Removing haze from hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range
AssigneeExxon Research & Engineering Co.
InventorsDouglas G. Ryan, Steven Ackerman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Haze in lube oil is firstly precipitated as wax and ice crystals to form a slurry which is introduced, through inlet (18), into a separation vessel (15) containing a bed of packed aggregate (20) which preferably comprises wax balls, or asphalt or ice chunks. The slurry is indirectly charged with free excess charge which is net unipolar by means of a charge injector 11. The injected charge causes the wax and ice crystals to be electrically driven to and deposited on the aggregate. Periodically, the wax and ice-soiled aggregate is replaced by fresh aggregate and the soiled aggregate can be supplied as feed to a conversion process, which can for example be a catalytic cracking process.
Claims24
A method of removing wax and ice crystals from a hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, wherein at least one individual collector element consisting solely of one material, said material being selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbonaceous material and water in the solid state but being distinct from said wax and ice crystals in said hydrocarbon oil mixture, is positioned in a separation region in a separator vessel, free charge which is net unipolar is introduced into the hydrocarbon oil mixture in such manner as to cause the hydrocarbon oil mixture to act as a medium through which volumetric distribution of the introduced charge takes place by free movement of charge through the hydrocarbon oil mixture, and the charged hydrocarbon oil mixture is passed into said separation region and into contact with said at least one collector element, there being a sufficient excess of free charge introduced such that the volumetric charge distribution causes wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said at least one collector element.
A method of removing haze from a feedstock of hazy hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, comprising the steps of:
- feeding an oil solvent liquid into said feedstock;
- mixing said oil solvent liquid with said hazy oil mixture to form an admixture;
- reducing the temperature of said admixture to precipitate wax and water haze as wax and ice crystals and thereby form a slurry comprising solvent-diluted oil mixture containing wax and ice crystals;
- injecting free charge which is net unipolar at least predominantly by field emission into a carrier fluid which is substantially devoid of any dispersed solid phase therein;
- combining said charged carrier fluid and said slurry, whereby charge transfers from said carrier fluid to said wax and ice crystals;
- and
- bringing said slurry and carrier fluid into contact with a bed consisting essentially of wax in the form of packed aggregate, the wax of said aggregate being distinct from the wax crystals of said slurry, there being a sufficint excess of free charge injected as to cause wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said wax aggregate.
A method of removing haze from a feedstock of hazy hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, comprising the steps of:
- feeding an oil solvent liquid into said feedstock;
- mixing said oil solvent liquid with said hazy oil mixture to form an admixture;
- reducing the temperature of said admixture to precipitate wax and water haze as wax and ice crystals and thereby form a slurry comprising solvent-diluted oil mixture containing wax and ice crystals;
- injecting free charge which is net unipolar at least predominantly by field emission into a carrier fluid which is substantially devoid of any dispersed solid phase therein;
- combining said charged carrier fluid and said slurry, whereby charge transfers from said carrier fluid to said wax and ice crystals;
- and
- bringing said slurry and carrier fluid into contact with a bed consisting solely of asphalt in the form of packed aggregate, there being a sufficient excess of free charge inejcted as to cause wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said asphalt aggregate.
A method of removing haze from a feedstock of hazy hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, comprising the steps of:
- feeding an oil solvent liquid into said feedstock;
- mixing said oil solvent liquid with said hazy oil mixture to form an admixture;
- reducing the temperature of said admixture to precipitate wax and water haze as wax and ice crystals and thereby form a slurry comprising solvent-diluted oil mixture containing wax and ice crystals;
- injecting free charge which is net unipolar at least predominantly by field emission into a carrier fluid which is substantially devoid of any dispersed solid phase therein;
- combining said charged carrier fluid and said slurry, whereby charge transfers form said carrier fluid to said wax and ice crystals;
- and
- bringing said slurry and carrier fluid into contact with a bed consisting essentially of water in the solid state in the form of packed aggregate, the solid state water of said aggregate being distinct from the ice crystals of said slurry, there being a sufficient excess of free charge injected as to cause wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said aggregate of water in the solid state.
A method of removing haze from a feedstock of hazy hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, comprising the steps of:
- feeding an oil solvent liquid into said feedstock;
- mixing said oil solvent liquid with said hazy oil mixture to form an admixture;
- reducing the temperature of said admixture sufficiently to precipitate wax and water haze as wax and ice crystals and thereby form a slurry comprising solvent-diluted oil mixture containing wax and ice crystals;
- introducing free charge which is net unipolar into said slurry directly or indirectly, said free charge introduction comprising charge injection at least predominantly by field emission;
- bringing said charged slurry into contact with a bed consisting essentially of one material in the form of packed aggregate, said material being selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbonaceous material and water in the solid state, but being distinct from said wax and ice crystals in said slurry, ther ebeing a sufficient excess of free charge introduced as to cause said wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said aggregate;
- periodically replacing said aggregate soiled with deposited wax and ice crystals with fresh aggregate containing no deposited wax and ice crystals;
- and
- supplying the soiled aggregate as feed to a catalytic conversion process.
A method of removing haze from a hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, wherein at least one individual collector element consists solely of one material, said material being selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbonaceous material and water in the solid state but being distinct from said wax and ice crystals in said hydrocarbon oil mixture, is positioned in a separation region in a separator vessel, the solubility of the oil mixture for wax is reduced to precipitate at least wax crystals, free chrage which is net unipolar is introduced into the hydrocarbon oil mixture in such manner as to cause the hydrocarbon oil mixture to act as a medium through which volumetric distribution of the introduced charge takes place by free movement of charge through the hydrocarbon oil mixture, and the charged hydrocarbon oil mixture is passed into said separation region and into contact with said at least one collector element, there being a sufficient excess of free charge introduced such that the volumetric charge distribution causes wax crystals to be driven to and deposited on said at least one collector element.
A method of removing wax and water haze from a hydrocarbon oil mixture boiling in the lubricating oil range, wherein at least one individual collector element consisting solely of one material, said material being selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbonaceous material and water in the solid state but being distinct from said wax and ice crystals in said hydrocarbon oil mixture, is positioned in a separation region in a separator vessel, the temperature of said oil mixture is reduced to precipitate crystals of wax and water in the solid state, free charge which is net unipolar is introduced into the hydrocarbon oil mixture in such manner as to cause the hydrocarbon oil mixture to act as a medium through which volumetric distribution of the introduced charge takes place by free movement of charge through the hydrocarbon oil mixture, and the charged hydrocarbon oil mixture is passed into said separation region and into contact with said at least one collector element, there being a sufficient excess of free charge introduced such that the volumetric charge distribution causes wax and ice crystals to be driven to and deposited on said at least one collector element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.