Marathon Oil Company

Mark A Plummer

Donald E Schroeder, Jr

Carle C Zimmerman, Jr

Wayne O Roszelle

Wayne E Luetzelschwab

Stanley C Jones

Phillip M Beazley

James E Tackett

Henry J Pietrzak

Kent W Robinson

Richard F Bonelli, Jr

Robert C Bugle

John R Coleman, Jr

A process for removing sulfur from a hydrocarbon employs a solid membrane. A feed stream is provided containing a feed liquid hydrocarbon and a feed sulfur species and a sweep stream is provided containing a sweep liquid hydrocarbon. A relatively large quantity of the feed stream is conveyed past one side of the solid membrane, while a relatively small quantity of the sweep stream is conveyed past the opposite side of the solid membrane. The feed sulfur species is transported in a permeate from the feed stream through the solid membrane to the sweep stream. As a result, the feed stream is converted to a relatively large quantity of a substantially sulfur-free reject stream containing a primary hydrocarbon product, while the sweep stream combines with the permeate to produce a relatively small quantity of a sulfur-enriched stream, which is amenable to further processing.

Removal of sulfur from a hydrocarbon through a selective membrane

Adverse effects of asphaltenes in liquid hydrocarbons are reduced by incorporating into the liquid hydrocarbon sufficient concentration, e.g., about 0.5 to 5 weight % of a dispersant to disassemble or break up agglomerates of the asphaltenes. The dispersant has a polarity of about 0.3 to about 3.2 Debye Units and is preferably selected from the group of toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene, tetralin, furan, phenol, ethyl benzoate, butraldehyde, acetophenone and cyclohexanone.

Viscosity reduction of crude oils and residuums

Recovery of an insoluble polymeric sulfur species from the reaction solution of a hydrogen sulfide conversion process is enhanced by adding a sulfur debonding agent to the hydrogen sulfide conversion reaction solution either at the outset of the process or after conversion of the hydrogen sulfide. Conversion of the hydrogen sulfide initially produces a soluble complex having the polymeric sulfur bound therein. The sulfur debonding agent breaks the soluble complex to produce a free insoluble polymeric species readily separable from the reaction solution by conventional physical means to obtain the desired sulfur product.

Sulfur debonding agent enhancing sulfur recovery from a hydrogen sulfide

A process for converting hydrogen sulfide which is contained in a gaseous feed stream to elemental sulfur and hydrogen. The process comprises contacting said gaseous feed stream with a polar organic solvent having an anthraquinone, and optionally a complexing agent, dissolved therein, reacting the hydrogen sulfide gas and anthraquinone to produce sulfur and an anthrahydroquinone in the solvent, and catalytically dehydrogenating the anthrahyroquinone to anthraquinone and hydrogen. In accordance with the present invention, a relatively small quantity of water is added to a polar organic solvent thereby increasing the elemental sulfur which is precipitated and thus recovered. The addition of water prior to or during sulfur production also increases hydrogen product selectivity in the subsequent dehydrogenation of anthrahydroquinone.

Process for recovering sulfur and hydrogen from hydrogen sulfide

The invention relates to a process for converting hydrogen sulfide to sulfur and hydrogen. The hydrogen sulfide gas is contacted with a quinone in an aqueous solvent containing a sulfur complexing agent to yield sulfur and the corresponding hydroquinone. The hydroquinone is converted back to quinone and hydrogen. The quinone is recycled and the hydrogen gas and sulfur is collected. The invention also discloses a range of ratios of complexing agent to quinone which produces an unexpected yield for the disclosed reaction.

Conversion of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur and hydrogen

Asphalt used for road paving containing catalytic cracking catalyst particles which have been burned to remove hydrocarbons deposited thereon during a petroleum catalytic cracking process. The catalyst particles may be present in the asphalt in amounts of from 0.1% to 5.0% by weight of the asphalt, but more preferably from 0.2% to 2.0% by weight of the asphalt. The particles, which are comprised of crystalline and amorphous silica and alumina and silica-alumina combinations, function to prevent oxidative condensation of the asphalt, thus preventing hardening of the asphalt.

Road asphalt composition

Plugging in fluid passageways of a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation or associated production wells caused by the accumulation of insoluble salt precipitates therein which results from an in situ interaction between precipitate precursor ions in an injection water and resident ions already occurring in the formation is prevented by removing the precursor ions from the injection water by a reverse osmosis membrane before injecting the water into the formation.

Preventing plugging by insoluble salts in a hydrocarbon-bearing

A process for solubilizing asphaltic precipitates when extracting water from a hydrocarbon stream with a glycol-water stream by adding a solvent comprised of a bulk aromatic hydrocarbon and an oil-soluble alcohol dispersant to the hydrocarbon stream.

Water extraction from hydrocarbons in the presence of asphaltic

A process for reducing the molecular weight of hydrocarbons using NaAlCl.sub.4 is provided wherein the hydrogen to carbon ratio of the liquid product slate is approximately the same as the feed material. The process comprises contacting the feed material with a molten salt of NaAlCl.sub.4 having substantially no excess aluminum chloride or sodium chloride, preferably at a temperature of at least 660.degree. F., and at a pressure above atmospheric, preferably from about 50 psia to about 2000 psia, depending upon the product slate desired. According to the present invention, heavy hydrocarbons are converted to a liquid product slate wherein the product slate has an average molecular weight substantially lower than the average molecular weight of the hydrocarbon feedstock.

Sodium tetrachloroaluminate catalyzed process for the molecular weight

Petroleum sulfonates are obtained by continuously contacting whole crude oil or topped crude oil with gaseous sulfur trioxide (contains as a diluent sulfur dioxide and light hydrocarbon vapor) in a reaction zone operated at a temperature of 120.degree.-250.degree. F. and a pressure of 3-50 psia. The reaction product is then passed to a vapor-liquid separating stage where a vapor stream is separated and a portion of it is recycled back to the reaction zone; a liquid stream is separated from the separating stage and a portion of it is recycled back to the reaction zone. The remaining portion of the liquid stream is neutralized with a monovalent inorganic base to obtain the petroleum sulfonate. The petroleum sulfonates are particularly useful to recover crude oil from subterranean reservoirs.

Sulfonation of crude oils with gaseous SO.sub.3 to produce petroleum

A hydrogen sulfide gas is converted to sulfur and hydrogen gas by reacting the hydrogen sulfide and with an anthraquinone dissolved in a polar hydrocarbon solvent. The hydrogen sulfide reacts with the anthraquinone to produce sulfur and an anthrahydroquinone. Sulfur is then removed from the solvent. The anthraquinone is regenerated from the anthrahydroquinone yielding hydrogen gas. The anthraquinone is recycled with the solvent to the reaction.

A sour liquid hydrocarbon feedstock is desulfurized upon contact with a hydrogen gas in the presence of a catalyst to obtain a low sulfur product and a hydrogen sulfide gas by-product. The hydrogen sulfide gas is treated with an anthraquinone which is dissolved in a solvent having a polarity which is greater than 3 Debye units, to produce sulfur and oxygen. The oxygen is used to oxidize a hydrocarbon fuel and produce the hydrogen gas used in the initial desulfurization step.

Hydrocarbon desulfurization process

A process for producing lower molecular weight products from higher molecular weight hydrocarbon liquid feedstock components is provided wherein the feedstock is contacted with an optimum catalyst comprising a molten salt of a tetrachloroaluminate. Selection of the optimum catalyst is based on the electronegativity of the tetrachloroaluminate catalyst cation.

Cracking process catalyst selection based on cation electronegativity

A process for producing lower molecular weight products from a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock is provided wherein the feedstock is contacted with a molten catalyst system comprising a tetrachloroaluminate catalyst and about 1 to about 25 mole percent water. The reaction is carried out at a pressure of from about atmospheric to about 14,200 kPa and a temperature of from about 350.degree. C. to about 550.degree. C. resulting in increased yields of the lower molecular weight liquid products and lower levels of catalyst residue.

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Littleton, CO, United States of America

Mark A Plummer