DELAYED COKING PROCESS AND APPARATUS

• US 20090127090A1
• Filed: 11/19/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kazem Ganji
• Original Assignee: Kazem Ganji
• Inventors: Ganji, Kazem
• Granted Patent: US 7,828,959 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 201/31
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 33/00 Discharging devices; Coke guides
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 55/00 Coking mineral oils, bitumen, tar, and the like or mixtures thereof with solid carbonaceous material cracking oils C10G

Abstract

A delayed coking process and apparatus which greatly shorten the required duration of the alternating drum fill and decoking cycles and eliminate the need to perform drum quenching, draining, unheading, hydraulic decoking, reheading, pressure testing, and warming procedures in the decoking cycle. In the inventive system, the decoking cycle preferably comprises simply a steamout stage and a coke product draining procedure. The coke product produced in the coking drums is a hot, solid, flowable material from which heat can be recovered for preheating the coker feed and/or producing steam.

Claims

1. A process for producing a petroleum coke product in a delayed coking system, said delayed coking system including a plurality of coking drums with said process comprising each said coking drum operating in alternating cycles including a fill cycle followed by a second cycle, wherein during said fill cycle a drum feed material is delivered into said coking drum to form said coke product therein and produce a vapor product which is delivered to a product fractionator, and wherein said drum feed material is not delivered into said coking drum when said coking drum is operating in said second cycle, said process further comprising the step in said second cycle of removing from said coking drum said coke product which has been formed in said coking drum without quenching said coke product with water or other quenching liquid in said coking drum and without cutting said coke product in said coking drum such that, when removed from said coking drum in said step of removing said coke product is a flowable material which flows out of said coking drum in solid form.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein each of said fill cycle and said second cycle has a duration of not more than 10 hours.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein each of said fill cycle and said second cycle has a duration in the range of from about 4 to about 8 hours.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein said drum feed material is at a temperature exceeding 935°

F. when delivered into said coking drum in said fill cycle.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said drum feed material is at a temperature of at least 940°

F. when delivered into said coking drum in said fill cycle.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein said drum feed material is at a temperature of at least 950°

F. when delivered into said coking drum in said fill cycle.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein said drum feed material is at a temperature of at least 960°

F. when delivered into said coking drum in said fill cycle.

8. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step in said second cycle, prior to said step of removing, of delivering steam through said coke product which has formed in said coking drum, wherein said steam then flows to said fractionator.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein, in said step of removing, said coke product being removed from said coking drum has mean particle size in the range of from about 50 to about 400 μ

m.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein, in said step of removing, steam, hydrocarbon vapor, or a combination thereof is added to said coking drum as a pressurizing fluid to assist in causing said coke product to flow out of said coking drum.

11. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of heating a coker feed stream by heat exchange with said coke product removed from said coking drum in said step of removing.

12. The process of claim 11 wherein, in said step of heating said coke product is used for heating said coker feed stream by delivering said coke product and said coker feed stream through a heat exchanger.

13. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of producing steam by delivering said coke product removed from said coking drum in said step of removing through a steam generator.

14. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of delivering a coker feed stream to said fractionator and wherein said drum feed material is a bottom liquid product from said fractionator.

15. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step of delivering a coker feed stream to a feed flash vessel and wherein said drum feed material is a liquid product from said feed flash vessel.

16. The process of claim 15 wherein said coker feed stream is a raw crude stream.

17. The process of claim 16 further comprising the step of heating said raw crude stream to a temperature in the range of from about 600 to about 850°

F. for delivery to said feed flash vessel and wherein said feed flash vessel operates at a pressure in the range of from about 10 to about 30 psig.

18. The process of claim 15 further comprising the step of delivering a vapor product from said feed flash vessel to a second fractionator different from said coker fractionator and wherein said vapor product is separated in said second fractionator to produce at least a naphtha product, a kerosene product and a diesel product.

19. An apparatus for delayed coking comprising:

a flash vessel wherein a petroleum feed stream will separate into a flash vapor product stream and a flash liquid product stream;

a fired heater through which said flash liquid product stream will be delivered and heated to a coking temperature;

a plurality of delayed coking drums which will receive said flash liquid product stream at said coking temperature in alternating cycles to produce a coke product and a cracked vapor product; and

a heat exchanger through which said coke product from said delayed coking drums will flow in solid form for recovering heat from said coke product.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said heat exchanger will also receive said petroleum feed stream such that said petroleum feed stream will be heated by said coke product as said petroleum feed stream flows through said heat exchanger.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising another fired heater wherein said petroleum feed stream from said heat exchanger will be further heated prior to being delivered to said flash vessel.

22. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising a flash vapor fractionator which will receive said flash vapor product stream from said flash vessel and will separate said flash vapor product stream into at least a naphtha product, a kerosene product, and a diesel product.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising a coker fractionator, different from said flash vapor fractionator, which will receive said cracked vapor product from said delayed coking drums and will separate said cracked vapor product into at least an overhead gas product, an overhead liquid product, and at least one coker gas oil product.

24. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said heat exchanger is a steam generator.

25. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising a coke product crusher provided on a bottom end of each of said delayed coking drums.