A method of upgrading a petroleum feedstock, the method comprising the steps of introducing a disulfide oil, a water feed, and a petroleum feedstock to a supercritical water upgrading unit, and operating the supercritical water upgrading unit to produce a product gas stream, a product oil stream, and a used water stream.

Methods are described herein for upgrading ad refining hydrocarbons, and producing at least one petrochemical product, the method including: preparing a reaction mixture by adding at least two of: a quantity of bioethanol, a quantity of hydrocarbon, and a quantity of water to a reactor containment; combining the reaction mixture with a quantity of catalyst in the reactor containment; applying reaction conditions to the reactor containment thereby generating supercritical conditions for the reaction mixture and obtaining a product mixture; and extracting at least one petrochemical product from the product mixture.

The present invention relates to the extraction of gasoline from a gas G, with (a) a step of extracting gasoline from the gas to be treated comprising methanol GM obtained from step (d), (b) a step of separating said fluid GL1 partially condensed in step (a), producing a first aqueous liquid phase A1, a first liquid phase H1 of hydrocarbon(s) a gaseous phase G1 obtained from the gas G; (c) a step of contacting a portion of the gas G to be treated with said first aqueous liquid phase A1, producing a second aqueous liquid phase A2, a gaseous phase of gas to be treated comprising methanol GM′; (d) a step of mixing said gaseous phase of gas to be treated comprising methanol GM′ with the remainder of the gas G to be treated, producing a gas to be treated comprising methanol GM, (e) a step of stabilizing said first liquid phase H1 of hydrocarbon(s).

Embodiments of the disclosure include processes using microwave heating to promote the separation of components of crude oil. In some embodiments, microwave-heated water may be used to heat the interphase between the gas phase and the oil phase of a crude oil stream to promote the separation of sulfur (for example, H.sub.2S) and light end components of the crude oil stream. In some embodiments, microwave-heated water may be used to heat the interphase between the oil phase and the water phase of a crude oil stream to promote the separation of water, salt, or both of the crude oil stream. Systems having a microwave unit to provide microwave-heated water to crude oil stream are also provided.

Integrated gas oil separation plant systems and methods, one system including a crude oil inlet feed stream; a low pressure production trap (LPPT); a low pressure degassing tank (LPDT); a first heat exchanger, where the first heat exchanger is fluidly disposed between the LPPT and LPDT, and is fluidly coupled to both the LPPT and LPDT, and where the first heat exchanger is operable to heat the LPDT inlet feed stream with compressed gas removed from the crude oil inlet feed stream; a first inline gas mixer preceding the LPPT to directly mix compressed gas from the LPDT into the LPPT inlet feed stream; and a LPDT recycle water stream, where the LPDT recycle water stream is operable to supply recycle water from the LPDT to the LPPT inlet feed stream.

A sequential mixer for mixing a heated hydrocarbon stream and a supercritical fluid to produce an intimately mixed stream upstream of a supercritical reactor. The sequential mixer comprising a body having a body length and a body diameter; a hydrocarbon inlet physically connected to the body, having an inlet diameter, the heated hydrocarbon stream is introduced through the hydrocarbon inlet; a mixed stream outlet physically connected to the body and fluidly connected to the supercritical reactor, having an outlet diameter; a traversing axis extending through the center of the body from the hydrocarbon inlet to the mixed stream outlet; and a plurality of fluid ports physically connected to the body, the plurality of fluid ports are arranged in a port alignment arrayed along the traversing axis, each fluid port has a port diameter and a port angle, the supercritical fluid is injected through the plurality of fluid ports.

A method of removing metals and amines from crude oil is provided. The method includes adding an effective metal removing amount of one or more hydroxycarboxylic acids selected from lactic acid and malic acid and salts thereof to the crude oil; adding wash water to the crude oil; mixing the crude oil, acid and wash water to form an emulsion; and resolving the emulsion into an aqueous phase and crude oil having a reduced metals content.

Digestion of cellulosic biomass solids may be complicated by release of lignin therefrom. Methods and systems for processing a reaction product containing lignin-derived products, such as phenolics, can comprise hydrotreating the reaction product to convert the lignin-derived products to desired higher molecular weight compounds. The methods and systems can further include separating the higher molecular weight compounds from unconverted products, such as unconverted phenolics, and recycling the unconverted phenolics for use as at least a portion of the digestion solvent and for further conversion to desired higher molecular weight compounds with additional hydrotreatment. The methods and systems can further include a further hydrotreatment step configured for additional lignin conversion and/or a further hydrotreatment step configured for generating hydrogen.

Digestion of cellulosic biomass solids may be complicated by release of lignin therefrom. Methods and systems for processing a reaction product containing lignin-derived products, such as phenolics, can comprise hydrotreating the reaction product to convert the lignin-derived products to desired higher molecular weight compounds. The methods can further include separating the higher molecular weight compounds from unconverted products, such as unconverted phenolics, and recycling the unconverted phenolics for use as at least a portion of the digestion solvent and for further conversion to desired higher molecular weight compounds with additional hydrotreatment. The methods and systems can further include generating hydrogen with the further hydrotreatment.

Digestion of cellulosic biomass solids may be complicated by release of lignin therefrom. Methods and systems for processing a reaction product containing lignin-derived products, such as phenolics, can comprise hydrotreating the reaction product to convert the lignin-derived products to desired higher molecular weight compounds. The methods can further include separating the higher molecular weight compounds from unconverted products, such as unconverted phenolics, and recycling the unconverted phenolics for use as at least a portion of the digestion solvent and for further conversion to desired higher molecular weight compounds with additional hydrotreatment.