Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

David William Savage

Guido Sartori

Bruce Henry Ballinger

Ramesh Varadaraj

Saul Charles Blum

David Craig Dalrymple

Eugene L Stogryn

Martin Leo Gorbaty

William Edward Wales

Cornelius Hendrick Brons

Bal K Kaul

Trikur Anantharaman Ramanarayanan

David J Martella

Roy L Pruett

Gerald Doyle

Michael Paul Anderson

Joseph T O'Bara

W S Ho

John M Longo

Ramesh R Hemrajani

Edward Kantner

Chin H Chang

J Patrick Dennis

Michael Siskin

Roby Bearden, Jr

Warren A Thaler

Alexis A Oswald

Teh Chung Ho

Walter Weissman

Evelyn N Drake

Pacifico V Manalastas

William Neergaard Olmstead

Richard J Bellows

Rustom Merwan Billimoria

Peter Calcavecchio

Chang J Kim

Robert E Noone

Winston K Robbins

Rutton D Patel

Salvatore Joseph Rossetti

Yen-Chi Pan

Win-Sow Winston Ho

Harold N Weinberg

Michael T Melchior

Robert P Mastondrea

Rustom M Billimoria

Thomas M Pugel

Bellows,Richard J

Gerald D Dupre

Roby Bearden

The present invention relates to a process for desulfurizing bitumen and other heavy oils such as low API gravity, high viscosity crudes, tar sands bitumen, or shale oils with alkali metal compounds under conditions to promote in-situ regeneration of the alkali metal compounds. The present invention employs the use of superheated water and hydrogen under conditions to improve the desulfurization and alkali metal hydroxide regeneration kinetics at sub-critical temperatures.

Process for the desulfurization of heavy oils and bitumens

The invention includes a method for dewatering and/or desalting a water-in-oil emulsion comprising introducing a plurality of streams of the emulsion into the electrostatic field under opposed flow whereby the water coalescence is enhanced. The invention also includes an improved electrostatic apparatus for dewatering and/or desalting a water-in-oil emulsion comprising a plurality of horizontally directed nozzles positioned to introduce a plurality of streams of the emulsion into the electrostatic field under opposed flow conditions.

Oil desalting and dewatering

The invention relates to processes for treating acidic crudes or fractions thereof to reduce or eliminate their acidity and corrosivity by addition of suitable amounts of Group IA or Group IIA oxides, hydroxides and hydrates and Group IIA metal naphthenate salts. The process has the additional benefits of reducing materials handling problems associated with treating acidic crude oils using liquid solvents and in reducing emulsion formation.

Process for decreasing the acid content and corrosivity of crudes

The invention is a method for forming a solid carbonaceous material into a pumpable fluid by combining the solid with an aqueous treatment solution and then subjecting the mixture to shearing forces. The solid carbonaceous material can be deasphalter unit rock (&ldquo;DAU rock&rdquo;), coke, and mixtures of DAU rock and coke. Aqueous treatment solutions contain a water soluble polymer.

Aqueous, pumpable fluids from solid carbonaceous materials

The invention relates to processes for treating acidic crudes or fractions thereof to reduce or eliminate their acidity by addition of effective amounts of crosslinked polymeric amines having a pKa of greater than 9 such as polyvinyl amine and anionic exchange resins having amino groups. The process has utility for crude processing.

Process for extraction of naphthenic acids from crudes

The present invention is a process for decreasing the acidity of a starting acidic crude oil by contacting an acidic crude with an effective excess of ammonia dissolved in said crude to form an ammonia-continuous oil discontinuous phase at a temperature and conditions sufficient to form the corresponding amide of the naphthenic acids. The process is useful in the processing of acidic crudes.

Process for treatment of petroleum acids with ammonia

The present invention relates to a process for reducing the acidity of a petroleum oil containing organic acids comprising treating said petroleum oil containing organic acids with an effective amount of an alcohol at a temperature and under conditions sufficient to form the corresponding ester of said alcohol.

Esterification of acidic crudes

In one embodiment, the invention is related to a process for desalting crude oil that requires less wash water than conventional desalting methods. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a chemical demulsifier formulation comprising an emulsion-breaking chemical and a solvent carrier is added to the crude oil. Wash water is then added to the crude oil until the volume of water in the oil ranges from about 0.1 to about 3 vol. %. Subsequently, the mixture of crude oil, wash water, and chemical demulsifier formulation is subjected to opposed-flow mixing. Chemical emulsion-breakers useful in the invention have a hydrophobic tail group and a hydrophilic head group. Preferably, the emulsion breaker has the formula:

Crude oil desalting method

The invention is a system and a method for bioremediating hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater. The method comprises contacting the hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater with a source of microbial nutrients and then aerating the nutriated water with air or oxygen, the aeration being conducted under substantially bubble-free conditions.

Biowall for groundwater remediation

Method for forming aqueous, pumpable fluids from solid carbonaceous materials

The present invention is a process to remove a &plus;2 ionic charged, organically bound metal from a petroleum feed. The process includes contacting feed with aqueous carbon dioxide in the essential absence for emulsion formation.

Co2 treatment to remove organically bound metal ions from crude

The chemical demulsifier formulation has the formula:

Chemical demulsifier for desalting heavy crude

The invention relates to processes for treating acidic crudes or fractions thereof to reduce or eliminate their acidity by addition of effective amounts of crosslinked polymeric amines. The process has utility for crude processing.

Process for decreased the acidity of crudes using crosslinked polymeric

The instant invention is directed a process for extracting organic acids from a starting crude oil comprising the steps of: (a) treating the starting crude oil containing naphthenic acids with an amount of an alkoxylated amine and water under conditions and for a time and at a temperature sufficient to form a water-in-oil emulsion of amine salt wherein said alkoxylated amine is selected from the group consisting of alkoxylated amines having the following formulae (A) and (B): ##STR1## where m+n=5 to 50 and R=linear or branched alkyl group of C.sub.8 to C.sub.20.

Removal of naphthenic acids in crude oils and distillates

The present invention is a process to remove a +2 ionic charged metal from a petroleum feed. The process includes contacting feed with carbon dioxide at a temperature between 40.degree. C. and 200.degree. C. and autogenous pressure. In a preferred embodiment the metal is a Group II metal. In particular, the metal is calcium.

CO.sub.2 treatment to remove +2 ionic metal from crude

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Lebanon, NJ, United States of America

David William Savage