Transporting heavy fuel oil as a slurry
AssigneeMarathon Oil Company
InventorsRaymond H. Hughes, Carl D. Clay
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Heavy fuel oil having an average pour point above the average minimum temperature of a transporting system is effectively transported by first physically separating the heavy fuel oil into two portions, fractionating the first portion into a relatively low pour point fraction and a relatively high pour point fraction, recombining the relatively low pour point fraction with the second portion, congealing the second portion to form particles, coating the congealed particles with the relatively high pour point fraction and thereafter slurrying the coated, congealed particles in a carrier liquid, preferably water, and transporting the slurry in a transportation system, preferably a pipeline.
Claims6
A process for transporting heavy fuel oil as a slurry in water, the process comprising:
- a. separating the heavy fuel oil into a first portion and a second portion;
- b. fractionating the first portion into a relatively low pour point fraction and a relatively high pour point fraction;
- c. recombining the relatively low pour point fraction with the second portion;
- d. substantially congealing at least a portion of the second portion of the heavy fuel to obtain congealed particles of the heavy fuel oil;
- e. coating the congealed particles with the relatively high pour point fraction;
- f. slurrying the coated, congealed particles in a carrier liquid;
- and
- g. transporting the slurry in a transportation system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.