Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
  • C10G1/00—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal
  • C10G1/02—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal by distillation
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
  • C10G—CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, OR GASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; MINERAL WAXES
  • C10G1/00—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal
  • C10G1/002—Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oil-shale, oil-sand, or non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials, e.g. wood, coal in combination with oil conversion- or refining processes

Definitions

• the present invention is related to a process for "dry" recovery of oil from tar sand (also called oil sands), oil shale and other oil solids mixtures and with simultaneously upgrading of the oil in the same process.
• Tar sand is found in enormous quantities in a number of countries, but the greatest resources are found in Canada and consists of heavy oil and sand in natural resources in different depths. These resources have been subject for intensive research in developing technologies for recovery of the oil from the sand. Thus, a number of different technologies exist.
• Alberta's most important mineral resources are oil and natural gas, and they account for about 90 percent of Alberta's income from mining. Alberta produces approximately two-thirds of Canada's oil and more than three-quarters of its natural gas. Nearly half of Alberta's oil is mined from vast oil sands, which are deposits of a heavy crude oil called bitumen. Alberta's oil sands represent the largest known deposits of bitumen in the world. The oil sands occur in three major areas of the province: the Athabasca River Valley in the northeast, the Peace River area in the north, and the Cold Lake region in east central Alberta. Bitumen is more costly to mine than conventional crude oil, which flows naturally or is pumped from the ground. This is because the thick black oil must be separated from the surrounding sand and water to produce a crude oil that can be further refined.
• the bitumen which contrary to normal crude found in deep reservoir, does not have the same light fractions as these have been evaporated off over thousands of years.
• the bitumen thus consists of heavy molecules with a density of over 1.000 kg/dm 3 (less than 10 API) and a viscosity 1000 times higher than light crude.
• the tar sand contains sulphur over 4 w% and hundreds of ppm with heavy metals.
• the content of organic matter in tar-sand can range from 5 w% up to 20 w% and thus extraction of oil from tar sand involves huge mass transport. Because of the composition of the bitumen, it has to be upgraded into synthetic crude before it can be refined in a refinery for the production of different oil products.
• oil shale is shale containing organic matter known as kerogens which can not be washed or dissolved as for the bitumen in tar sand.
• kerogens organic matter
• oil shale contains a number of unwanted constituents, which causes environmental constrain.
• technologies in recovering oil from tar sand there exist a number of different technologies in recovering oil from oil shale.
• the present invention is related to an energy self sustained process where a number of the obstacles with the existing technologies are solved and which in addition to the oil recovery, upgrades the oil into a lighter product than any other existing technologies, removes sulphur in the order of 40% and heavy metals in the order of 90% and without the use of water as is the case with the dominating processes.
• the process disposes off dry tailings with limited environmental constraints as the inorganic matter (sand) is disposed off in dry condition.
• the process comprises the following components:
• STEAM CONDENSER WITH is a. Circulation pump b. Discharge pump
• the present invention relates to a process for the simultaneous extraction and upgrading 30 of oil from oil sand, oil shale and other particle-oil mixes (e.g. sludge) in one operation, without the use of water or steam.
• oil sand, oil shale and other particle-oil mixes e.g. sludge
• shredded oil sand or oil shale is injected into a vertical REACTOR where it meets a bubbling bed of hot sand.
• a part of the discharged sand can be mixed with the oil sand in order to homogenize and pre-heat the feed.
• the oil is stripped off at a temperature of about 36O 0 C for oil sand and about 450 0 C for oil shale because of the partial pressure conditions in the reactor caused by the composition of the gas injected into the REACTOR'S plenum.
• the sand is conveyed pneumatically into a RISER by the hot gases injected into the REACTOR and the oil-gas generated in the reactor.
• the gasses injected into the REACTOR can be the gasses formed by extraction of the oil and water in the oil sand or any kind of a neutral gas such as nitrogen, argon or helium or steam. These gasses are circulated in the system as described below.
• a portion of the produced oil in the oil condenser can be pumped to a hydraulic atomization nozzle located on the RISER for a second upgrading of the oil.
• the process can operate at a temperature of about 360°C for oil sand and about 450C for oil shale in the reactor. Hence, the process greatly reduces energy requirements, together with the related costs and pollution.
• the stream of oil-gas, steam from original water in the sand and the injected gas into the REACTOR are routed to a CYCLONE where the sand is separated from the stream and discharged to a SOLID GAS HEATER.
• the sand which builds up in the REACTOR is continuously discharged into the SOLED GAS HEATER.
• the gasses are routed to a SAND FILTER which removes sand carried over from the CYCLONE.
• the trapped sand in the SAND FILTER is discharged to the SOLID GAS HEATER.
• the solid-free gases are then transported to a dual condensation system.
• the oil-gas is condensed into liquid oil in the OIL CONDENSER and the steam is condensed into water in the STEAM CONDENSER.
• This dual condensing procedure eliminates the formation of an emulsion, which would have occurred with a single condensation system.
• the produced oil is continuously discharged from the OIL CONDENSER by a discharge pump to the RECEIVING TANK.
• the produced water is continuously discharged from the WATER CONDENSER by a discharge pump to a DECANTER where light oil fractions carried over are pumped off and routed to the RECEIVING TANK.
• the gas is heated to about 250°C and is routed to the SOLID GAS HEATER where it is heated to about 350°C by extracting heat from the sand injected into the heater.
• the gas is routed to a FLUIDIZED SUPER HEATER where the gas is heated to about 600°C and routed to the plenum in the REACTOR where the hot gas is delivering the energy for the extraction of the oil and water from the sand.
• the energy for the FLUIDIZED SUPER HEATER is delivered by combustion of oil and/or gas and oil contained in raw oil sand which is injected into the fluidized bed in the heater.
• the process generates 20-30% less CO 2 than existing oil sand recovery processes.
• the gasses are accelerated and retarded in a riser of varying diameters.
• x s weight part sand (including metals and sulphur)
• example 80% X 0 weight part oil
• example 15% x w weight part water
• FIG. 1 shows a simplified flow diagram of the process according to the invention.
• Figure 2 shows another illustration of the process according to the invention.
• Figure 3 shows an example of a more complete flow diagram of a process designed for both oil sand and oil shale operation.
• Figure 4 shows the test rig used during the testing of the process.
• Figure 5 shows the oil sand, recovered oil and clean sand resulting from the test.
• A) shows the vertical fluidised reactor which has a fluidising mesh B) a portion from the bottom of the vessel.
• the space between the bottom and the fluidised mesh B) is a plenum C) which is receiving the hot gases from the fluidized super heater D) which can be fuelled either by gas and/or recovered oil in addition to the oil in raw oil sand injected into the super heater from a hopper E).
• the hot gasses will heat and fluidise the solids (sand) F) entrained in the reactor A).
• the pressure from the hot gases built up in the reactor will cause the solids and its entrained gases which consists of steam and hydrocarbon gasses, to be pneumatically transported through a riser G) into a reactor cyclone H) which is designed in such a manner that contrary to ordinary cyclones, the solids are spinning several hundred times in the cylindrical part of the cyclone before they falls down the conical part I) and into a solid gas heater J).
• a plate 1 across the reactor a distance from the fluidizing mesh B) and the top of the reactor A).
• the plate will act as a "waterlock” whereby a particle which is injected on the shown right side of the plate, has to move down and under the plate before it enters the entrance of the riser S).
• Oil sand is injected into the reactor A) from a hopper K).
• the same amount of sand injected into the reactor A) and which is not carried over to the cyclone H) has to be drained from the reactor. This is done through the pipe arrangement KK) where the sand is transported to the solid gas heater J).
• the cooled sand from J) is discharged at the bottom through the pipe KKK)
• the gaseous stream is routed to an oil condenser M) which is set to a temperature were the majority of the oil gas is condensed into liquid oil.
• the gas is condensed by the mean of the recovered oil as the oil collected at the bottom of the condenser is pumped by the pump N) through a heat exchanger O) and cooled by water delivered by the pump P).
• the cooled oil is routed to the top of the condenser and condenses the incoming oil gasses. As the level of the oil rises in the condenser, the product is drained off through the pipe Q) by the pump QP).
• the steam is routed to a second condenser R) which is cooled by water injected from the pump P).
• the steam is condensed by means of the condensed steam as the water collected at the bottom of the condenser is pumped by the pump PP) through a heat exchanger WH) and cooled by water delivered by the pump P).
• the cooled water is routed to the top of the condenser and condenses the incoming steam with associated light oil fractions.
• Condensed water is drained off from the condenser through the pipe S) by the pump SP) and is collected in a settling tank T). In the settling tank T), light oil brought over from the steam condenser R) will be decanted off through the pipe U) to a receiver tank V). Water is drained off through the pipe W) to drain.
• Non-condensable matter in the condenser R) is exhausted through the pipe X) either to air or to a gas cleaning system Y) depending on the local emission requirements.
• a portion of the product is returned to the riser G) through the pipe NN) by a high pressure pump LL) to the atomisation nozzle S) attached to the riser G).
• the gas is routed to the solid gas heater J) where the gas is further heated by heat exchanged from the sand collected in J).
• the gas is routed to fluidized super heater D) where the gas is heated to the target temperature by heat exchange from combusted oil and/or gas injected into the heater D) by the pump CC) and the combustion of oil in raw oil sand delivered to the heater D) by the hopper E).
• Spent sand from the super heater D) is routed to the solid gas heater J) via the pipe JJ).
• the hot gas(es) is/are routed to the plenum C) in the reactor A) where it delivers the energy for the process by heat exchange with the injected oil sand from the hopper K).
• the partial pressure in the reactor can be adjusted to the optimal conditions for different feeds.
• One preferred embodiment is to form a part of the riser as a Laval nozzle where the atomisation nozzle(s) S) is (are) located either in the narrowest part of the ejector or where the ejector starts to expand.
• the entire process is a high intensive thermal process with a high energy density because of the velocity of the gas and sand stream. Because of the velocities in the process, the intensive heat exchange between sand and oil and the low partial pressure of the hydrocarbon gasses caused by the composition of the injected hot gases and produced hydrocarbon gases, the process can operate at a temperature in the range of 300 - 500 C. Apart from reduced thermal stress and energy consumption, this low temperature reduces polymerisation of the cracked product.
• Start up of the process is done by the combustors DD) and EE) to heat the entire system to designed process temperature.
• the process is turned into process mode and the combustors are shut off.
• Fig. 3 shows an example of a more complete diagram for a plant designed for both oil sand and oil shale operations with heat recovery and gas cleaning.
• the material is distributed onto the fluidizing bed 7) on the shown left side of the "waterlock” plate 8) whereby the inorganic grains has to move from the surface of the . bed, under the plate and up to the entrance of the riser 9).
• the fluidization gasses in the reactor 5) transport the injected material into the riser 9) and into the reactor cyclone 10) and further on to the sand filer 11) and further on to the oil condenser 12).
• the fluidized superheater 13 Under the reactor 5) (or on its side) is arranged the fluidized superheater 13). To the superheater is attached a combustor 14) for start up.
• the combustor can either be a gas or oil combustor.
• the gases formed in the superheater 13) is transported to the fluidizing mesh 17) on the reactor 5).
• the spent inorganic particles are charged out the superheater 13) into the gas heat exchanger 18).
• the latent heat in the sand in the gas heat exchanger 18) is utilized for steam production for external use, either for production of electricity or other purposes.
• the steam exiting the gas heat exchanger 18) is routed to a steam turbine 19) driving a generator set.
• the exhaust steam from the turbine 19) is routed to a condenser 20) which condenses the steam to water which is pumped back to the gas heat exchanger 18) by the pump 21).
• Makeup water to the boiler in the gas heat exchanger 18) is delivered from the water treatment unit 22) which receives water from cooling water exiting the oil/water heat exchanger 33). Cooling water is also used as condensation medium for the condenser 20.
• the temperature is set at about 95C whereby the oil is condensed and discharged from the condenser 12) by the pump 22) to a holding tank (not shown). A portion of the produced oil is pumped off by the pump 23) to an atomization nozzle 24) on the riser 9).
• the steam and non condensable gasses are routed to the steam condenser 16) where produced water is condensed.
• the produced water is pumped off by the pump 24) to a decanter 25) where decanted oil is pumped to the oil holding tank by the pump 26).
• the oil free produced water is now transported to a concrete mixer 27) where it is mixed with spent sand from the cyclone 28).
• the sand is pneumatically brought to the cyclone 28) by the air compressor 29) at the gas heat exchanger 18).
• the non condensable gasses are routed to an electrostatic precipitator 30) where possible oil aerosols are captured and conveyed to the oil condenser 12).
• the gasses are transported to the gas cleaning unit 31).
• the heat of condensation in the steam condenser is removed by the water/water heat exchanger 32) and the oil/water heat exchanger 33).
• the cooling water to the heat exchangers is delivered by the pump 34).

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=42316643

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (8)

• 2009
  • 2009-01-09 NO NO20090122A patent/NO331801B1/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2010
  • 2010-01-07 WO PCT/NO2010/000007 patent/WO2010080039A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (8)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events