Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Ramon A Strauss

Ramesh R Hemrajani

Guido L Spinelli

Stephen Harold Brown

Bhupender S Minhas

Tomas R Melli

Donald E Stratton

John H Hollenbach

Stefan Maria Willy Ceulemans

Methods are provided for processing crude oil feeds with reduced or minimized energy usage, reduced or minimized numbers of processing steps, improved allocation of hydrogen, and reduced or minimized formation of low value products. The methods reduce or minimize the use of vacuum distillation, and in many aspects reduce or minimize the use of both atmospheric and vacuum distillation. The methods also reduce or minimize the use of coking and fluid catalytic cracking processes.

Integrated crude refining with reduced coke formation

A reactor for the autorefrigerant alkylation process has a reactor vessel with a lower end inlet for the refrigerant reactant and the sulfuric acid and a series of inlets for the olefin reactant at vertically spaced intervals. A flow path for the reactants is provided by co-acting baffles which define sequential reaction zones. The baffles interact with a rotary mixer with multiple impellers to provide agitation. Outlets for the vaporized refrigerant and the reaction effluent are provided at the upper end of the vessel. In the alkylation process, the liquid isoparaffin hydrocarbon reactant/refrigerant with a sulfuric acid alkylation catalyst is introduced into the lower end and passed along the extended reactant flow path with the olefin reactant introduced at intervals along the path. The reaction mixture flows in the sequence of serial reaction zones within the reactor to promote mixing of the isoparaffin reactant with the acid catalyst.

Process for isoparaffin olefin alkylation

A reactor for the autorefrigerant alkylation process has a cylindrical upright reactor vessel with the inlet for the refrigerant reactant and the sulfuric acid at its lower end and a series of inlets for the olefin reactant at vertically spaced intervals up the length of the reactor. An extended, sinuous flow path for the reactants is provided by means co-acting baffles co-acting baffles having, alternately along the length of the reactor, central flow passages and peripheral flow passages for the reaction mixture to define sequential reaction zones in which alkylation takes place. The baffles interact with a rotary mixer with multiple impellers located on the reactor axis. The reaction mixture flows alternately towards and away from the reactor walls in the sequence of serial reaction zones within the reactor to promote mixing of the isoparaffin reactant with the acid catalyst.

Reactor for isoparaffin olefin alkylation

A cross-linked polyvinyl sulfate, copolymer of polyvinyl sulfate and polyvinyl alcohol, or Nafion&#xae; membrane is used for recovering sulfuric acid from a feed mixture comprising predominantly acid and water under reverse osmosis conditions wherein sulfuric acid is enriched in the retentate stream and water is removed in the permeate stream.

Membrane and process for the recovery of acid

An improved reactor for an HF alkylation unit of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger type has an axial tube bundle to provide cooling for the reactor and a centrally-located axial sparger system for injecting and dispersing the hydrocarbon reactants into the flow path in the reactor. The sparger comprises an axially-extensive tube with outlet nozzles for the hydrocarbon reactants arranged around the tube, preferably with differing radial angles, at different locations along the length of the sparger.

Growing community of inventors

Herndon, VA, United States of America

Ramon A Strauss