Process and apparatus for treating heavy oil with supercritical water and power generation system equipped with heavy oil treating apparatus

Abstract

The reforming of heavy oil with supercritical water or subcritical water is accomplished by mixing together supercritical water, heavy oil, and oxidizing agent, thereby oxidizing vanadium in heavy oil with the oxidizing agent at the time of treatment with supercritical water and separate vanadium oxide. The separated vanadium oxide is removed by the scavenger after treatment with supercritical water. In this way it is possible to solve the long-standing problem with corrosion of turbine blades by vanadium which arises when heavy oil is used as gas turbine fuel.

1 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A heavy oil treating apparatus having a reactor for reacting heavy oil with high-temperature high-pressure water in the supercritical state or subcritical state, thereby reforming said heavy oil and yielding reformed oil, which comprises an oxidizing agent supplying unit to supply an oxidizing agent to said reactor and a vanadium oxide capturing unit to bring a vanadium oxide scavenger into contact with said reformed oil discharged from said reactor, thereby removing vanadium oxide contained in said reformed oil. 
     
     
         10 . A heavy oil treating apparatus having a reactor for reacting heavy oil with water in the supercritical state or subcritical state, thereby reforming said heavy oil, a water supplying pipe to supply water in the supercritical state or subcritical state to said reactor, and a heavy oil supplying pipe to supply heavy oil to said reactor, which comprises an oxidizing agent adding apparatus to add an oxidizing agent to water in the supercritical state or subcritical state flowing in said water supplying pipe and a vanadium oxide capturing unit to bring a vanadium oxide scavenger into contact with the treated product discharged from said reactor, thereby removing vanadium oxide contained in said treated product. 
     
     
         11 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 9 , wherein said oxidizing agent is at least one species selected from the group consisting of oxygen, air, hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, nitric acid, and nitrates. 
     
     
         12 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 9 , wherein said vanadium oxide scavenger is at least one species selected from the group consisting of iron or iron compounds, calcium or calcium compounds, activated carbon, solid carbon compounds, aluminum oxide, and silicon oxide. 
     
     
         13 . A power generation system which comprises having the heavy oil treating apparatus defined in  claim 9  in part of the fuel supply system and producing electric power in such a way that said heavy oil treating apparatus supplies reformed fuel to a combustor, which evolves combustion gas, which is supplied to a gas turbine, which drives a generator connected thereto. 
     
     
         14 . A power generation system as defined in  claim 13 , which comprises a waste heat recovering boiler to recover waste heat from exhaust gas discharged from said gas turbine, thereby raising the water temperature, and piping to supply part of high-temperature high-pressure water or steam evolved by said waste heat recovering boiler to said reactor of said heavy oil treating apparatus. 
     
     
         15 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 9 , which is of multi-tubular type consisting of a plurality of said reactors and which has said vanadium oxide capturing apparatus into which the treated product discharged from said reactors is introduced to remove vanadium oxide. 
     
     
         16 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 10 , wherein said oxidizing agent is at least one species selected from the group consisting of oxygen, air, hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, nitric acid, and nitrates. 
     
     
         17 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 10 , wherein said vanadium oxide scavenger is at least one species selected from the group consisting of iron or iron compounds, calcium or calcium compounds, activated carbon, solid carbon compounds, aluminum oxide, and silicon oxide. 
     
     
         18 . A power generation system which comprises having the heavy oil treating apparatus defined in  claim 10  in part of the fuel supply system and producing electric power in such a way that said heavy oil treating apparatus supplies reformed fuel to a combustor, which evolves combustion gas, which is supplied to a gas turbine, which drives a generator connected thereto. 
     
     
         19 . A power generation system as defined in  claim 18 , which comprises a waste heat recovering boiler to recover waste heat from exhaust gas discharged from said gas turbine, thereby raising the water temperature, and piping to supply part of high-temperature high-pressure water or steam evolved by said waste heat recovering boiler to said reactor of said heavy oil treating apparatus. 
     
     
         20 . A heavy oil treating apparatus as defined in  claim 10 , which is of multi-tubular type consisting of a plurality of said reactors and which has said vanadium oxide capturing apparatus into which the treated product discharged from said reactors is introduced to remove vanadium oxide.