Saudi Arabian Oil Company

Mazin M Fathi

Ki-Hyouk Choi

Muneef F Alqarzouh

Bandar K Alotaibi

Faisal M Almulla

Abdullah M Salma

Vinod Ramaseshan

Ali S Al-Nasir

Ali Alsomali

Bader M Alotaibi

Mohnnad H Alabsi

Young-Kyoung Ahn

Maddala Venkata Bhanumurthy

Mohammed R Aldossary

Omer Refa Koseoglu

Abdullah Alabdulhadi

Khalid Al Kaabi

Yousef Adnan Rayes

Abdulrahman E Sayed

Abdullah T Alabdulhadi

A system for chemical processing includes a hollow structure including a side wall having an exterior surface and an interior surface defining an internal volume. The hollow structure has a center axis, a length, and an outer perimeter. The outer perimeter is a shape of the exterior surface of the side wall of the hollow structure in a plane perpendicular to the center axis. The system includes a metallic object positioned within the internal volume of the hollow structure. The system also includes at least two magnets slidably coupled to the exterior surface of the side wall, where the magnets guide movement of the at least one metallic object within the hollow structure. The magnets operate to impact the metallic object against the solid deposits to loosen the solid deposits from the interior surface of the side wall.

Systems and processes for chemical processing

A process for upgrading a heavy oil includes passing heavy oil and disulfide oil to a thermal cracking system that includes a thermal cracking unit and a cracker effluent separation system downstream of the thermal cracking unit and thermally cracking at least a portion of the heavy oil in the presence of the disulfide oil in the thermal cracking unit to produce solid coke and a cracking effluent comprising reaction products. The reaction products include one or more liquid reaction products, one or more gaseous reaction products, or both. The presence of the disulfide oil in the thermal cracking unit promotes conversion of hydrocarbons from the heavy oil to the liquid reaction products, the gaseous reaction products, or both relative to the production of the solid coke.

Processes for upgrading a hydrocarbon feed

A method to produce syngas from a feed oil comprising the steps of increasing a pressure of a slurry catalyst; increasing a temperature of the pressurized slurry stream; increasing a pressure of the feed oil; increasing a temperature of the pressurized feed stream; mixing the hot slurry stream and the hot oil stream; increasing a temperature of the mixed stream in a combined heater to produce a hot mixed stream; maintaining upgrading reactions of hydrocarbons in the supercritical reactor to produce a supercritical effluent; reducing a pressure of the supercritical effluent; separating the depressurized effluent in a separator to produce a gas stream; separating the gas stream to produce a light hydrocarbon stream; mixing the light hydrocarbon stream and a catalyst feed; introducing the hot feed to a steam reformer; maintaining water gas shift reactions of the light hydrocarbon gases in the steam reformer to produce a reformer effluent.

Syngas production via supercritical water

An automated method of inspecting a pipe includes: positioning the pipe with respect to a laser scanner using a positioning apparatus; scanning a size of the positioned pipe by the laser scanner; identifying a specification and historical data of the pipe's type by inputting the scanned size to an artificially intelligent module trained through machine learning to match input size data to standardized pipe types and output corresponding specifications and historical data of the pipe types; scanning dimensions of the positioned pipe by the laser scanner using a dimension portion of the identified historical data; comparing the scanned dimensions with standard dimensions from the identified specification; detecting a dimension nonconformity when the scanned dimensions are not within acceptable tolerances of the standard dimensions; and in response to detecting the dimension nonconformity, generating an alert and updating the dimension portion of the identified historical data to reflect the detected dimension nonconformity.

Intelligent piping inspection machine

Apparatuses and methods of use are provided for a lobular catalyst for use in processes featuring water at high pressures and high temperatures, including in supercritical or near supercritical water conditions. The lobular catalyst structure features a shaped, plate-like structure extending along the reactor length with a high surface area. The lobular catalyst structure is fixed in place and mounted within a high temperature and high pressure reactor. The catalyst includes a catalytically active component, which can be a transition metal. The catalyst can be used in high pressure and high temperature processes, including in supercritical or near supercritical water processes, to improve heavy oil upgrading and hydrocarbon conversion in chemical processes.

Lobular catalyst structure and reactor for hydrocarbon conversion by hot and compressed water based processes

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an aqueous reforming system and a method for upgrading heavy hydrocarbons. A hydrocarbon feed and a surfactant stream are combined to produce a first precursor stream. The first precursor stream and an alkali feed are combined to produce a second precursor stream. The second precursor stream and a transition metal feed are combined to produce a catalytic emulsion stream. The catalytic emulsion stream is heated to produce a catalytic suspension and a decomposition gas, where the decomposition gas is separated by a first separator. The catalytic suspension is combined with a preheated water stream to produce an aqueous reformer feed. The aqueous reformer feed is introduced to an aqueous reformer such that the heavy hydrocarbons undergo conversion reactions to produce an effluent stream. The effluent stream is introduced to a second separator to produce a heavy stream and a light stream. The light stream is introduced to a third separator to produce a gas stream, a distillate stream, and a spent water stream. Optionally, a portion of the distillate stream and the hydrocarbon feed can be combined to produce the first precursor stream such that the first precursor stream is in the absence of a surfactant.

Catalyst and process of upgrading heavy oil in the presence of steam

A process for upgrading a hydrocarbon-based composition that includes combining a supercritical water stream, a hydrogen stream, and a pressurized, heated hydrocarbon-based composition in a mixing device to create a combined feed stream. The process further includes introducing the combined feed stream into a supercritical water hydrogenation reactor operating at a temperature greater than a critical temperature of water and a pressure greater than a critical pressure of water, and at least partially converting the combined feed stream to an upgraded product.

Systems and processes for hydrocarbon upgrading

A process for forming a petroleum product includes introducing a feed stream of a petroleum feedstock to a supercritical water reactor. The feed stream is reacted with supercritical water in the supercritical water reactor, thereby forming a supercritical water reactor effluent. The supercritical water reactor effluent is introduced to a separator to separate the supercritical water reactor effluent into a light stream and a heavy stream. At least a portion of the light stream is introduced to a reformer to concentrate aromatics in the at least a portion of the light stream, thereby forming a reformer effluent. The reformer effluent is mixed with the heavy stream.

Process to improve the stability of thermally cracked petroleum products

The present disclosure is directed to petrochemical processing systems that may include a component including a first surface oriented to contact a process fluid, which may define a plurality of channels. The petrochemical processing systems may further include a plurality of metal spheres disposed at least partially in the plurality of channels. Each one of the plurality of metal spheres may be fixed in place within one of the plurality of channels such that each of the plurality of metal spheres is freely rotatable. Methods for reducing accumulation and formation of solid deposits during petrochemical processing using the petrochemical processing systems are also disclosed.

Petrochemical processing systems and methods for reducing the deposition and accumulation of solid deposits during petrochemical processing

A process for treating a disulfide oil composition that includes combining a supercritical water stream, a hydrogen stream, and a disulfide oil composition in a mixing device to create a combined disulfide feed stream; introducing the combined disulfide feed stream into a supercritical water hydrogenation reactor operating at a temperature greater than a critical temperature of water and a pressure greater than a critical pressure of water; and at least partially converting the combined disulfide feed stream to an upgraded disulfide product.

Systems and processes for treating disulfide oil

A process for blending a hydrocarbon-based composition that includes combining a first heated water stream with a first hydrocarbon-based composition comprising asphaltene to create a first combined feed stream and allowing the first heated water stream and the first hydrocarbon-based composition to interact such that the second combined feed stream comprises micelles and reverse micelles, thereby preventing asphaltene aggregation. The process further includes similarly combining a second heated water stream with a second hydrocarbon-based composition to form a second combined feed stream. The process further includes introducing the first combined feed stream and the second combined stream into a supercritical blending vessel operating at a temperature greater than a critical temperature of water and a pressure greater than a critical pressure of water, and blending the first combined feed stream and the second combined stream to form a blended hydrocarbon-based composition.

Systems and processes for hydrocarbon blending

Processes for thermal upgrading of heavy oils utilizing disulfide oil

A process for upgrading heavy oil is provided, which integrates thermal cracking, hydrogenolysis, and catalytic aquathermolysis. A catalytic hydrogen-aquathermolysis reactor receives a heavy oil feed, water and hydrogen. In addition catalytic materials and a viscosity reducing agent are introduced. The catalytic hydrogen-aquathermolysis reactor is operated at conditions effective to produce an upgraded heavy oil product.

Process for heavy oil upgrading utilizing hydrogen and water

An integrated upgrading process for upgrading a heavy oil, the process comprising the steps of introducing a heavy oil to a visbreaker unit; processing the heavy oil in the visbreaker unit to produce a visbreaker product stream; feeding the visbreaker product stream to a fractionator; separating the visbreaker product stream in the fractionator to produce a bottoms stream, a gas oil stream, a naphtha stream, and a gas product stream; feeding the bottoms stream to a supercritical water unit; and processing the bottoms stream in the supercritical water unit to produce an upgraded bottoms stream.

Supercritical water process integrated with visbreaker

A method for producing alkene gases from a cracked product effluent, the method comprising the steps of introducing the cracked product effluent to a fractionator unit, separating the cracked product effluent in the fractionator to produce a cracked light stream and a cracked residue stream, wherein the cracked light stream comprises the alkene gases selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, butylene, and combinations of the same, mixing the cracked residue stream and the heavy feed in the heavy mixer to produce a combined supercritical process feed, and upgrading the combined supercritical process feed in the supercritical water process to produce a supercritical water process (SWP)-treated light product and a SWP-treated heavy product, wherein the SWP-treated heavy product comprises reduced amounts of olefins and asphaltenes relative to the cracked residue stream such that the SWP-treated heavy product exhibits increased stability relative to the cracked residue stream.

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Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Mazin M Fathi