni (ppm) ** API 519 ° C 205 81.0 nd nd 13.025 ° C 9 201 74.4 0, 979 88 24 12, 9 528 ° C 278 82.7 nd nd nd 12.645 545 ° C 151 77.4 0, 987 74 27 11.8 590 ° C 25.677, 6 0, 983 na na 12.4 * Raw material V 209 ppm ** Raw material Ni 86 ppm

These results indicate that the undiluted bitumen may be processed according to the method of the present invention to produce a liquid product having a reduced viscosity of greater than 1300cSt (at 40 ° C) at 25.6-200 cSt (at 40 ° C depending on the cycle conditions, see also Tables 8 and 9) in yields of greater than 75% to 85% and an improvement in the API product from 8.6 to about 12-13. Again, as in 39

Example 1, the liquid product does not show substantial improvement of feed load. The SimDist analysis and other properties of the liquid product are presented in Table 8 and the stability studies in Table 9. Table 8: Properties and SimDist analysis. of raw material and liquid product after single-stage processing (reactor temperature 545 ° C). Fraction Temp. (° C) Raw material R239 14 days 30 days Density at 15.5 ° C - 0.9871 0.9876 API - 11.7 11.6 Viscosity at 40 ° C - 162.3 169.4 Light naphtha &lt; , 0 0.2 0.1 Light Naphtha / med 71-100 0.0 0.2 0.2 Naphtha Med 100-166 0.0 1.5 1.4 Naphtha / Kerosene 166-193 0.1 1.0 1.0 Kerosene 193-232 0.9 3.1 3.1 Diesel 232-327 8.6 15.8 14.8 Light VGO 327-360 5.2 7.9 7.6 VGO heavy 360-538 34, 0 43, 9 42.0 Resid. vacuum &gt; 538 51.2 26.4 29.9 9 40

Table 9: Stability of liquid products after single-phase processing (reactor temperature 525 ° C) R232 Fraction Temp. (° C) Raw material Day 0 7 days 14 days 30 days Density at 15.6 ° C * - 1.0095 0.979 0.980 0, 981 0, 981 API - 8.5 12.9 9 12.7 12, 6 12.6 Viscosity at 40 ° C ** - 30380 201.1 213, 9 214.0 218.5 Light naphtha &lt; 71 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Light naphtha / med 71 -100 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Naphtha med 100-166 0.0 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 Naphtha / Kerosene 166-193 0.1 1.0 1 , 1.0 1.0 Kerosene 193-232 1.0 2, 6 2, 6 2, 6 2.7 Diesel 232-327 8.7 14.1 14.1 14.3 14.3 Light VGO 327- 360 5.2 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4 VGO heavy 360-538 33.5 41.3 41.3 41.7 42.1 Resid. vacuum &gt; 538 51.5 32.0 32.0 31.2 30.8 * g. / cmd ** cSt

The slight variations in the values presented in the stability studies (Table 9 and other stability studies described herein) are within the error of the test methods used and are acceptable within the technical area. These results demonstrate that liquid products are stable. 41

These results indicate that more than 50% of the components in the feedstock evolve at temperatures above 538 ° C (residual fraction in vacuo). This fraction is characterized by high molecular weight components with low volatility. On the other hand, in several cycles, the liquid product is characterized as comprising about 68-74% of the product which are more volatile and evolve below 538 ° C. The feedstock can still be characterized with approximately 0.1% of its components evolving below 193 ° C (naphtha / kerosene fraction), v. approx. 2.7-2.9% for the liquid product. The diesel fraction also shows significant differences between the raw material and the liquid product with 8.7% (raw material) and 14.1 to 15.8% (liquid product) evolving in this temperature range (232-327 ° C ). Collectively, these results show that a substantial proportion of components with low volatility in the feedstock were converted into components of higher volatility (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that the liquid product is substantially improved and exhibits properties suitable for transport.

The pyrolysis reactor as described in US 5,792,340 can be configured so that the recovery capacitors direct the liquid products to the reactor feed line (see Figures 3 and 4) .

The processing conditions include a reactor temperature ranging from 530ø to 590øC. The load ratio for the particulate thermal conveyor and for the feedstock for the starting cycle and recycling cycle is about 30: 1 and residence times of 0.35-0.7s were used. These conditions are described in more detail below 42 (Table 10). After pyrolysis of the feedstock, the lighter fraction was removed and collected using a hot condenser placed before the primary condenser (see Figure 4), while the heavier fraction of the liquid product was recycled back into the reactor for later (see also Figure 3). In this arrangement, the recycle stream 260, comprising heavy fractions, was mixed with the new feedstock (270), resulting in a feedstock composite (240), which was then processed using the same conditions, with an initial cycle inside the pyrolysis reactor.

Table 10: Composite / recycled operation using Saskatchewan heavy crude oil and undiluted Athabasca bitumen

Temp. Yield

Matter API Yield

Cracking API ° recycled * raw% Recycled Vol 1 2 3 * ° C% Vol

1

Yield and API density include top (estimated) condensation 2

Not all the liquid was recovered in this cycle 3

These values represent the total recovery of the product after the recycling cycle and presupposes the removal of about 10% of the heavy fraction, which is recycled to extinction. This is, therefore, a conservative estimate of yield, as some of the heavy fractions will produce lighter components entering the product stream, since not all the heavy fractions will end up as coke. The API density increased from 11.0 in the heavy oil feed to 13-18.5 after the first treatment cycle and subsequent increases from 17 to 23 after a second recycling treatment. A similar increase in API is observed for bitumen having an API of about 8.6 in the feedstock, which increases to about 12.4 after the first cycle and to 16 in the cycle of the recycling cycle. With the API increase, there is an associated increase in yield of 77-87% after the first cycle and 67 to 79% following the recycling cycle. Therefore, related to the production of a lighter product, there is a reduction in the liquid yield. However, a lighter improved product may be desirable for transport and recycling of the liquid product achieves such a product.

The heavy oil or bitumen, as a feedstock, can also be processed through a two-stage pyrolytic process, which comprises a first stage, where the feedstock is exposed to conditions of light cracking of the hydrocarbon components in order to avoid over-cracking and excess gas and coke production. Lighter materials are removed after processing in the first cycle and the remaining heavier materials are subjected to a more severe cracking at a higher temperature. Treatment conditions within the first cycle include a reactor temperature varying from 510-530 ° C (data to 515 ° C, given below), while in the second cycle a temperature of 590 ° to 800 ° C ( data to 590 ° C, shown in table 11). The charge ratios for the particulate thermal conveyor at a range of feedstocks of about 30: 1, and residence times of 0.35s to 0.7s, for both phases. These conditions are described in more detail below (Table 11).

Table 11: Saskatchewan Heavy Oil Two-Phase Cycles

Temp. Cracking ° C Viscosity at 80 ° C (cSt) Yield% wt Density at 15 ° C g / mL API ° Yield% Vol1> 515 5.3 29.8, 943 18.6, 31.4, 590, 52.8, 78.0, 990 11.4 78.1 515 &amp; 590 na na na 13, 9 86, 6 &quot; na &quot; means not determined 1) Lightweight condensable materials that were not captured Therefore, these values are conservative estimates.

These results indicate that light initial cracking, which avoids overcoaching of light gas and coke materials, followed by more severe cracking of heavier materials, produces a liquid product characterized by an increase in API while still presenting good yields of products.

Other cycles using a two-stage process involve injecting the feedstock at about 150øC into a hot gas stream maintained at about 515øC and entering the reactor at about 300øC (processing temperature ). The product, which comprises lighter materials (low boiling point) was separated and removed after the first phase of the condensation system. The heavier the materials, separated outwardly in the lower part of the cyclone, were collected under more severe cracking inside the reactor in order to process a liquid product of reduced viscosity and high yield. The conditions used in the second step were a processing temperature comprised between 530 ° to 590 ° C. The product of the second step was processed and collected.

After such a two-stage process, the first stage product (light boilers) is characterized as having a yield of about 30 vol%, an API of about 19 and a reduction in viscosity, relative to the starting material. The high boiling fraction product, produced after the processing of the recycle fraction, in the second step, is typically characterized as having a yield of greater than about 75% by volume, an API density of about 12 and one reduced viscosity relative to the fraction of recycled feedstock.

Example 5: Treatment &quot; Multi-steps &quot; of heavy oil and bitumen using raw material for quenching with a primary condenser. Heavy oil or bitumen as the raw material can also be processed using a &quot; multi-step &quot; pyrolysis process, as described in Figure 5. In this system, the pyrolysis reactor described in US 5,792,340 is configured so that the primary recovery capacitor directs the liquid product into the feed line to the reactor and the feedstock is introduced into the system in the primary condenser where it will cool product vapors produced during pyrolysis.

The processing conditions include a reactor temperature ranging from 530ø to 590øC. The charge ratios of the particulate thermal conveyor to the feedstock in the initial cycle and the recycling cycle is about 20: 1 to 30: 1 and residence times of 0.35-1.2 sec. These conditions are described in more detail below (Table 12). Following pyrolysis of the feedstock, the lighter fraction is conveyed to the secondary condenser, while the heavier fraction of the liquid product obtained from the main condenser is recycled back into the reactor for further processing (Figure 5).

Table 12: Characterization of the liquid product obtained after processing in &quot; Multi-steps &quot; of heavy oil and Saskatchewan bitumen

Temp. Cracking ° C Viscosity at 40 ° C (cSt) Yield% by weight Density at 15.6 ° C g / mL API ° Yield1 *% Heavy oil volume 543 80 62, 6 0.9592 15.9 9.99 58, 9 0.9446 18.2 62.1 561 53 70, 9 0.9568 16.8 8 74.0 bitumen 538 40 61.4 0.9718 14.0 71.1

Liquid products produced from multi-stage processing of the feedstock exhibit suitable transport properties with very low viscosity below 6343cSt (at 40 ° C) for heavy oil and 30380cSt (at 40 ° C) for bitumen . Similarly, the API increased from 11 (heavy oil) to 15.9-18.2, and from 8.6 (bitumen) to 14.7. In addition, the yields for heavy oils under these reaction conditions are 59-68% for heavy oil and 82% for bitumen. 47

Table 13: Properties and SimDist of liquid products prepared from heavy oil using the multi-step process (for the properties of the raw material see Tables 1 and 5). R241 * R242 ** R244 *** Fraction Temp. &lt; ° C) Day 0 Day 30 Day 30 Density at 15.6 ° C - 0.9592 0.9597 0.9465 0.9591 API - 15, 9 15.8 8 17.8 15.9 Viscosity at 40 ° C - 79.7 83.2 25.0 49.1 Light naphtha &lt; 71 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.3 Light naphtha / med 71-100 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 Naphtha med 100-166 0.1 0.4 2.5 1.8 Naphtha / Kerosene 166-193 0.6 0.6 1.8 1.5 Kerosene 193-232 2.8 2.5 5, 3.5 Diesel 232-327 21.8 21.0 23.1 18.9 VGO light 327-360 10.8 10.2 9.9 8.8 VGO heavy 360-538 51.1 45.0 44.9 9.2 Residual vacuum &gt; 538 12.7 20.0 12.3 21.7

* Temp. 543 ° C ** Temp. 557 ° C *** Temp. 561 ° C

Under these running conditions, the API increased from 11 to about 15.9-17.8. Product yields of 62.6 (wt%, R241), 58.9 (wt%, R242) and 70.9 (wt%, R244) were obtained at very low viscosity levels. These liquid products have been substantially improved relative to the feedstock and exhibit suitable properties for transport in conduits.

The SimDist results indicate that more than 50% of the components in the feedstock evolved at temperatures above 488 ° C (residual fraction in vacuum), while the liquid product is characterized as comprising about 78-87% of the product, which are more volatile and evolve below 538 ° C. The feedstock can still be characterized with approx. 0.1% of its components evolving below 193 ° C (naphtha / kerosene fraction), v approx. 1.3-4.8% for the liquid product. The kerosene and diesel fractions also demonstrate significant differences between the feedstock and the liquid product with 1% of the feedstock fraction evolving between 193-232 ° C v. 2.8-5% for the liquid product and 8.7% (raw material) and 18.9-23.1% (liquid product), evolving in this temperature range (232-327 ° C, diesel). Collectively these results show that a substantial proportion of components with low volatility in the feedstock were converted into components of higher volatility (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that the liquid product is substantially improved and exhibits properties suitable for transport. 49

Table 14: Properties and SimDist of liquid products prepared from bitumen followed by two-stage processing (reactor temperature 538 ° C, for raw material properties see Tables 1, 8 and 9).

Fraction Temp. (° C) R243 Density at 15.6 ° C - 0.9737 API - 13.7 Viscosity at 40 ° C - 45.4 Light naphtha &lt; 71 0.3 Light naphtha / med 71-100 0.4 Naphtha med 100-166 3, 6 Naphtha / Kerosene 166-193 1.9 Kerosene 193-232 4.4 Diesel 232-327 19.7 VGO light 327-360 9.1 VGO heavy 360-538 41.1 Resid. vacuum &gt; 538 19.5

Under these performance conditions the API increased from 8.6 to about 14. The product yield of 68.4 (wt%) was obtained together with very low viscosity levels (from 30380cSt at 40øC in the feed, to about 45cSt in the liquid product). Simulated distillation analysis demonstrates that more than 50% of the components within the feedstock evolve to temperatures above 538 ° C (residual fraction in vacuum), while 80.5% of the liquid product evolves below 538 ° C. The feedstock can still be characterized with approx. 0.1% of its components evolving 193 ° C (naphtha / kerosene fraction), v. 6.2% for the liquid product. The oil fraction also shows significant differences between the feed material and liquid product with 8.7% 50 (raw material) and 19.7% (liquid product) evolving in this temperature range (232-327 ° C). Collectively, these results show that a substantial proportion of components with low volatility in the feedstock were converted into components of higher volatility (light naphtha, kerosene and diesel) in the liquid product. These results demonstrate that the liquid product is substantially improved and exhibits properties suitable for transport. The present invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments. However, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of protection of the invention as described herein

Lisbon, September 16, 2013

Claims (10)

A method of producing a liquid product improved from the bitumen for conveying said liquid product improved by conduits to an external site for refining, said method comprising: i) providing silica sand as a carrier thermal treatment in an upflow reactor; ii) introducing said bitumen in a preheated state into said upflow reactor in at least one location above said particulate thermal conveyor, so that the charge ratio of said particulate thermal conveyor to said heavy oil or bitumen is from 10: 1 to 200: 1, wherein said upflow reactor operates at a temperature of from 480 ° C to 620 ° C; iii) allowing said bitumen to interact with said thermal conveyor, with a residence time of less than about 5 seconds and to produce a product stream; iv) separating said product stream from said particulate thermal conveyor; v) regenerating said particulate thermal conveyor; and vi) collecting a gaseous product and said improved liquid product from said product stream, wherein said improved liquid product exhibits an increase in API density, a reduced pour point, a reduced viscosity and a reduction of the level of contaminants relative to said bitumen. The method of claim 1, wherein in said introducing step (step ii) said charge ratio is from 20: 1 to 30: 1. The method of claim 1, wherein said residence time is 0.5 to 2.0 seconds. The method of claim 1, wherein, in said step of allowing (step iii) said product stream of a first cyclode pyrolysis is separated into a lighter fraction and a heavier fraction, said lighter fraction is collected from said product stream and said heavier fraction is recycled back to said upflow reactor for further processing in a second pyrolysis cycle to produce a second product stream. The method of claim 4, wherein said further processing comprises mixing said heavier fraction with said particulate thermal conveyor, wherein said particulate thermal conveyor, of said second pyrolysis is performed at a temperature of about, or above, the temperature which has been used in the treatment of said raw material within said first pyrolysis. The method of claim 5, wherein said heavier fraction is added to the raw raw material before being introduced into said upflow reactor 3 for said second pyrolysis operation. The method of claim 6, wherein in said first pyrolysis step, said bitumen is injected at a temperature of 150 ° C in the upflow reactor, the temperature of said upflow reactor is less than 500 ° C , and the residence time is less than one second, and in said second pyrolysis, the temperature of said upflow reactor is 530 ° C to 590 ° C, and wherein said residence time of said second pyrolysis step is the same as or above the residence time of said first pyrolysis step. The method of claim 4, wherein said particulate thermal conveyor is separated from said second product stream, and a second product is collected from said second product stream. The method of claim 4, wherein said product stream of said first pyrolysis step is treated within a hot condenser prior to the recovery of said light fraction and said heavy fraction. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said residence time is less than 1 second, and wherein said feedstock is obtained from the direct contact between said product stream and a bitumen with a condenser. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising the step of transporting the improved liquid product into conduits to an external location for refining, without the addition of diluents. Lisbon, September 16, 2013