Intevep, S.a.

Bp Oil International Limited

The British Petroleum Company, P.l.c.

Bp Chemicals Limited

Spencer Edwin Taylor

Maria Luisa Chirinos

Alistair Stewart Taylor

Michael John Wilson

Alisdair Quentin Clark

Donald Michael Gregory

Philip Kenneth Gordon Hodgson

A process for preparing a gasoline including blending appropriate components together to prepare a gasoline having a final boiling point of less than 200&#xb0; C. and contacting the blended gasoline as a whole with a decolorizing, activated carbon. The carbon removes at least some of the following trace impurities: indanes, naphthalenes, phenanthrenes, pryene, alkylbenzene, and mixtures thereof. The prepared gasoline, when combusted, can provide reduced deposits.

Process for treating fuel

A process for fuelling a marine vessel having a diesel engine and/or a boiler, which comprises providing the marine vessel with a storage tank for high internal phase ratio (HIPR) emulsions comprising 10-40% by weight water and a fuel oil comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of atmospheric residues, vacuum distillate residues, visbreaker residues and other heavy refinery streams in the substantial absence of hydrocarbon cutter stock. The absence of cutter stock avoids incompatibility problems and may allow for use of the emulsion without settling, filtering and centrifuging.

Process and apparatus for fuelling a marine vessel

Condensates

A dispersion of an ester polymer in at least one liquid wherein the ester polymer is a polymer consisting essentially of a first monomer with structural units derived from at least one ester (1) of an aliphatic carboxylic acid with an aliphatic alcohol, wherein one of the acid and alcohol is ethylenically unsaturated and the other of the acid and alcohol has a long chain group of 14-40 carbons. A second monomer is optionally present which is a monomer derived from a different ester (2) within the same definition as ester (1), such that the mole average carbon content of the long chain group is 15-35, and a third monomer with structural units derived from a corresponding ester (3) of an aliphatic carboxylic acid and an aliphatic alcohol. One of the acid and alcohol is ethylenically unsaturated and the other has an aliphatic group of 1-13 carbons, such that at least 30% of the said aliphatic groups have 15-35 carbons. The polymer is present in said dispersion in at least 10% by weight and the dispersion is in a liquid which comprises at least one first organic liquid selected from (a) a branched or linear aliphatic hydrocarbon of 6-16 carbon atoms and (b) an aromatic hydrocarbon of 6-10 carbon atoms.

Ester Polymer Dispersion

A jet fuel composition having reduced tendency to discoloration of high temperatures comprises a cyclic compound comprising m units of the formula 1a.

Fuel composition and blend

An HIPR emulsion of bitumen in water is prepared by a method which comprises directly mixing 70 to 98% by volume of bitumen having a viscosity in the range 200 to 500,000 mPa.s at the mixing temperature with 30 to 2% by volume of an aqueous solution of an emulsifying surfactant, percentages being expressed as percentages by volume of the total mixture. Mixing is effected under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal seconds in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising highly distorted bitumen droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range 2 to 50 micron separated by thin films of water. The emulsions can be cut back to provide stable emulsions of lower bitumen content which are useful in roadmaking and the formation of protective coatings.

Bituminous emulsions

An HIPR emulsion of bitumen in water is prepared by a method which comprises directly mixing 70 to 98% by volume of bitumen having a viscosity in the range 200 to 500,000 mPa.s at the mixing temperature with 30 to 2% by volume of an aqueous solution of an emulsifying surfactant, percentages being expressed as percentages by volume of the total mixture. Mixing is effected under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal seconds in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising highly distorted bitumen droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range 2 to 50 micron separated by thin films of water. The emulsions can be cut back to provide stable emulsions of lower bitumen content which are useful in road-making and the formation of protective coatings.

Method of preparing HIPR bituminous emulsions

An HIPR (high internal phase ratio) emulsion of oil in water is prepared by directly mixing 70 to 98% by volume of a viscous oil having a viscosity in the range 200 to 250,000 mPa.s at the mixing temperature with 30 to 2% by volume of an aqueous solution of an emulsifying surfactant or an alkali, percentages being expressed as percentages by volume of the total mixture. Mixing is effected under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal seconds in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising highly distorted oil droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range 2 to 50 micron separated by thin interfacial films. The emulsions are much less viscous than the oils from which they are prepared and may, optionally after dilution, be pumped through a pipeline.

Preparation of HIPR emulsions

A method for recovering the surfactant from a dispersion or emulsion of oil and water containing a temperature sensitive surfactant which method comprises the steps of heating the dispersion or emulsion to a temperature above the cloud point of the surfactant under conditions of temperature and aqueous phase salinity such that the dispersion or emulsion breaks and separates into an oil layer, an aqueous layer and a surfactant layer, and recovering the surfactant layer. The recovered surfactant may be recycled for use in preparing further quantities of dispersion or emulsion, thus rendering the operation more economic.

Method for breaking emulsions

An HIPR (high internal phase ratio) emulsion of oil in water is prepared by directly mixing 70 to 98% by volume of a viscous oil having a viscosity in the range 200 to 250,000 mPa.s at the mixing temperature with 30 to 2% by volume of an aqueous solution of an emulsifying surfactant or an alkali, percentages being expressed as percentages by volume of the total mixture. Mixing is effected under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal seconds in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising highly distorted oil droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range 2 to 50 micron separated by thin interfacial films. The emulsions are much less viscous than the oils from which they are prepared and may, optionally after dilution, be pumped through a pipeline. Viscous crude oils may be transported by this method.

Preparaton of HIPR emulsions and transportation thereof

A continuous method for the preparation of an emulsion of oil in water of desired composition is disclosed which method comprises initially preparing an HIPR emulsion of oil in water by directly mixing 70 to 98% by volume of a viscous oil having a viscosity in the range 200 to 250,000 mPa.s at the mixing temperature with 30 to 2%, by volume of an aqueous solution of an emulsifying surfactant or an alkali, percentages being expressed as percentages by volume of the total mixture; mixing being effected under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal second in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising distorted oil droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range of 5 to 20 microns separated by aqueous films, measuring the conductivity of the HIPR emulsion, determining the quantity of aqueous liquids to be added as diluent an diluting the HIPR emulsion with the required quantity of diluent.

Preparation of emulsions

An HIPR emulsion of oil in water is prepared by a method comprising the steps of (a) generating a foam by beating a gas into an aqueous solution of a surfactant and (b) dispersing the foam into the oil under low shear conditions in the range 10 to 1,000 reciprocal seconds in such manner that an emulsion is formed comprising distorted oil droplets having mean droplet diameters in the range 2 to 50 microns, separated by aqueous films, 70 to 98% by volume of the liquid content of the emulsion being oil. The method is applicable to both high and low viscosity oils. Depending on the nature of the oil, the emulsions can be used in the food, drug, cosmetics and petroleum industries.

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Camberley, United Kingdom

Spencer Edwin Taylor