Process and apparatus to produce synthetic crude oil from tar sands
First Claim
1. An apparatus for processing bitumen-bearing tar sands for the recovery of bitumen therefrom comprising:
- means for maintaining a first fluidized bed for the bitumen-bearing tar sands, the first fluidized bed serving as a pyrolysis zone for bitumen of the bitumen-bearing tar sands, the pyrolysis zone cracking a substantial portion of the bitumen and thereby volatilizing the same while leaving a carbon residue in the form of coke on the tar sands;
means for introducing a comminuted, bitumen-bearing tar sand into the first fluidized bed;
means for introducing coked tar sands from the first fluidized bed into a second fluidized bed;
means for maintaining the second fluidized bed for the coked tar sands from the first fluidized bed, the second fluidized bed serving as a combustion zone for the coke on the coked tar sands to thereby develop thermal energy in the second fluidized bed; and
heat transfer means comprising heat pipe means for conducting the thermal energy from the second fluidized bed to the first fluidized bed.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process and apparatus for producing synthetic crude oil from bitumen-bearing sands. The apparatus includes a vessel segregated into a pyrolysis zone and a combustion zone, each zone being in the form of a fluidized bed reactor. At least one heat pipe is provided for transferring thermal energy from the combustion zone to the pyrolysis zone where the thermal energy is used to pyrolyze the bitumen. The apparatus may also include additional heat exchange equipment for heating the incoming combustion air for the combustion zone. The combustion air serves as the fluidizing medium for the fluidized bed reactor of the combustion zone while flue gases from the combustion zone serve as the fluidizing medium for the fluidized bed reactor of the pyrolysis zone.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for processing bitumen-bearing tar sands for the recovery of bitumen therefrom comprising:
-
means for maintaining a first fluidized bed for the bitumen-bearing tar sands, the first fluidized bed serving as a pyrolysis zone for bitumen of the bitumen-bearing tar sands, the pyrolysis zone cracking a substantial portion of the bitumen and thereby volatilizing the same while leaving a carbon residue in the form of coke on the tar sands; means for introducing a comminuted, bitumen-bearing tar sand into the first fluidized bed; means for introducing coked tar sands from the first fluidized bed into a second fluidized bed; means for maintaining the second fluidized bed for the coked tar sands from the first fluidized bed, the second fluidized bed serving as a combustion zone for the coke on the coked tar sands to thereby develop thermal energy in the second fluidized bed; and heat transfer means comprising heat pipe means for conducting the thermal energy from the second fluidized bed to the first fluidized bed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. An apparatus for processing bitumen-bearing tar sands comprising:
-
a vessel; a first distributor plate in the vessel, the distributor plate defining a pyrolysis zone for bitumen-bearing tar sand; means for introducing comminuted tar sand into the pyrolysis zone; a second distributor plate in the vessel, the distributor plate defining a combustion zone for coked tar sand obtained from the pyrolysis zone; delivery means for delivering coked tar sand from the pyrolysis zone to the combustion zone; air inlet means for introducing air into the combustion zone, the air supporting combustion of coke on the coked tar sands to produce thermal energy; heat transfer means comprising heat pipe means, a first end of the heat pipe means being embedded in the combustion zone and a second end of the heat pipe means being embedded in the pyrolysis zone for conducting thermal energy from the combustion zone to the pyrolysis zone in the vessel; and removal means for removing burnt sand from the combustion zone. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An apparatus for processing tar sands comprising:
-
a vertically oriented vessel; a pyrolysis zone in the vessel adjacent the upper end of the vessel; a combustion zone in the vessel below and spaced from the pyrolysis zone; inlet means for introducing comminuted tar sands into the pyrolysis zone, the tar sand being pyrolyzed to release bitumen from the tar sands while forming coked sand by leaving a coke residue on the sand; delivery means for depositing the coked sand from the pyrolysis zone into the combustion zone to accommodate the coke being burned therein to form thermal energy; heat transfer means between the combustion zone and the pyrolysis zone to transfer that portion of the thermal energy not contained in gases leaving the combustion zone to the pyrolysis zone said heat transfer means comprising a heat pipe means, a first end of the heat pipe means in thermal contact with the combustion zone and a second end of the heat pipe means in thermal contact with the pyrolysis zone; and settling zones above each of the pyrolysis zone and the combustion zone, each settling zone comprising a diametral enlargement of the vessel, the diametral enlargement reducing the velocity of upwardly flowing gases thereby allowing suspended particulate materials to settle from the gases. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A process for recovering bitumen products from bitumen-bearing tar sands comprising:
-
introducing a comminuted tar sand into a first fluidized bed reactor, the first fluidized bed reactor pyrolyzing the bitumen to volatilize the same while leaving a coked sand comprising coke residue on the sand particles from the tar sand; directing the coked sand from the first fluidized bed reactor into a second fluidized bed reactor, the second fluidized bed reactor combusting the coke to produce thermal energy and a flue gas along with a burnt sand comprising sand particles which are substantially free of coke residue, the flue gas being particularly characterized by the substantial lack of oxygen therein; fluidizing the second fluidized bed reactor with combustion air having oxygen therein, the oxygen supporting combustion of the coke in the second fluidized bed reactor; fluidizing the first fluidized bed reactor with said flue gases from the second fluidized bed reactor; and transferring said thermal energy, other than that portion of the energy that is contained in the flue gases, from the second fluidized bed reactor to the first fluidized bed reactor by embedding a first end of a heat pipe means in the second fluidized bed reactor and a second end of a heat pipe means in the first fluidized bed reactor, the heat pipe means transferring a substantial portion of said thermal energy from the second fluidized bed reactor to the first fluidized bed reactor, said thermal energy pyrolyzing said bitumen. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
-
-
19. A single-pass process for producing synthetic cruce oil from tar sand comprising:
-
vertically orienting an enclosed vessel; segregating the vessel into an upper, pyrolysis zone and a lower, combustion zone; introducing a comminuted tar sand into the pyrolysis zone thereby producing vapors of synthetic crude oil and a coked sand comprising a coke residue on particles of sand from the tar sand; feeding coked sand downwardly under the force of gravity from the pyrolysis zone to the combustion zone; generating thermal energy in the combustion zone by burning the coke residue on the coked sand while producing flue gases and burnt sand; removing burnt sand downwardly from the combustion zone under the force of gravity; injecting combustion air into the vessel below the combustion zone, the combustion air absorbing thermal energy from the burnt sand and fluidizing at least a portion of the coked sand in the combustion zone while supporting combustion of the coke residue, the combustion air becoming flue gases in combination with gaseous combustion products from the combustion zone; fluidizing at least a portion of the comminuted tar sand in the pyrolysis zone with the flue gases from the combustion zone, the flue gases commingling with and carrying away the vapors of synthetic crude oil from the pyrolysis zone; removing the commingled flue gases and vapors of synthetic crude oil from the upper end of the vessel; withdrawing the burnt sand from the lower end of the vessel; and transferring a substantial portion of the thermal energy not contained in the flue gases but generated in the combustion zone from the combustion zone to the pyrolysis zone by embedding a first end of a heat pipe means in the combustion zone and a second end of the heat pipe means in the pyrolysis zone, the thermal energy pyrolyzing the tar sand thereby producing vapors of synthetic crude oil.
-
Specification