Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Robert J Falkiner

Marc A Poirier

Ashok Uppal

Bryan M Knickerbocker

Ian D Campbell

Gordon Bryce McGarvey

Bal K Kaul

Marc-Andre Poirier

Marc-André Poirier

David R Slim

Daniel William Kraemer

Mohsen N Harandi

Stuart Leon Soled

Stephen Harold Brown

Jane C Cheng

Lei Zhang

Chuansheng Bai

David C Dankworth

Benjamin S Umansky

Himanshu Gupta

Joseph L Feimer

Richard Charles Dougherty

Juan D Henao

Ramesh R Hemrajani

John B Gilbert

Steven Webster Levine

Thomas Francis Degnan, Jr

Lawrence J Lawlor

Terrence Rodney Ashe

Todd P Marut

Mustafa Al-Sabawi

Tian C Lau

Vincent A Brunet

Lawrence J Evers

John D Nelson

Sebastien Bergeron

Alain D Fomo

Cindy J Hughart

Luke J Kariparampil

Robert N McLean

A process for cleansing a liquid of volatile contaminants can be accomplished by cross flowing a liquid through a contactor vessel. As the liquid cross flows through the horizontal contactor vessel, a radial flow pattern is induced in the liquid and the liquid is contacted with a cleansing gas. As the liquid moves through the contactor vessel, contaminants enter the cleansing cross current gas percolating through the liquid. The cross current gas may then be collected and cleansed of the contaminants it collected. The cleaned cleansing gas may then be recycled back into the contactor vessel.

Process for removing volatile contaminants

Systems and methods are provided for hydroconversion of a heavy oil feed under slurry hydroprocessing conditions and/or solvent assisted hydroprocessing conditions. The systems and methods for slurry hydroconversion can include the use of a configuration that can allow for improved separation of catalyst particles from the slurry hydroprocessing effluent. In addition to allowing for improved catalyst recycle, an amount of fines in the slurry hydroconversion effluent can be reduced or minimized. This can facilitate further processing or handling of any 'pitch' generated during the slurry hydroconversion. The systems and methods for solvent assisted hydroprocessing can include processing of a heavy oil feed in conjunction with a high solvency dispersive power crude.

Processing of heavy hydrocarbon feeds

A method of improving the evaporation from surface bodies of water which comprises artificially inducing air flow over a body of water using air jets at an air flow rate of at least 10 m/second while the water partial pressure of air at the surface temperature of the body of water (Pbs) is greater than the water partial pressure of the ambient air at the surface temperature of the body of water (Pas). The rate of evaporation can be materially enhanced by the transfer of geothermal heat from the lower region of the body of water to the surface region by means of a heat exchanger or a heat pipe.

Waste pond volume management

The mercury in crude oils is managed during the refining process to reduce its occurrence in refined petroleum products as well as in refinery emissions and wastes by converting the mercury, which may typically be present in the crude in elemental, ionic or combined organic (organomercury) forms, by operating the refinery on a blend of crudes comprising a mercury-containing crude of low sulfur content and a high sulfur crude. For optimal mercury control, the refinery should be operated in a high conversion regime, preferably with hydroprocessing (severe hydrotreating, hydrocracking) suitable for converting refractory, non-reactive sulfur compounds in the high sulfur crudes to more reactive forms including, for example, hydrogen sulfide, which will combine with the mercury present from the mercury-containing crude to form solid mercury sulfides which may be removed as solid waste by-products and disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.

Petroleum refinery mercury control

This invention relates to a method for increasing thermal stability of fuel, as well as in reducing nitrogen content and/or enhancing color quality of the fuel. According to the method, a fuel feedstock can be treated with a solid phosphoric acid catalyst under appropriate catalyst conditions, e.g., to increase the thermal stability of the fuel feedstock. Preferably, the fuel feedstock can be treated with the solid phosphoric acid catalyst at a ratio of catalyst mass within a contact zone to a mass flow rate of feedstock through the zone of at least about 18 minutes to increase the thermal stability of the fuel feedstock, along with reducing nitrogen content and/or enhancing color quality.

Method for increasing thermal stability of a fuel composition using a solid phosphoric acid catalyst

A method for the reduction of corrosion in a treatment unit acid used for separating hydrogen sulfide from and acid gas stream using an alkaline absorption solution. Ions comprising the Sand/or HSions formed by the absorption of the hydrogen sulfide in the absorbent solution are subjected to in situ electrochemical oxidization to form polysulfide ions which form a protective coating on the surfaces of the unit.

Corrosion control in acid gas removal equipment by the situ generation of polysulfide ions

Methods and systems are provided for the in situ generation of polysulfide ions in a process stream including Sand/or HSions. Methods and systems are also provided to ameliorate corrosion in a process stream containing an acid gas or a scrubbing agent solvent, and abate mercury and cyanide in process streams containing a scrubbing agent solvent.

In situ generation of polysulfide ions using elemental sulfur for improved corrosion control, cyanide management, mercury management, arsine management and performance and reliability of acid gas removal equipment

A process for removing elemental sulfur from liquid hydrocarbon steams such as transportation fuel streams, e.g. gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and jet, by contacting such streams with an immiscible aqueous solution under static mixing conditions. The aqueous solution contains a caustic and an effective amount of a Group I or Group II metal sulfide or polysulfide. The elemental sulfur in the stream is converted to a polysulfide that is not soluble in the hydrocarbon stream but is soluble in the aqueous solution, thus resulting in a hydrocarbon product stream having a substantially lower level of elemental sulfur.

Removal of elemental sulfur in pipelines using static mixers

The removal of fluoroalkanes from fluoroalkane-containing hydrocarbon streams, preferably Cto Chydrocarbon streams. The fluoroalkane-containing hydrocarbon stream is contacted with an adsorbent containing a strong acid function, preferably a silica gel or a strong cation ion-exchange resin having sulfonic acid functionality.

Removal of light fluoroalkanes from hydrocarbon streams

A method for the removal of entrained hydrocarbons, particularly aromatics, from water by extracting the hydrocarbons in the water with a hydrocarbon which is relatively less soluble in the water than the entrained hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbons are then separated from the water by a process of coalescence/separation. The extractant is suitably a paraffinic hydrocarbon which, while having an affinity for the entrained hydrocarbon, is relatively less soluble in water than hydrocarbons such as aromatics. The hydrocarbons removed from the water can be recirculated to the feed with the composition of the recirculating phase being controlled to achieve the desired level of hydrocarbon removal.

Separation of hydrocarbons from water

A method of drying liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons by contacting a feed stream of the hydrocarbon with an aqueous solution of a salt drying agent prior to passing the stream through a salt dryer to remove part of the water in the stream. The aqueous solution of the salt drying agent is generated in the salt dryer when the partly dried stream comes into contact with the drying salt and forms the solution. The solution is circulated in a loop from the salt dryer to the incoming feed and then through a liquid/liquid coalescer which removes a portion of the water together with dissolved salt from the mixture before the mixture is passed on to the salt dryer where further removal of water occurs. The salt dryer is off-loaded by a substantial factor by the initial partial dehydration and does not require to remove such a large amount of water; the salt consumption is therefore reduced in proportion to the amount of water removed in the treatment steps which precede the dryer.

Salt drying process

The amount of elemental sulfur or other sulfur contaminant picked-up by refined hydrocarbon product such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene or fuel additive such as ether, which is pipelined in a pipeline used to transport sour hydrocarbon fluids, is reduced by controlling the level of dissolved oxygen in the refinery hydrocarbon product to which is to be pipelined, said dissolved oxygen level being held to a level of about 30 wppm and less, preferably about 20 wppm and less. The dissolved oxygen level in the refined hydrocarbon product is controlled by reducing the amount fair injection employed in mercaptan or disulfide reduction production increases or by the use of oxygen scavengers prior to the introduction of the refined hydrocarbon product into the pipeline, or by limiting the exposure of the product to air in oxygen during transport or storage.

Method for reducing elemental sulfur pick-up by hydrocarbon fluids in a

A method for controlling the blending of blend stocks having boiling points less that 350.degree. C. into blend products or controlling refinery or chemical processes with feedstocks and products with boiling points less than 350.degree. C. The method comprises selecting one or more chemical or perceptual or physical property or performance properties of the blend stock or blend product or refinery or chemical feed or product, creating a training set from reference samples which contain characteristic molecular species present in the blend stock or blend product or refinery or chemical process feed or product. The reference samples are subject to GC/MS analysis wherein the often collinear data generated is treated by multivariate correlation methods. The training set produces coefficients which are multiplied by the matrix generated from a GC/MS analysis of an unknown blend stock or blend product or refinery or chemical process feed or product to produce a predicted value for the chemical, performance, perceptual or physical property or groups of properties selected.

Method for preparing blend products

A process for removing elemental sulfur from fluids such as refined petroleum products transported through pipelines normally used for the transport of sour hydrocarbon streams. The sulfur containing fluids are mixed with an immiscible aliphatic solution containing an inorganic caustic material, methanol or aqueous alcohol and an inorganic sulfide or hydrosulfide capable of reacting with the elemental sulfur in a mixing zone to form a polysulfide present in the immiscible alcoholic solution, passing the mixture of fluid and immiscible alcoholic solution to a phase separation zone wherein mixture separates into a fluid phase of reduced elemental and total sulfur content and an immiscible alcoholic phase containing polysulfides, recovering the fluid phase of reduced sulfur content from the phase separation zone, recovering the immiscible alcoholic phase containing polysulfide from the phase separation zone and recycling the immiscible alcoholic solution to the mixing zone. Alcohol from the spent immiscible alcoholic solution may be flash-distilled and recycled for reuse in the process.

Process for the removal of elemental sulfur from fluids by mixing said

The resistance of in-tank fuel pump copper commutators to become excessively worn by exposure to petroleum fuels containing at least 10 mg/liter of elemental sulfur is substantially increased by the addition of at least about 5 mg/liter of an organomercaptan, compound and at least about 25 mg/liter of a copper metal deactivator capable of forming a sulfur - resistant barrier coating on the copper commutator, to produce a novel fuel composition.

Growing community of inventors

Brampton, Canada

Robert J Falkiner