Process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids such as tar sand and oil shale. With this process a number of the obstacles with the existing technology are solved, and the process upgrades the oil into a lighter product than the existing technology, remove sulphur in the order of 40% and heavy metals in the order of 90%.

1 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, wherein oil containing solids are injected into a fluidized bed reactor where the hydrocarbons are evaporated off and where the heat for the evaporation is delivered by internal combustion of a part of the hydrocarbons in the solids or by an external combustor, and that the combustion gasses together with the evaporated hydrocarbons act as a pneumatic carrier of the solids and reduce the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon gasses and where the stream is routed to a cyclone reactor and further to a solids removal separator and further to a condensing system for the condensable gasses. 
   
   
       2 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, in accordance to  claim 1  wherein a portion of the product from the condenser system is routed back to the stream in a riser via a atomization nozzle whereby the stream of solids acts as a cracking medium by shear forces, heat exchange and sono-luminiscence. 
   
   
       3 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, in accordance to  claim 1 , wherein the riser have different diameters so as to obtain acceleration, retardation and optimized collisions between the solid particles in the stream. 
   
   
       4 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale, in accordance to  claim 1 , wherein the temperature in the regenerator is controlled by the injected wet oil sand into the regenerator. 
   
   
       5 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids such as tar sand and oil shale in accordance to  claim 1 , wherein the oil stripped sand is routed to a fluidized combustor where remaining coke on the sand is burned off by injection of air into the combustor and where the released heat is used for production of steam, and where the exhaust gas from the combustor is alternatively routed to the plenum of the stripping reactor to participate with heat and fluidizing gas for stripping of the oil trapped on the sand. 
   
   
       6 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the stripped sand is mixed with oil sand for heat recovery and homogenizing of the sand improving the feed to the reactor. 
   
   
       7 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the fluidized bed reactor has two diameters, where the lower part of the regenerator has a smaller diameter than the upper part in order to reduce the gas velocities in the upper part of the regenerator. 
   
   
       8 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids, such as tar sand and oil shale in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein stripped sand in the regenerator is continuously discharged from the regenerator via a pipe which outside of the regenerator has a “water” trap which may be U formed and where steam or gas is injected into the pipe opposite the “water trap” for pneumatic transport of sand falling into the trap. 
   
   
       9 . A process for simultaneous recovery and cracking/upgrading of oil from solids such as tar sand and oil shale in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein a battery of regenerators are arranged around a joint charging system and a joint sand receiving collector and heat recovery fluidizer (L) and where the off gasses from the regenerator share a joint sand separation system and a joint condenser set up and where cooled condensed oil acts as a condensing medium in the oil condenser by direct contact between the hot oil gasses and the cooled condensed oil.