The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 29, 2017
Filed:
Aug. 07, 2014
Michel Chornet, Sherwood Park, CA;
Christos Chronopoulos, Sherbrooke, CA;
Soumaine Dehkissia, Sherbrooke, CA;
Michel Chornet, Sherwood Park, CA;
Christos Chronopoulos, Sherbrooke, CA;
Soumaine Dehkissia, Sherbrooke, CA;
Fractal Systems, Inc., Sherbrooke, Quebec, CA;
Abstract
A process for treating heavy oil to provide a treated heavy oil having a reduced density and viscosity, as well as an olefin content that does not exceed 1.0 wt. %. The process comprises separating the initial heavy oil into a first fraction, which in general contains lower-boiling components, and a second fraction. The second fraction comprises a heavy oil having a p-value of at least 5% greater than the p-value of the initial heavy oil prior to separating the initial heavy oil into the first fraction and the second fraction, and the second fraction has an aromaticity that is no more than 5% less than the aromaticity of the initial heavy oil prior to separating the initial heavy oil into the first fraction and the second fraction. The second fraction then is upgraded to reduce the density and viscosity of the heavy oil. After the second fraction is upgraded, it is recombined with at least a portion of the first fraction to provide a treated heavy oil having an olefin content that does not exceed 1.0 wt. %. The separation of the initial heavy oil into first and second fractions enables one to achieve improved reduction of the density and viscosity of the treated heavy oil while maintaining the olefin content at an acceptable level.