Membrane-based method of washing and deacidification of oils, wherein a stream of oil is conveyed from an oil reservoir along one side of porous hydrophobic membrane, and washing aqueous solution is conveyed along another side of this membrane. The membranes form hollow fibers, and their total surface area and porosity are large enough for efficient removal of fatty acids, water, ions and hydrophilic organic impurities from oil. Membrane pore size is small enough, so that hydrodynamic mixing of oil and aqueous solution does not take place. Additional stabilization of oil/water meniscus in the pores is achieved by transmembrane pressure difference.

Membrane-based method of washing and deacidification of oils, wherein a stream of oil is conveyed from an oil reservoir along one side of porous hydrophobic membrane, and washing aqueous solution is conveyed along another side of this membrane. The membranes form hollow fibers, and their total surface area and porosity are large enough for efficient removal of fatty acids, water, ions and hydrophilic organic impurities from oil. Membrane pore size is small enough, so that hydrodynamic mixing of oil and aqueous solution does not take place. Additional stabilization of oil/water meniscus in the pores is achieved by transmembrane pressure difference.

Disclosed herein are methods for producing hydrocarbons from a subterranean reservoir that is penetrated by an injection well and a production well. The methods comprise operating the injection well under a set of injection parameters and operating the production well under a set of production parameters to produce a production fluid that has an API gravity that changes over time (ΔAPI) as the method is advanced towards an ultimate recovery factor (RF.sub.o,u) for the reservoir. The methods further comprises modulating the injection parameters, the production parameters, or a combination thereof to decrease or increase the API gravity of the production fluid depending on whether ΔAPI and RF.sub.o,u satisfy a set of requirements as disclosed herein.

A method for recovering base oil from waste lubricating oil by separating base oil range constituents from a waste lubricating oil mixture, thereafter separating higher quality base oil constituents and lower quality base oil constituents from the base oil recovered from the waste lubricating oil mixture and thereafter treating the lower quality base oil constituents to produce marketable base oil. The total base oil produced from a waste lubricating oil mixture by this process is greater than the quantity producible by previous processes using only base oil separation from the waste lubricating oil mixture or processes which use only treatment of the base oil recovered from the waste lubricating oil mixture to produce the product base oil.

A process and system for separating butenes and butanes by extractive distillation using a polar solvent is disclosed. The process may include: contacting a hydrocarbon mixture including butanes and butenes with a lean solvent mixture in an extractive distillation column to form an enriched solvent fraction comprising butenes; recovering an overheads fraction comprising butanes and a bottoms fraction from the extractive distillation column; feeding the bottoms fraction to a stripper including a stripping section and a wash section; recovering the lean solvent mixture as a bottoms fraction and a stripper overheads fraction comprising butenes and water from the stripper; condensing the overheads fraction to form a water fraction and a product butenes fraction; feeding water as reflux to a top of the stripper wash section; feeding at least a portion of the condensed water fraction intermediate the top and bottom of the stripper wash section as a second reflux.

A process and system for separating butenes and butanes by extractive distillation using a polar solvent is disclosed. The process may include: contacting a hydrocarbon mixture including butanes and butenes with a lean solvent mixture in an extractive distillation column to form an enriched solvent fraction comprising butenes; recovering an overheads fraction comprising butanes and a bottoms fraction from the extractive distillation column; feeding the bottoms fraction to a stripper including a stripping section and a wash section; recovering the lean solvent mixture as a bottoms fraction and a stripper overheads fraction comprising butenes and water from the stripper; condensing the overheads fraction to form a water fraction and a product butenes fraction; feeding water as reflux to a top of the stripper wash section; feeding at least a portion of the condensed water fraction intermediate the top and bottom of the stripper wash section as a second reflux.

The present invention is directed to modifications of bitumen and heavy oil upgrading and refining processes to synthesize synthetic crude oil and other valuable synthesized hydrocarbon products in an efficient manner along with the production of commercially valuable co-products from by-products formed by the upgrading process.

Provided herein are methods of inhibiting the aggregation of asphaltenes, as well as methods of identifying appropriate aggregation inhibitors for asphaltenes.

System and method for reducing mutagen levels contained within a volume of petroleum aromatic extracts. The petroleum aromatic extracts are mixed with at least one solvent. This produces a mixture. Once mixed, some of the petroleum aromatic extracts dissolve. Others settle in the mixture. The petroleum aromatic extracts that have settled on the mixture are removed from the mixture and are ready for use. The mixture is heated to evaporate the solvent from the mixture. The evaporated solvent can be recaptured and reused. The residuum of the mixture contains petroleum aromatic extracts that can be partially recovered using traditional hydroprocessing techniques.

System and method for reducing mutagen levels contained within a volume of petroleum aromatic extracts. The petroleum aromatic extracts are mixed with at least one solvent. This produces a mixture. Once mixed, some of the petroleum aromatic extracts dissolve. Others settle in the mixture. The petroleum aromatic extracts that have settled on the mixture are removed from the mixture and are ready for use. The mixture is heated to evaporate the solvent from the mixture. The evaporated solvent can be recaptured and reused. The residuum of the mixture contains petroleum aromatic extracts that can be partially recovered using traditional hydroprocessing techniques.