Molecular separations process
AssigneeExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company
InventorsRandall D. Partridge, Benjamin A. McCool, Carla S. Pereira, Dhaval A. Bhandari
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A molecular separation method can include: passing a deasphalted oil stream through a reactor containing an active substrate, wherein the catalytic active substrate adsorbs heteroatom species from the deasphalted oil stream and produces a pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream essentially free of 4+ ring aromatic molecules (ARC 4+ species), metal species, and heteroatom species; and chromatographically separating with a simulated moving bed apparatus or a true moving bed apparatus (SMB/TMB) the pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream into a saturate fraction and an aromatics fraction.
Claims19
A molecular separation method, comprising:
- passing a deasphalted stream through a reactor containing an active substrate, wherein the catalytic active substrate adsorbs heteroatom species from the deasphalted stream and produces a pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream essentially free of 4+ ring aromatic molecules, metal species, and heteroatom species;
- and
- chromatographically separating with a simulated moving bed apparatus or a true moving bed apparatus (SMB/TMB) the pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream into a saturate fraction and an aromatics fraction.
A separation system comprising:
- a reactor fluidly configured to receive a deasphalted stream, wherein the reactor contains a catalytic active substrate that adsorbs heteroatom species from the deasphalted stream and produces a pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream essentially free of the 4+ ring aromatic molecules, the metal species, and the heteroatom species;
- and
- a chromatographic separator fluidly coupled to the reactor and configured to receive the pretreated hydrocarbon feed stream and produce a saturate fraction and an aromatics fraction, wherein the chromatographic separator is a simulated moving bed apparatus or a true moving bed apparatus (SMB/TMB).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.