Extraction of hydrocarbons from hydrocarbon-containing materials and/or processing of hydrocarbon-containing materials
AssigneeGreen Source Energy LLC
InventorsLiang-tseng FAN, Shahram Reza SHAFIE, Julius Michael TOLLAS, William Arthur Fitzhugh LEE
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Abstract
A method of extracting hydrocarbon-containing organic matter from a hydrocarbon-containing material includes the steps of providing a first liquid comprising a turpentine liquid; contacting the hydrocarbon-containing material with the turpentine liquid to form an extraction mixture; extracting the hydrocarbon material into the turpentine liquid; and separating the extracted hydrocarbon material from a residual material not extracted.
Claims21
A method for increasing recovery of hydrocarbon-containing organic matter from a production well coupled to a hydrocarbon-containing sub-surface formation, the subsurface formation comprising hydrocarbon-containing material, the method comprising the steps of extracting the hydrocarbon-containing organic matter by a process comprising:
- providing an injection well, said injection being in fluid communication with the sub-surface formation;
- providing a substantially surfactant-free first liquid comprising non-aqueous hydrocarbon-extracting turpentine liquid;
- injecting the non-aqueous hydrocarbon-extracting turpentine liquid through the injection well and into the formation, wherein the non-aqueous hydrocarbon-extracting turpentine liquid and the hydrocarbon-containing organic matter from the hydrocarbon containing sub-surface formation form an extraction mixture comprising at least a portion of the hydrocarbon-containing organic matter extracted into the non-aqueous hydrocarbon-extracting turpentine liquid;
- recovering the extraction mixture from the formation through the production well;
- and
- separating the extraction mixture to produce a hydrocarbon product stream and a hydrocarbon-extracting liquid stream.
A method of modifying sulfur compounds in a sulfur-containing hydrocarbon-containing material from a natural geological formation comprising the steps of:
- providing a substantially surfactant-free first liquid comprising a non-aqueous liquid consisting essentially of a turpentine liquid selected from the group consisting of natural turpentine, synthetic turpentine, mineral turpentine, pine oil, α-pinene, β-pinene, α-terpineol, β-terpineol, γ-terpineol, terpene resins, α-terpene, β-terpene, γ-terpene, geraniol, 3-carene, dipentene (p-mentha-1,8-diene), nopol, pinane, 2-pinane hydroperoxide, terpin hydrate, 2-pinanol, dihydromycenol, isoborneol, p-menthan-8-ol, α-terpinyl acetate, citronellol, p-menthan-8-yl acetate, 7-hydroxydihydrocitronellal, menthol, anethole, camphene;
- p-cymene, anisaldeyde, 3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadiene, isobornyl acetate, ocimene, alloocimene, alloocimene alcohols, 2-methoxy-2,6-dimethyl-7,8-epoxyoctane, camphor, citral, 7-methoxydihydro-citronellal, 10-camphorsulphonic acid, cintronellal, menthone, and mixtures thereof, and
- contacting the sulfur-containing hydrocarbon-containing material from a natural geological formation with said non-aqueous liquid so as to interact with sulfur in said sulfur-containing hydrocarbon-containing material from a natural geological formation and thereby modify said sulfur-containing hydrocarbon-containing material from a natural geological formation;
- wherein said sulfur-containing hydrocarbon-containing material from a natural geological formation is selected from the group consisting of natural gas, petroleum gas, crude oil, tar sands, oil shale, and coal.
A composition consisting essentially of a hydrocarbon-extracting effective amount of α-terpineol, β-terpineol, β-pinene, α-pinene, pine oil, p-cymene, or a combination thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.