Process for upgrading heavy crude oil production
First Claim
1. A process for upgrading heavy, high viscosity, crude oil produced as a crude oil/water emulsion comprising the steps of:
- adding a sufficient amount of a light hydrocarbon diluent having a boiling point of from about 10°
to about 180°
F. to said crude oil/water emulsion to form a mixture having a viscosity of less than about 50 cp;
heating and pressurizing said mixture to suitable conditions for breaking said crude-oil/water emulsion contained in said mixture by flashing;
breaking the crude oil/water emulsion and forming a vapor effluent and a liquid effluent by flashing said mixture to a sufficiently low pressure to vaporize at least about 5 percent by volume of said mixture;
separating crude oil from said liquid effluent; and
recovering said separated crude oil.
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Abstract
A process for upgrading heavy crude oil production is described which involves adding a diluent, or solvent, which is a light hydrocarbon to reduce the viscosity and specific gravity of the crude oil being processed. After dilution, the emulsions in the crude are broken and the separation of the crude into the components follows, aided by a second injection of diluent. This upgrades the crude and enhances the amount recovered for processing at a refinery. A high asphalt content of a heavy crude can also be tolerated in the practice of this invention resulting in environmentally-benign solids and water exiting a process which due to the modularization of equipment can be practiced at the well-head itself.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A process for upgrading heavy, high viscosity, crude oil produced as a crude oil/water emulsion comprising the steps of:
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adding a sufficient amount of a light hydrocarbon diluent having a boiling point of from about 10°
to about 180°
F. to said crude oil/water emulsion to form a mixture having a viscosity of less than about 50 cp;heating and pressurizing said mixture to suitable conditions for breaking said crude-oil/water emulsion contained in said mixture by flashing; breaking the crude oil/water emulsion and forming a vapor effluent and a liquid effluent by flashing said mixture to a sufficiently low pressure to vaporize at least about 5 percent by volume of said mixture; separating crude oil from said liquid effluent; and recovering said separated crude oil. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A process for upgrading a heavy, high viscosity, crude oil/water emulsion containing water, solids, and impurities comprising heavy metals, asphaltic, asphaltenic and resinous materials, which process comprises the steps of:
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removing gross solids from said crude-oil/water emulsion; adding a light hydrocarbon diluent to the crude oil emulsion to form a mixture containing said crude-oil/water emulsion and said diluent; pressurizing and heating said mixture; flashing said heated mixture under such conditions to vaporize a sufficient amount of said mixture to break the crude oil emulsion and to form a vapor effluent containing said diluent, water, crude oil and some entrained solids and a liquid effluent containing said diluent, water, crude oil and solids; separating said crude oil and asphaltic and alphaltene materials in said liquid effluent from water, solids and impurities, adding additional diluent to the liquid effluent after the flashing step, using 200 to 800 volume percent based on the separated oil content, selecting the diluent from the group of C4 through C7 paraffinic or naphthanic hydrocarbons at a moderate temperature of 60°
to 100°
F. to obtain a continuous single phase oil-diluent solution;gently warming the oil-diluent solution to a temperature within about 5°
F. to about 25°
F. of the critical temperature of the diluent causing a substantial part of the asphaltic or asphaltenic content of the crude oil to precipitate, causing the asphaltic solid or semi-solid material to settle from the lighter oil-diluent solution;separating the diluent from the oil for recycling; and recovering the crude oil product. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification