Method for analyzing an unknown material as a blend of known materials calculated so as to match certain analytical data and predicting properties of the unknown based on the calculated blend

• US 20030195708A1
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Original Assignee: ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company (Exxon Mobil Corporation)
• Inventors: Brown, James M.
• Granted Patent: US 6,662,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/22
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/35 using infrared light G01N21/39 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3577 for analysing liquids, e.g. polluted water
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 31/00 Investigating or analysing non-biological materials by the use of the chemical methods specified in the subgroup; Apparatus specially adapted for such methods
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2823 Raw oil, drilling fluid or polyphasic mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: G16C 20/20 Identification of molecular entities, parts thereof or of chemical compositions
• CPC Class Codes: G16C 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

A method for determining a property of an unknown material including the steps of determining the IR spectrum of the unknown material, fitting the IR spectrum to a linear combination of known spectra in a database, wherein a database includes spectra of reference materials whose assay properties are known, and determining the property of the unknown material from the assay properties of the reference materials.

Claims

1. A method for determining an assay property of an unknown material comprising:

a) determining multivariate analytical data of said unknown material,

b) fitting said multivariate analytical data to a linear combination of known multivariate analytical data in a database to determine the coefficients of the linear combination, wherein said database includes multivariate analytical data of reference materials whose assay properties are known, and

(c) determining said assay property of said unknown material from the coefficients and assay properties of said reference materials.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of eliminating signals from the multivariate analytical data of said unknown material and said reference materials that are not related to the molecular constituents of the materials.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of augmenting said multivariate analytical data with inspection data to form augmented data such that said augmented data of the unknown material is fit as a linear combination of multivariate analytical data augmented with inspection data of the known reference materials.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of eliminating signals from the multivariate analytical data that are not related to the molecular constituents of the material, and augmenting said multivariate analytical data with inspection data to form augmented data such that said augmented data of the unknown material is fit to a linear combination of multivariate analytical data augmented with inspection data of the known reference materials.

5. The methods of claim 2 and 4, wherein said step of eliminating signals is performed by orthogonalizing the multivariate analytical data of the reference and unknown materials to example data of the signals to be eliminated.

6. The method of claims 1-5 wherein the fit is determined using a non-negative least squares algorithm.

7. The method of claims 1-6 wherein said multivariate analytical data is a spectrum.

8. The method of claims 1-6, wherein said spectrum is an IR spectrum.

9. The method of claims 1-6, wherein said multivariate analytical data is a chromatogram.

10. The method of claims 4 and 5 wherein said inspection data is in volumetrically blendable form.

11. The method of claim 4 and 5 wherein said inspection data is API or specific gravity.

12. The method of claims 4 and 5 wherein said inspection data is viscosity.

13. The method of claims 4 and 5 wherein said inspection data is API or specific gravity and viscosity.

14. The method of claims 1-6, wherein said assay properties are chemical, physical and performance properties of the material or subfractions thereof.

15. The method claim 14 wherein said unknown material is crude oil and said assay property is any physical, chemical or performance property of the whole crude or any distillation cut thereof.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said assay property is a physical property.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said physical property is distillation yields.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said physical property is a cold flow property.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said cold flow property is freeze point.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein said cold flow property is cloud point.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein said cold flow property is pour point.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein said assay property is a chemical property.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said chemical property is elemental composition.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said elemental composition is sulfur content.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein said elemental composition is nitrogen content.

26. The met method of claim 22 wherein said chemical property is molecular composition.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein said molecular composition is saturates content.

28. The method of claim 26 wherein said molecular composition is aromatics content.

29. The method of claim 26 wherein said molecular composition is aromatic ring distribution.

30. The method of claim 15 wherein said assay property is a performance property.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein said performance property is octane number.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein said performance property is cetane number.

33. The method of claim 15 wherein said property is a whole crude property.

34. The method of claim 15 wherein said property is a distributed property.

35. The method claim 14 wherein said unknown material is a feed to a process unit and said assay property is any physical, chemical or performance property of the feed or any subfraction thereof.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein said assay property is a physical property.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein said physical property is distillation yield.

38. The method of claim 35 wherein said assay property is a chemical property.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein said chemical property is elemental composition.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein said elemental composition is sulfur content.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein said elemental composition is nitrogen content.

42. The method of claim 39 wherein said elemental composition is aromatic carbon content.

43. The method of claim 38 wherein said chemical property is molecular composition.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein said molecular composition is saturates content.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein said molecular composition is a function of boiling point.

46. The method of claim 43 wherein said molecular composition is paraffins content.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein said molecular composition is a function of boiling point.

48. The method of claim 43 wherein said molecular composition is naphthenes content.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein said molecular composition is a function of boiling point.

50. The method of claim 43 wherein said molecular composition is aromatics content.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein said molecular composition is a function of boiling point.

52. The method of claim 43 wherein said molecular composition is aromatic ring distribution.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein said molecular composition is a function of boiling point.

54. The method of claim 35 wherein said process unit is a catalytic cracking unit.

55. The method of claim 35 wherein said process unit is a lube extraction unit.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein said material is a waxy distillate feed.

57. The method of claim 55 wherein said subfraction is the raffinate produced by extraction.

58. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is the raffinate yield.

59. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is raffinate viscosity.

60. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is raffinate viscosity index.

61. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is raffinate saturates content.

62. The method of claim 55 wherein said subfraction is the dewaxed raffinate produced by extraction and dewaxing.

63. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is the dewaxed raffinate yield.

64. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is dewaxed raffinate viscosity.

65. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is dewaxed raffinate viscosity index.

66. The method of claim 55 wherein said assay property is dewaxed raffinate saturates content.