Method to prepare virtual assay using gel permeation chromatography
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorOmer Refa Koseoglu
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Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for providing virtual assays of an oil sample such as crude oil based on gel permeation chromatography (GPC) carried out on the oil sample or a solution of the oil sample in a GPC solvent, and the density of the oil sample. The virtual assay provides a full range of information about fractions of the oil sample including naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil, vacuum residue, and other information about the properties of the oil sample. Using the system and method herein, the virtual assay data pertaining to these several fractions of the oil sample and the oil sample itself are obtained without fractionation of the oil sample into the several components.
Claims17
A method for producing a virtual assay of an oil sample, wherein the oil sample is characterized by a density, selected from the group consisting of crude oil, bitumen and shale oil, and characterized by naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue fractions, the method comprising:
- analyzing by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) a solution of the oil sample in a GPC solvent without distillation to obtain GPC data indicative of GPC peak intensity values at predetermined GPC retention time increments between a predetermined range of GPC retention times;
- entering into a computer the GPC;
- calculating and assigning, as a function of the GPC data, an analytical value (AV);
- and
- calculating and assigning, as a function of the AV and the density of the oil sample, virtual assay data of the oil sample and the naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue fractions, said virtual assay data comprising a plurality of assigned data values,
- wherein the virtual assay data is used to evaluate the oil sample without distillation and is used to determine an appropriate refinery or refining unit
- wherein the virtual assay data comprises:
- a plurality of assigned assay data values pertaining to the oil sample including one or more of aromatic content, C5-asphaltenes content, elemental compositions of sulfur and nitrogen, micro-carbon residue content, total acid number and viscosity;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the vacuum residue fraction of the oil sample including one or more of elemental composition of sulfur and micro-carbon residue content;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the vacuum gas oil fraction of the oil sample including elemental compositions of one or more of sulfur and nitrogen;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the gas oil fraction of the oil sample including one or more of elemental compositions of sulfur and nitrogen, viscosity, and indicative properties including aniline point, cetane number, cloud point and pour point;
- and
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the naphtha fraction of the oil sample including one or more of aromatic content, elemental composition of hydrogen and sulfur, paraffin content and octane number.
A system for producing a virtual assay of an oil sample, wherein the oil sample is characterized by a density, selected from the group consisting of crude oil, bitumen and shale oil, and characterized by naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue fractions, the system comprising:
- a gel permeation chromatography system that outputs gel permeation chromatography system (GPC) data;
- a non-volatile memory device that stores calculation modules and data, the data including the GPC data, wherein the GPC data, is indicative of GPC peak intensity values at predetermined GPC retention time increments between a predetermined range of GPC retention times for a solution of the oil sample without distillation in a GPC solvent;
- a processor coupled to the non-volatile memory device;
- a first calculation module that is stored in the non-volatile memory device and that is executed by the processor, wherein the first calculation module calculates an analytical value (AV) as a function of the GPC data;
- and
- a second calculation module that is stored in the non-volatile memory device and that is executed by the processor, wherein the second calculation module calculates, as a function of the AV and the density of the oil sample, virtual assay data of the oil sample and the naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil and vacuum residue fractions, said virtual assay data comprising a plurality of assigned data values,
- wherein the virtual assay data comprises:
- a plurality of assigned assay data values pertaining to the oil sample including aromatic content, C5-asphaltenes content, elemental compositions of sulfur and nitrogen, micro-carbon residue content, total acid number and viscosity;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the vacuum residue fraction of the oil sample including elemental composition of sulfur and micro-carbon residue content;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the vacuum gas oil fraction of the oil sample including elemental compositions of sulfur and nitrogen;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the gas oil fraction of the oil sample including elemental compositions of sulfur and nitrogen, viscosity, and indicative properties including aniline point, cetane number, cloud point and pour point;
- a plurality of assigned assay values pertaining to the naphtha fraction of the oil sample including aromatic content, elemental composition of hydrogen and sulfur, paraffin content and octane number.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.