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US 2018/0251689 A1Published application
Apparatus and methods to remove solids from hydrocarbon streams
AssigneeExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
InventorsRobert P. LUCCHESI, Mohsen S. YEGANEH, Geoffrey M. KEISER, Jessica L. VREELAND, Thomas BRUNO
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Abstract
Apparatus, processes, and systems for removal of solids from a hydrocarbon stream. The present disclosure utilizes a surfactant to reduce interfacial tension between a hydrocarbon phase and a water (or aqueous) phase to promote solids to be pulled by gravity out of the hydrocarbon phase and into the water phase.
Claims23
A process of removing solids from hydrocarbon streams:
- providing an initial hydrocarbon stream, wherein the hydrocarbon stream contains an amount of solids;
- feeding the hydrocarbon stream to a solids removal unit through an inlet, wherein the solids removal unit comprises a vessel, a distributor plate system, a reduced solids outlet, an extracted solids outlet, and a mixture of water and a surfactant;
- wherein the surfactant reduces the interfacial tension between water molecules in the water and hydrocarbon molecules in the hydrocarbon stream;
- contacting the hydrocarbon stream via the distributor plate system with the water and surfactant mixture to create a water/hydrocarbon interface;
- wherein solids in the hydrocarbon stream are entrained at the water/hydrocarbon interface;
- allowing gravity to pull entrained solids at the water/hydrocarbon interface into the water phase;
- removing a hydrocarbon stream with increased solids concentration as compared to the initial hydrocarbon stream from the extracted solids outlet, wherein the extracted solids outlet is located within the water phase portion of the solids removal unit;
- and
- removing a hydrocarbon stream with reduced solids concentration as compared to the initial hydrocarbon stream from the reduced solids outlet, wherein the reduced solids outlet is located above the water phase portion of the solids removal unit.
6 more elements
A system for solids removal comprising:
- a solids removal unit;
- wherein the solids removal unit comprises
- a vessel containing water and hydrocarbons;
- wherein the water and hydrocarbons meet at a water/hydrocarbon interface;
- wherein the water also contains a surfactant;
- an inlet to receive a hydrocarbon stream containing an amount of solids to the vessel;
- a distributor plate oriented in the horizontal plane at the termination of the inlet;
- wherein the hydrocarbon stream containing an amount of solids exits the inlet and is dispersed about the distributor plate;
- wherein the distributor plate distributes the hydrocarbon stream containing an amount of solids to the water/hydrocarbon interface;
- an extracted solids outlet, wherein the extracted solids outlet is located within the water phase portion of the solids removal unit;
- and
- a reduced solids outlet, wherein the reduced solids outlet is located above the water phase portion of the solids removal unit.
9 more elements
A solids removal unit, comprising:
- a vessel;
- an inlet for receiving a hydrocarbon stream containing an amount of solids located in the lower half of the vessel;
- a plurality of angled plates within the vessel to create a flowpath for the hydrocarbon stream ascending the vessel through a water phase;
- and
- an outlet for extracting a hydrocarbon stream with reduced solids concentration as compared to the initial hydrocarbon stream, wherein the outlet is located above the water phase portion of the vessel.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.