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AssigneeConocoPhillips Company
InventorsMax W. Thompson, Behzad Jazayeri, Robert Zapata, Manuel Hernandez
Estimating the term…
A hydrocarbon desulfurization system employing regenerable solid sorbent particulates in a fluidized bed desulfurization reactor. The sulfur-loaded sorbent particulates are continuously withdrawn from the reactor and transferred to a regenerator. A novel solids transport mechanism provides for the safe and effective transfer of the sulfur-loaded sorbent particulates from the high pressure hydrocarbon environment of the reactor to the low pressure oxygen environment of the regenerator.
A process for transporting finely divided solid particulates from a high pressure hydrocarbon environment to a low pressure oxygen environment, said process comprising the steps of:
A process for transporting finely divided solid particulates from a low pressure oxygen environment to a high pressure hydrogen environment, said process comprising the steps of:
A desulfurization process comprising the steps of:
A desulfurization unit comprising:
A system for controlling the transfer of finely divided solid particulates from a first vessel to a second vessel wherein said first and second vessels are maintained at different pressures, said system comprising:
A system in accordance with claim 60, wherein the pressure differential between said first and second vessels is at least 50 psi.
A method for controlling the transfer of solid particulates from a first vessel to a second vessel via a solids conduit, said method comprising the steps of:
A system for controlling the flow of solid particulates from a first vessel to a second vessel, said system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Refining of hydrocarbon oils using hydrogen or hydrogen-generating compounds: to eliminate hetero atoms without changing the skeleton of the…
With moving adsorbents, e.g. rotating beds: according to the "moving bed" method
With dispersed adsorbents: according to the "fluidised technique"
Comprising compounds of metals not provided for in B01J20/04: compounds of Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt
Term end not estimated
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing sulfur from hydrocarbon-containing fluid streams. In another aspect, the invention concerns an improved system for transferring solid sorbent particulates between vessels in a hydrocarbon desulfurization unit.
Hydrocarbon-containing fluids such as gasoline and diesel fuels typically contain a quantity of sulfur. High levels of sulfurs in such automotive fuels is undesirable because oxides of sulfur present in automotive exhaust may irreversibly poison noble metal catalysts employed in automobile catalytic converters. Emissions from such poisoned catalytic converters may contain high levels of non-combusted hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and/or carbon monoxide, which, when catalyzed by sunlight, form ground level ozone, more commonly referred to as smog.
Much of the sulfur present in the final blend of most gasolines originates from a gasoline blending component commonly known as “cracked-gasoline.” Thus, reduction of sulfur levels in cracked-gasoline will inherently serve to reduce sulfur levels in most gasolines, such as, automobile gasolines, racing gasolines, aviation gasolines, boat gasolines, and the like.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a desulfurization unit constructed in accordance with the principals of the present invention, particularly illustrating the circulation path of regenerable solid sorbent particulates through the reactor, regenerator, and reducer.
FIG. 2 is a schematic process flow diagram of the reactor lockhopper, particularly illustrating the manner in which the reactor lockhopper is controlled to change the environment of the solid sorbent particulates from a high pressure hydrocarbon environment to a low pressure oxygen environment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic process flow diagram of the regenerator lockhopper, particularly illustrating the manner in which the regenerator lockhopper is controlled to change the environment of the solid sorbent particulates from a low pressure oxygen environment to a high pressure hydrogen environment.
Referring initially to FIG. 1, a desulfurization unit 10 is illustrated as generally comprising a fluidized bed reactor 12, a fluidized bed regenerator 14, and a fluidized bed reducer 16. Solid sorbent particulates are circulated in desulfurization unit 10 to provide for continuous sulfur removal from a sulfur-containing hydrocarbon, such as cracked-gasoline or diesel fuel. The solid sorbent particulates employed in desulfurization unit 10 can be any sufficiently fluidizable, circulatable, and regenerable zinc oxide-based composition having sufficient desulfurization activity and sufficient attrition resistance. A description of such a sorbent composition is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/580,611 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/072,209, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In fluidized bed reactor 12, a hydrocarbon-containing fluid stream is passed upwardly through a bed of reduced solid sorbent particulates. The reduced solid sorbent particulates contacted with the hydrocarbon-containing stream in reactor 12 preferably initially (i.e., immediately prior to contacting with the hydrocarbon-containing fluid stream) comprise zinc oxide and a reduced-valence promoter metal component. Though not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the reduced-valence promoter metal component of the reduced solid sorbent particulates facilitates the removal of sulfur from the hydrocarbon-containing stream, while the zinc oxide operates as a sulfur storage mechanism via its conversion to zinc sulfide.
The reduced-valence promoter metal component of the reduced solid sorbent particulates preferably comprises a promoter metal selected from a group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, tungsten, silver, gold, copper, platinum, zinc, tin, ruthenium, molybdenum, antimony, vanadium, iridium, chromium, palladium. More preferably, the reduced-valence promoter metal component comprises nickel as the promoter metal. As used herein, the term “reduced-valence” when describing the promoter metal component, shall denote a promoter metal component having a valence which is less than the valence of the promoter metal component in its common oxidized state. More specifically, the reduced solid sorbent particulates employed in reactor 12 should include a promoter metal component having a valence which is less than the valence of the promoter metal component of the regenerated (i.e., oxidized) solid sorbent particulates exiting regenerator 14. Most preferably, substantially all of the promoter metal component of the reduced solid sorbent particulates has a valence of 0.