A process has been developed in which some of the sulfur in a naphtha feed is removed using ionic liquids. The ionic liquid desulfurization step, which operates at low temperatures and pressures, is followed by a catalytic hydrodesulfurizaton step.

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 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.

Techniques for separating a fuel on-board a vehicle include mixing an input fuel stream and a fluid solvent; separating the mixture into a first liquid fuel stream and a second liquid fuel stream, the first liquid fuel stream including a first portion of the input fuel stream defined by a first auto-ignition characteristic value and the fluid solvent, the second liquid fuel stream including a second portion of the input fuel stream defined by a second auto-ignition characteristic value that is different than the first auto-ignition characteristic value; separating the first liquid fuel stream into the fluid solvent and the first portion of the input fuel stream; directing the first portion of the input fuel stream to a first fuel tank on the vehicle; and directing the second portion of the input fuel stream to a second fuel tank on the vehicle.

The invention relates to a class of novel surfactants that have utility in the recovery and/or extraction of oil.

A method for treating liquefied hydrocarbons including acid gases to remove said acid gases while minimizing loss of amine species, said method comprising the steps of contacting the liquefied hydrocarbons with an absorbent aqueous solution of a first amine compound, the first amine compound having the structure: ##STR00001##
wherein R.sub.1 is propane-2,3-diol; R.sub.2 is hydrogen, methyl ethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl, or propane-2,3-diol; and R.sub.3 is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl or propane-2,3-diol.

A method for treating liquefied hydrocarbons including acid gases to remove said acid gases while minimizing loss of amine species, said method comprising the steps of contacting the liquefied hydrocarbons with an absorbent aqueous solution of a first amine compound, the first amine compound having the structure: ##STR00001##
wherein R.sub.1 is propane-2,3-diol; R.sub.2 is hydrogen, methyl ethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl, or propane-2,3-diol; and R.sub.3 is hydrogen, methyl, ethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl or propane-2,3-diol.

A process for removing metals in a petroleum oil material. The process comprises causing the petroleum oil material to react with a removing agent which comprises a phosphoric acid ester. A microwave irradiation environment was created during the reaction to provide the required energy essential for separating such contaminations from the oil chemical network. The process of the invention is applied at ambient pressure and low temperature compared to the conventional metal removal processes. The process of the invention can be readily scaled up and integrated into an industrial facility.

A process for removing metals in a petroleum oil material. The process comprises causing the petroleum oil material to react with a removing agent which comprises a phosphoric acid ester. A microwave irradiation environment was created during the reaction to provide the required energy essential for separating such contaminations from the oil chemical network. The process of the invention is applied at ambient pressure and low temperature compared to the conventional metal removal processes. The process of the invention can be readily scaled up and integrated into an industrial facility.

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