Advanced method and apparatus to process Bitumen containing impurities

Abstract

This invention relates to open-pit mining wherein crushed bitumen is fed into an enclosed pyrolyzer and heated under pressure in a reduced atmosphere where the cracking of asphalt results in a tar-free bitumen in the form of volatile matter containing a hydrogen rich, non-condensable syngas with vaporized light liquids and incandescent char. The syngas and vaporized light liquids are desulfurized and upgraded in a first hot gas cleanup, while part of the hot char is gasified with air into a fuel gas and into oil-free, tar-free, dry, solid tailings; the other part used as fuel for heating the pyrolyzer. The fuel gas passes through a second hot gas cleanup, producing clean, desulfurized lean gas ideal to generate clean, efficient electric power. Emitted CO 2 is collected and converted to slow-release fertilizer. The tailings (clean sand and clay) reclaim the mine, while fertilizer enriched soil, topping the tailings, accelerates forest growth.

1 . A method for processing a bitumen containing any one and possibly all of the following impurities, such as tars, oily sand, oily clay, oily water, and any other unspecified impurity, into a clean, desulfurized synthetic gas and clean, desulfurized light liquids comprising the following step:
 force-feeding the bitumen into an enclosed pyrolyzing reactor having a charging end and a discharging end, with the discharging end integrated to a char gasifier;   heating said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor under pressure in a reducing atmosphere in such a way as to have the charging end at low temperature and the discharging end at high temperature to cause the release of a volatile matter from said bitumen which is made up of a raw, non-condensable H 2  rich synthetic gas (syngas) together with vaporized, condensable liquids, and the production of a hot, incandescent, residual char that converts steam from any water originating from said bitumen, present within said pyrolyzing reactor to water gas (H 2 +CO), while preventing the emission of noxious gases into the environment surrounding said pyrolyzing reactor;   advancing said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor from said charging end to said discharging end while cracking tars and heavy oils prior to said char being discharged into said char gasifier;   passing said raw, non-condensable syngas and vaporized liquids through a first hot gas cleanup to react with a hot sorbent to desulfurize both the syngas and the vaporized liquids and ensure the cracking of residual tar or heavy hydrocarbons in the syngas and/or in the vaporized liquids to convert them to a substantially clean, desulfurized syngas and substantially clean, desulfurized light liquids;   gasifying said hot char into a fuel gas while producing an inert ash made up of a combination of dry sand and dry clay with both being substantially devoid of oil;   passing said fuel gas through a second hot gas cleanup to produce a desulfurized fuel gas; and   separating said substantially clean, desulfurized syngas from said substantially clean, desulfurized, vaporized light liquids by way of condensation of said vaporized light liquids, resulting in a clean, desulfurized syngas per se and a clean, desulfurized condensate made up of light liquids.   
     
     
         2 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said bitumen is recovered from an open-pit mine and delivered to a processing plant. 
     
     
         3 . The method as set forth in  claim 2  wherein said bitumen is recovered from an open-pit mine whose resource is oil sands, which are also known as tar sands. 
     
     
         4 . The method as set forth in  claim 3  wherein said oil sands are processed as crushed run-of-mine bitumen without further preparation. 
     
     
         5 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the step of force-feeding the bitumen into an enclosed pyrolyzing reactor is further characterized by the step of employing a charger which continually compresses the bitumen charged into said pyrolyzing reactor to increase the bulk density of said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor while causing the advancement of the compressed bitumen towards the discharging end of said pyrolyzing reactor to result in discharging hot char from the discharge end of said pyrolyzing reactor into said gasifier. 
     
     
         6 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  comprising the step of heating said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor wherein the production of a hot, incandescent char occurs and is further characterized by the step of dividing the stream of said char into two parts, the first part of said char being directed to a gasifier and the second part of said char being directed to a quencher where the char is cooled below its ignition point, producing a cold char prior to being discharged into the atmosphere. 
     
     
         7 . The method as set forth in  claim 6  wherein said second part of said char being directed to a quencher, serves after being cooled, as a carbon fuel in said pyrolyzing reactor to devolatilize bitumen when this carbon fuel is combusted. 
     
     
         8 . The method as set forth in  claim 7  wherein said carbon fuel is co-fed with bitumen into said pyrolyzing reactor. 
     
     
         9 . The method as set forth in  claim 8  wherein said carbon fuel co-fed with said bitumen into said pyrolyzing reactor, are charged into said pyrolyzing reactor in such a way as to have the carbon fuel forming a core surrounded by an annulus of said bitumen. 
     
     
         10 . The method as set forth in  claim 9  wherein said core is configured with a bore through its center and extending along the longitudinal axis of said core. 
     
     
         11 . The method as set forth in  claim 10  wherein said bore accommodates a cooled lance to inject a gas containing oxygen in order to combust said core within said pyrolyzing reactor under reducing conditions to cause an internal release of thermal energy that heats said bitumen annulus. 
     
     
         12 . The method as set forth in  claim 11  wherein said bore accommodates a cooled lance to inject a gas containing oxygen is further characterized by said lance having an injection port at its tip and additional injection ports dispersed along its length in order to increase heating area of the bitumen contained within said pyrolyzing reactor. 
     
     
         13 . The method as set forth in  claim 11  wherein said internal release of the thermal energy that heats said bitumen annulus is complemented by heating said bitumen annulus peripherally in order to provide thermal energy bi-directionally to efficiently cause the release of volatile matter from said bitumen. 
     
     
         14 . The method as set forth in  claim 13  wherein the step to provide thermal energy bi-directionally to efficiently cause the release of volatile matter from said bitumen is further characterized by maintaining a positive pressure within said pyrolyzing reactor to further accelerate the release of volatile matter from the bitumen. 
     
     
         15 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the step of passing said raw, non-condensable syngas and vaporized liquids through a first hot gas cleanup to react with said hot sorbent is further characterized by said sorbent being a CaO which absorbs sulfur and cracks hydrocarbons, becoming a CaS carbon impregnated. 
     
     
         16 . The method as set forth in  claim 15  wherein CaS carbon impregnated is regenerated back to CaO while heated to elevated temperature by virtue of the carbon burning during regeneration yielding also a lean fuel gas with entrained vaporized elemental sulfur. 
     
     
         17 . The method as set forth in  claim 16  wherein said lean fuel gas with entrained vaporized elemental sulfur is separated from said vaporized elemental sulfur by means of condensation of the elemental sulfur, resulting in a useful, clean, lean fuel gas. 
     
     
         18 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the step of gasifying said hot char into a fuel gas and passing it through a second hot gas cleanup to produce a desulfurized fuel gas is further characterized by combining this fuel gas with the lean fuel gas generated according to  claim 17 , results in producing a clean and adequate gaseous fuel resource destined to: (i) generate electric power and (ii) serve as a feedstock to produce fertilizer. 
     
     
         19 . The method as set forth in  claim 18  wherein said clean gaseous fuel resource destined to generate electric power preferably is used in the generation of power via the combined cycle mode, and said clean gaseous fuel resource destined to serve as a feedstock to produce fertilizer, preferably is used in the production of oxamide which is a slow-release fertilizer. 
     
     
         20 . The method as set forth in  claim 18  wherein said gaseous resource destined to generate electric power is further characterized by the production of CO 2  when combusted to generate power includes the collecting of the CO 2  and injecting it into hot, incandescent char contained in the gasifier referenced in  claim 1 , in order to convert the CO 2  to 2CO which is a useful chemical or fuel. 
     
     
         21 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the desulfurized syngas and the desulfurized light liquids are converted to useful by-products such as with the syngas converted to transport fuels like methanol/gasoline, dimethyl ether or chemicals, and with the desulfurized light liquids converted to downstream products such as gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil, etc. 
     
     
         22 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the step of gasifying said hot char into a fuel gas while producing an inert ash made up of a combination of dry sand and dry clay with both being substantially devoid of oil is further characterized by eliminating oily, dirty tailings, making it possible to reclaim mined property soon after the extraction of the bitumen from the mine, while fertilizer-enriched soil topping the dry sand and dry clay accelerates forest growth. 
     
     
         23 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein no water is used to process the extracted bitumen from open-pit mining. 
     
     
         24 . The method as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the source of fuel for the processing of bitumen extracted from open-pit mining originates from the bitumen itself. 
     
     
         25 . Apparatus to process a bitumen containing impurities that produces from said bitumen a volatile matter which after cleanup yields a clean desulfurized synthetic gas and clean desulfurized light liquids comprising the following:
 a pyrolyzing reactor within which the bitumen is pyrolyzed to release volatile matter, having: (i) a charging end equipped with a charging mechanism adapted to force-feed and compress said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor, causing the advancement of said bitumen along the length of said pyrolyzing reactor, and (ii) a discharging end integrally connected to a gasifier which is adapted to receive residual char produced in said pyrolyzing reactor, and to gasify said char while producing from it a fuel gas together with an inert ash;   means adapted to heat said bitumen within said pyrolyzing reactor;   a first hot gas cleanup adapted to desulfurize and crack residual heavy hydrocarbons producing a clean synthesis gas and clean light liquids from said volatile matter;   a second hot gas cleanup adapted to desulfurize fuel gas produced in said gasifier; and   a sorbent regeneration means adapted to regenerate a carbon-impregnated sulfidated sorbent in the form of C+CaS by combusting said carbon to result in heating the regenerated sorbent (CaO) while producing a fuel gas containing elemental sulfur which is separated from the fuel gas in a condenser.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein said charging mechanism comprises a pushing ram that cycles between advances and retractions to effect the force-feed action to introduce and compress the bitumen into said pyrolyzing reactor. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 26  wherein said ram is constructed as a cylinder with a bore along its longitudinal axis to accommodate a mandrel that is circumscribed by said ram that is adapted to advance and retract independently from the advancement and retraction of said ram. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 27  wherein said mandrel is constructed as a cylinder with a bore along its longitudinal axis to accommodate a lance which is adapted to advance and retract independently from the advancement and retraction of said mandrel. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 28  wherein said lance possesses the capability to inject a gas containing oxygen in order to combust a fuel to heat said bitumen. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 29  wherein said fuel is char. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 30  wherein said char is a product derived from the bitumen. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 28  wherein said lance is adapted to inject a gas containing oxygen from its tip. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 32  wherein said lance is adapted to inject a gas containing oxygen from nozzle means provided in the sides of said lance. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 27  wherein said mandrel together with said ram are adapted to form a core of fuel surrounded by an annulus of bitumen. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein said pyrolyzing reactor is adapted to be co-fed with both fuel and bitumen. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein the discharging end of said pyrolyzing reactor is adapted to discharge hot incandescent char to said gasifier and also to a cooling quencher to produce a cool char prior to exposing such char to the atmosphere. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 36  wherein a conveying system is included to deliver the cool char to said charging mechanism referenced in  claim 25 . 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein means are included to utilize said fuel gas produced to generate electric power. 
     
     
         39 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein means are provided to air blow said gasifier to produce a lean gas containing nitrogen (N 2 ) and ash devoid of oil, with the N 2  constituting a portion of a feedstock gas to make fertilizer. 
     
     
         40 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein injection means are provided to inject the produced CO 2  into said gasifier to react with hot incandescent char to reduce the CO 2  to 2CO within said gasifier, with such 2CO becoming part of the feedstock to make fertilizer. 
     
     
         41 . The apparatus as set forth in  claims 39  and  40  wherein facilities are provided to utilize said feedstock to produce fertilizer. 
     
     
         42 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein equipment adapted to remove mercury from gas is included. 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein means are included to operate the equipment under pressure. 
     
     
         44 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein said pyrolyzing reactor is configured with a taper extending from its charging end to its discharging end to provide an ever-increasing dimension towards the discharging end to facilitate the movement of the bitumen towards the discharging end of said pyrolyzing reactor. 
     
     
         45 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 25  wherein said pyrolyzing reactor is replicated to form an assembly of reactors in battery form to meet a specific production capacity.