Treated Oils Having Reduced Densities and Viscosities

Abstract

A treated oil, such as a treated heavy oil, which has a viscosity which is lower than the viscosity of the oil prior to the treatment thereof (i.e., the initial oil). The temperature at which 80 mass % of the treated oil has boiled is within 25 C. of temperature at which 80 mass % of the oil prior to the treatment thereof has boiled. Thus, the treated oil and the oil prior to the treatment thereof, have distillation curves or boiling point curves which are the same as or approximate to each other.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A treated heavy crude oil, wherein said heavy crude oil has been treated ex situ, which has a viscosity at 15 C. which is less than the viscosity of said heavy crude oil at 15 C. prior to the treatment thereof, and wherein the temperature at which 80 mass % of the treated heavy crude oil boils is within 25 C. of the temperature at which 80 mass % of the heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof has boiled, wherein said heavy crude oil, prior to the treatment thereof, has an API gravity that does not exceed 22.3.

12. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 11 wherein the temperature at which 80 mass % of the treated heavy crude oil has boiled is within 15 C. of the temperature at which 80 mass % of the heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof has boiled.

13. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 12 wherein the temperature at which 80 mass % of the treated heavy crude oil has boiled is within 10 C. of the temperature at which 80 mass % of the heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof has boiled.

14. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 11 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a viscosity at 15 C. which is at least 85% less than the viscosity of said heavy crude oil at 15 C. prior to the treatment thereof.

15. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 14 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a viscosity at 15 C. which is at least 90% less than the viscosity of said heavy crude oil at 15 C. prior to the treatment thereof.

16. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 15 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a viscosity at 15 C. which is at least 95% less than the viscosity of said heavy crude oil at 15 C. prior to the treatment thereof.

17. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 16 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a viscosity at 15 C. which is at least 97% less than the viscosity of said heavy crude oil at 15 C. prior to the treatment thereof.

18. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 11 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a density which is at least 2% less than the density of said heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof.

19. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 18 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a density which is at least 2.7% less than the density of said heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof.

20. The treated heavy crude oil of claim 19 wherein said treated heavy crude oil has a density which is at least 4% less than the density of said heavy crude oil prior to the treatment thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The invention now will be described with respect to the drawings, wherein:

[0060] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of an apparatus for providing a treated oil in accordance with the present invention;

[0061] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus showing the mixing zone, the cavitation zone, and the expansion zone;

[0062] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the mixing zone showing the conduits which introduce the initial heavy oil and solvent to the mixing chamber; and

[0063] FIG. 4 is a schematic of another embodiment of an apparatus for providing a treated oil in accordance with the present invention; and

[0064] FIG. 5 is a graph showing the distillation curves, or boiling point curves, for an untreated oil, and for treated oils where the viscosities and densities of such oils have been reduced.

[0065] Referring now to the drawings, an apparatus 10 for treating a heavy oil in accordance with the present invention includes a cylindrical mixing chamber 12, a nozzle or capillary 16 in which cavitation occurs, and an expansion chamber 18. The mixing chamber 12 is surrounded by metal jacketing 15, the nozzle or capillary 16 is surrounded by metal jacketing 17, and the expansion chamber 18 is surrounded by metal jacketing 19.

[0066] Metal jacketing 15 includes a recess 21, and metal jacketing 19 includes a recess 22. Recess 21 and recess 22 surround or enclose metal jacketing 17 surrounding nozzle or capillary 16. Metal jacketing 15 and metal jacketing 19 are fastened to each other with fastening means such as bolts, screws, or dowels (not shown), thereby enclosing metal jacketing 17 in recesses 21 and 22, and ensuring that the nozzle or capillary 16 is disposed between mixing chamber 12 and expansion chamber 18.

[0067] The initial preheated heavy oil enters mixing chamber 12 through conduit 11, which terminates in a conical atomization nozzle 13, whereby the initial heavy oil enters the mixing chamber 12 in the form of droplets. The preheated organic material, such as an organic solvent, enters the mixing chamber 12 through conduit 14.

[0068] The preheated organic solvent enters mixing chamber 12 from conduit 14 such that it moves along the cylindrical wall of mixing chamber 12 in a circular or vortexing motion. The droplets of the initial heavy oil, which entered mixing chamber 12 through atomization nozzle 13, contact the organic solvent along the cylindrical wall of the mixing chamber 12, whereby the resulting mixture of the initial heavy oil and organic solvent is passed through mixing chamber 12 as a vortexed mixture of heavy oil and solvent, and into nozzle or capillary 16. As noted hereinabove, the mixture of heavy oil and solvent is passed through nozzle or capillary 16 at a velocity of from about 100 m/sec to about 300 m/sec, and is subjected to a pressure drop of from about 150 psig to about 5,000 psig. As the mixture of heavy oil and solvent passes through nozzle or capillary 16, the heavy oil is subjected to hydrodynamic cavitation as hereinabove described.

[0069] The mixture of heavy oil and solvent then exits the nozzle or capillary 16 and enters expansion chamber 18, wherein cooling of the heavy oil occurs. The resulting treated heavy oil then exits the expansion chamber 18 through pipe 20. The treated heavy oil then is transported to a desired location, and/or subjected to further processing, such as, for example, deasphalting and/or distillation or fractionation.

[0070] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an initial heavy oil in line 101 is passed through pump 102 into line 103. An organic material, such as an organic solvent or diluent, in line 104, is passed through pump 106 into line 114. The organic solvent or diluent in line 114 is mixed with the heavy oil from line 103, and the mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is passed through line 107. The mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is heated by passing the mixture through heat exchanger 108, whereby the mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is heated by passing a heated destructured heavy oil from line 120 through heat exchanger 108, whereby the mixture of untreated heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is heated and the destructured heavy oil is cooled. The heated mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent then is passed through line 109 into heat exchanger 122, whereby the mixture of untreated heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is subjected to further heating. The mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is heated by passing a heated gas, such as, for example, a heated mixture of air and natural gas, through heat exchanger 122, whereby the mixture of untreated heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is subjected to further heating.

[0071] The heated mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent then is passed into line 111, and into static mixer 112. In static mixer 112, the stream of the mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is divided, and the divided streams are forced to opposite outside walls, thereby causing a single direction mixing vortex axial to the center line of the static mixer 112. The mixing vortex then is sheared, and division of the stream of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent re-occurs, with the opposite directional rotation. An example of such a static mixer is a Stratos Tube Mixer, Series 250, sold by Koflo Corporation, of Cary, Ill.

[0072] After the heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent are subjected to mixing in static mixer 112, the mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is passed through line 113 and into the cavitation zone 116, whereby the mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is subjected to cavitation. Cavitation zone 116 includes a cavitation nozzle or capillary (not shown) surrounded by metal jacketing. The mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent is passed through the nozzle or capillary of the cavitation zone 116 at a velocity of from about 100 m/sec to about 300 m/sec, and is subjected to a pressure drop of from about 150 psig to about 5,000 psig. As the mixture of heavy oil and solvent or diluent passes through the nozzle or capillary of the cavitation zone 116, the heavy oil is subjected to hydrodynamic cavitation.

[0073] The mixture of heavy oil and organic solvent or diluent then exits the cavitation zone 116 and enters expansion chamber 118, wherein cooling of the heavy oil occurs. The resulting destructured heavy oil then exits expansion chamber 118 through pipe 120. The destructured heavy oil then enters heat exchanger 108, whereby heat is transferred from the destructured heavy oil to the mixture of untreated heavy oil and solvent or diluent entering heat exchanger 108 from line 107. The cooled destructured heavy oil exits heat exchanger 108 through line 121, and enters air cooler 124, whereby the destructured heavy oil is subjected to further cooling. The heavy oil exits air cooler 124 through line 123, and is subjected to further processing, such as, for example, deasphalting and/or distillation or fractionation.

EXAMPLES

[0074] The invention now will be described with respect to the following examples; however, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

[0075] In the following examples, the oil that was treated was a Lloydminster heavy oil, having an API gravity of 12.0, a specific gravity of 0.986 (density of 0.986 g/cm.sup.3), and a kinematic viscosity of 34,805 cSt at 15 C., of 2,795 cSt at 40 C., and of 636 cSt at 60 C. Prior to treatment, a sample of the heavy oil was tested in accordance with ASTM-D6352 in order to obtain a distillation curve or boiling point curve for the untreated heavy oil. The initial boiling point of the untreated heavy oil was 180.5 C., and the final boiling point was 719.6 C. At the final boiling point, 81% of the total mass of the heavy oil had been recovered, i.e., 81% of the total mass of the heavy oil had boiled at a temperature of 719.6 C. or less. At the final boiling point, 18.9% of the total mass of the heavy oil was residue. The distillation curve or boiling point curve of the untreated oil was obtained by recording the temperatures at which increasing percentages, from 5% up to 81%, of the mass of the untreated heavy oil were recovered. Such percentages and temperatures are given in Table 1 below.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Mass % Recovered C. Initial Boiling Point 0% 180.5 5% 250.2 10% 290.2 15% 320.2 20% 349.1 25% 377.2 30% 405.8 40% 457.5 50% 513.8 60% 580.3 70% 650.7 80% 713.7 81% 719.6 Residue - 18.9%

Example 1

[0076] The Lloydminster heavy oil hereinabove described was heated to 400 C. and pumped through a pipe having a diameter of inch and then through a conical atomization nozzle having a diameter at the tip of 0.03 inch into a mixing chamber having a length of 3 inches and a diameter of 1.5 inches. Pentane solvent was heated to a temperature of 400 C. and pumped through a pipe having a diameter of 0.203 inch into the mixing chamber in an amount of 9 vol. % of the volume of the heavy oil. The heavy oil and pentane were mixed in the mixing chamber for 10 seconds. The mixture of heavy oil and pentane then was passed from the mixing chamber through a cavitation nozzle. The velocity in the nozzle was about 118 m/sec. The cavitation nozzle had a length of 1 inch and a diameter of 0.008 inch. The differential pressure, or pressure drop, across the nozzle was about 410 psig. The mixture of heavy oil and pentane then entered an expansion chamber having a length of 2.25 inches and a diameter of 1.5 inches.

[0077] The resulting treated oil had an API gravity of 18.1, a specific gravity of 0.945 (density of 0.945 g/cm.sup.3), a kinematic viscosity of 710 cSt at 15 C., of 183 cSt at 40 C., and of 67 cSt at 60 C.

[0078] A sample of the treated oil was tested in accordance with ASTM-D6352 in order to obtain a distillation curve or boiling point curve for the treated oil. The initial boiling point of the treated oil was 34.7 C. The lower initial boiling point of the treated oil as compared to the untreated oil is due to the presence of the pentane solvent. The final boiling point was 717.2 C. At the final boiling point, 81% of the total mass of the treated oil had been recovered. At the final boiling point, 18.6% of the total mass of the treated oil was residue. The distillation curve or boiling point curve of the treated oil was obtained by recording the temperatures at which increasing percentages, from 5% up to 81%, of the mass of the treated oil were recovered. Such percentages and temperatures are given in Table 2 below.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Mass % Recovered C. Initial Boiling Point 0% 34.7 5% 80 10% 263.9 15% 301.9 20% 332.3 25% 362.4 30% 392.5 40% 448.3 50% 506.9 60% 576.5 70% 643.9 80% 710.9 81% 717.2 Residue - 18.6%

Example 2

[0079] The Lloydminster heavy oil of Example 1 was treated under the conditions described in Example 1 except that the heavy oil was heated to 380 C., pentane was added to the heavy oil in an amount of 13 vol. % of the volume of heavy oil, and the mixture of heavy oil and pentane was passed through the cavitation nozzle at a velocity in the nozzle of about 120 m/sec and a pressure drop of about 450 psig.

[0080] The resulting treated oil had an API gravity of 20.6, a specific gravity of 0.930 (density of 0.930 g/cm.sup.3), and a kinematic viscosity of 610 cSt at 15 C., of 104 cSt at 40 C., and of 44 cSt at 60 C.

[0081] A sample of the treated oil was tested in accordance with ASTM-D6352 in order to obtain a distillation curve or boiling point curve for the treated oil. The initial boiling point of the treated oil was 34.4 C. The lower initial boiling point of the treated oil as compared with the untreated oil is due to the presence of the pentane solvent. The final boiling point was 717.6 C. At the final boiling point, 81% of the total mass of the treated oil had been recovered, and 17.6% of the total mass of the treated oil was residue. The distillation curve or boiling point curve of the treated oil was obtained by recording the temperatures at which increasing percentages, from 5% to 81%, of the mass of the treated oil were recovered. Such percentages and temperatures are given in Table 3 below.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Mass % Recovered C. Initial Boiling Point 0% 34.4 5% 42.7 10% 248.7 15% 291.4 20% 323.3 25% 354 30% 384.4 40% 441.4 50% 500.2 60% 569 70% 636.6 80% 704.6 81% 717.6 Residue - 17.6%

[0082] The distillation curves, or boiling point curves, for the untreated heavy oil, and the treated oils of Example 1 and 2 are shown graphically in FIG. 5. Allowing for the initial boiling of the pentane solvent, as shown in Tables 1 through 3 and in FIG. 5, the distillation curves, or boiling point curves of the untreated heavy oil, and of the treated oils of Examples 1 and 2 approximate each other, although the treated oils have viscosities which are at least 85% less than those of the untreated oil, and also have lower densities than the untreated oil.

[0083] The disclosure of all patents and publications, including published patent applications, are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each patent and publication were specifically and individually incorporated by reference.

[0084] It is to be understood, however, that the scope of the present invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments described above. The invention may be practiced other than as particularly described and still be within the scope of the accompanying claims.