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US 8,025,098 B2Granted
Processing hydrocarbons
AssigneeXyleco, Inc.
InventorMarshall Medoff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods that include providing, e.g., obtaining or preparing, a material that includes a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate, and exposing the material to a plurality of energetic particles, such as accelerated charged particles, such as electrons or ions.
Claims79
A method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces, and wherein the hydrocarbon is adsorbed onto at least some of the interior surfaces.
A method of processing a hydrocarbon material, the method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate to a plurality of charged particles, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver a dose of radiation of at least 0.5 megarads to the material, and to ultrasonic waves, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces, and wherein the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces.
A method comprising:
- processing an irradiated hydrocarbon material to obtain at least one hydrocarbon product, wherein the irradiated hydrocarbon material has been provided by exposing a hydrocarbon-containing material, comprising an inorganic substrate comprising interior surfaces, and a hydrocarbon that is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces, to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation.
A method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces and the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces, and the inorganic substrate further comprises exterior surfaces and the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the exterior surfaces.
A method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate comprising a material having a thermal conductivity of less than 5 Wm−1K−1 to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation by delivering radiation to a site where the material is found, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces and the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces.
A method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate comprising a zeolite material to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces and the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces.
A method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate to a particle beam, x-rays, or gamma rays, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver to the material at least 0.5 megarads of radiation, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces and the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces, and wherein exposing the hydrocarbon to radiation reduces the molecular weight of the hydrocarbon by at least about 25%.
A method of processing a hydrocarbon material, the method comprising:
- exposing a material comprising a hydrocarbon carried by an inorganic substrate to a plurality of charged particles, without adding liquid to the material, to deliver a dose of radiation of at least 0.5 megarads, wherein the inorganic substrate comprises interior surfaces, and wherein the hydrocarbon is carried on at least some of the interior surfaces;
- wherein the method is performed in a fluidized bed system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.