Lubricant property determination

• US 5,740,073 A
• Filed: 06/06/1995
• Issued: 04/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eutech Engineering Solutions Ltd. (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: BP Chemicals Ltd. (BP PLC), BP Oil International Limited (BP PLC)
• Inventors: Lambert, Didier, Llinas, Jean-Richard, Martens, Andre, Bages, Sylvie, Descales, Bernard
• Primary Examiner(s): Voeltz, Emanuel T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US08/465,920
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 364/496, 364/497, 364/498, 364/499, 364/500, 364/571.01, 364/578, 250/343, 250/339, 585/501, 585/613
• US Class Current: 702/30
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/3577 for analysing liquids, e.g. polluted water
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/359 using near infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2829 mixtures of fuels, e.g. determining the RON-number

Abstract

A method of determining or predicting a value P_x of a property of a material X, which is a feed to a process or a property of a product of a process from said material or yield of said process, which method comprises measuring the absorption D_i x of said material at more than one wavelength in the region 600-2600 nm, comparing the said absorptions or a derivative thereof with absorptions D_i m or derivatives thereof at the same wavelength for a number of standards S in a bank for which said property or yield P is known, and choosing from the bank at least one standard S_m with property P_m said standard having the smallest average value of the absolute difference at each wavelength i between the absorption D_i x (or derivative thereof) for the material and the absorption D_i m (or derivative thereof) for the standard S_m to obtain P_x, with averaging of said properties or yields P_m when more than one standard S_m is chosen, and wherein said material X is a composition comprising part of a lubricating oil fraction obtainable from a vacuum distillation of oil.

Claims

1. A method of determining or predicting a value P_x of a property of a material X or a property of a product of a process from said material or yield of said process, which method comprises measuring the absorption of said material D_ix at more than one wavelength in the region 600-2600 nm, comparing the said absorptions or a derivative thereof with absorptions D_im or derivatives thereof at the same wavelengths for a number of standards S in a bank for which the said property is known, and choosing from the bank at least one standard S_m with properties P_m having the smallest average value of the absolute difference at each wavelength i between the absorption D_i x (or derivative thereof) for the material and the absorption D_i m (or derivative thereof) for the standard S_m to obtain P_x, with averaging of said properties or yields P_m, when more than one standard S_m is chosen and wherein said material X is a composition comprising part of a lubricating oil fraction obtainable from a distillation of oil.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

/Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, (d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property.

3. A method according to of claim 2 wherein properties of standards and spectra for consideration for possible choice are estimated by interpolation from measured properties of Standards and spectra for which the proximity index with respect to the unknown X is not more than 10 times the Minimal Index.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the properties of synthetic standards, which are mixtures, and their spectra for consideration for possible choice for S_m are estimated from existing standards in the bank for which, in respect of each existing standard for use in said mixture equation (4) and (5) are

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein at least one of (i) the estimated Standards and the corresponding spectra, and (ii) the property P_x of the unknown material and its spectrum, are added the bank.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property of material X.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property or yield of a product of a process to which at least one material X is a feed.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein said material comprises at least one of a lube base oil, bright stock, process oil, wax and paraffin.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the property is of the material, which is (i) a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity Index, Flash Point, Pour Point, and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, (ii) a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content or (iii) a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

10. A method according to claim 1 which is computer implemented.

11. Apparatus suitable for use in the method of claim 1 which comprise an NTR spectrometer receiving at least one signal from a food or product line in said process and being coupled to a computer to effect continuous measurement of the spectra of the feed and/or product and provide feed back control of the process.

12. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property and wherein the property is a physiochemical property of material x.

13. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, (d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property and wherein the property is a physicochemical property or yield of a product of a process to which at least one material x is a feed.

14. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property and wherein said material comprises at least one of a lube base oil, bright stock, proceco oil, wax and paraffin.

15. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, (d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property and wherein the property is of the material, which is (i) a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity Index, Plash Point, Pour Point, and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, (ii) a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content or (iii) a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

16. The method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property of material x and wherein said material comprises at least one of lube base oil, bright stock, proceco oil, wax and paraffin.

17. The method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property of material x and wherein the property is of the material, which is (i) a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity Index, Flash Point, Pour Point, and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, (ii) a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content or (iii) a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

18. The method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property or yield of a product of a process to which at least one material x is a feed and wherein said material comprises at least one of lube base oil, bright stock, proceco oil, wax and paraffin.

19. The method according to claim 1 wherein the property is a physicochemical property or yield of a product of a process to which at least one material x is a feed and wherein the property is of the material, which is (i) a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity index, Flash Point, Pour Point, and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, (ii) a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content or (iii) a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

20. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of i² (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, (d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property, wherein the property is a physicochemical property of material x and wherein said material comprises at least one of lube base oil, bright stock, proceco oil, wax and paraffin.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the property is of the material which is a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity Index, Flash Point, Pour Point and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

22. The method according to claim 20 wherein the property is of the material which is a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content.

23. The method according to claim 20 wherein the property is of the material which is a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

24. A method according to claim 1 wherein a proximity index is defined by i² (xm)=Σ

(Dix-Dim)² and is less than the minimal index i_m which has been determined from the standards Sa, Sb, Sc . . . by (a) calculating for each pair of standards Sa/Sb, Sa/Sc the value of (a,b) etc, (b) relating the values of i² (a,b) etc to the corresponding differences EP (ab) in properties Pa, Pb etc (c) calculating for each value L for which i² (ab) is ≦

L, the average of the corresponding differences EPab, (d) calculating Minimal index from the value of minimal index i² (ab) where average EPab is the same as reproducibility standard for the property, wherein the property is a physicochemical property or yield of a product of a process to which at least one material x is a feed and wherein said material comprises at least one of lube base oil, bright stock, proceco oil, wax and paraffin.

25. The method according to claim 24 wherein the property is of the material which is a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity, Viscosity Index, Flash Point, Pour Point and the content of sulphur, nitrogen base, aromatic carbon and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

26. The method according to claim 24 wherein the property is of the material which is a wax or paraffin or mixture thereof with a base oil and the property is at least one of the density, viscosity and base oil content.

27. The method according to claim 24 wherein the property is of the material which is a process oil and the property is at least one of the density, clear point, viscosity and content of sulphur or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

28. A computer to perform the method of determining or predicting a value P_x which is a value of a property of a material X or a property of a product of a process from said material or yield of said process, which method comprises measuring the absorption D_ix of said material at more than one wavelength in the region 600-2600 nm, comparing the said absorptions or a derivative thereof with absorptions D_im or derivatives thereof at the same wavelength for a number of standards S in a bank for which the said property of yield P is known, and choosing from the bank at least one standard S_m with property P_m said standard having the smallest average value of the absolute difference at each wavelength i between the absorption D_i x (or derivative thereof) for the material and the absorption D_i m (or derivative thereof) for the standard S_m to obtain P_x, with averaging of said properties or yields P_m when more than one standard S_m is chosen wherein said material X is a composition comprising part of a lubricating oil fraction obtainable from a distillation of oil.