Mineral oils: processes and products – Paraffin wax; treatment or recovery – Chemical treatment
Utility Patent
1999-04-22
2001-01-02
Yildirim, Bekir L. (Department: 1764)
Mineral oils: processes and products
Paraffin wax; treatment or recovery
Chemical treatment
C208S013000, C208S428000
Utility Patent
active
06168708
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to a method for recovery of hydrocarbon residue, such as crude oil residue or petroleum based residue that accumulates in vessels, such as ships for transporting crude oil, storage tanks for housing crude oil, crude oil pipelines, and other types of storage or transport vessels for petroleum or crude oil that are used in the petroleum industry. In addition, the present invention relates to a method for recycling the hydrocarbon residue once it is recovered.
Certain types of crude oil, such as Alaskan North Slope crude oil, and certain types of petroleum based products contain a hydrocarbon component that over time settles out onto the interior portions of storage tanks and vessels. This hydrocarbon component is typically in the form of a waxy or wax-like solid material. Once this hydrocarbon component settles out from the crude oil or petroleum material and accumulates in a storage tank, it is very difficult to remove or recover. Such storage tanks or vessels that contain the crude oil or petroleum product are commonly found on ships, at terminals, and at refineries.
It is often necessary that the ships used to carry petroleum or crude oil, as well as the petroleum or crude oil storage tanks, undergo a complete and thorough cleaning. Such complete and thorough cleaning, which includes the removal or recovery of hydrocarbon residues from the ships and storage tanks, often occurs prior to a Critical Area Inspection Program (CAIP), prior to unplanned or necessary tank repairs, prior to sale or storage of a ship or tank, prior to a product change in a ship or tank, or prior to the docking or storing of a ship at a shipyard. Currently, the expense and time involved in the recovery and disposal of hydrocarbon residues from all of these various cleaning operations is very high. In addition, the ships must be cleaned, and in particular, prior to docking or storing at the shipyard, because often there is much welding and repair taking place at the shipyard and the potential for electrical fires or explosions is high. When the ships or storage tanks are cleaned, it is desirable that substantially all of the hydrocarbon residue be removed from the ships or storage tanks in order to eliminate the potential risk of fires or explosions.
Known methods for removing hydrocarbon residue or petroleum based residue from petroleum tanks exist. For example, crude oil washing machines are typically used to clean storage tanks to remove or recover hydrocarbon residue. However, a difficulty with known crude oil washing machines is that they do not recover 100% of the hydrocarbon residue. In many ship designs, crude oil washing machines typically only remove or recover up to 85% of the hydrocarbon residue. Due to the internal structure of the storage tanks, numerous “shadow areas” exist in the tanks, i.e., in corners and areas where the crude oil washing machines cannot reach. Thus, the hydrocarbon residue accumulated in these “shadow areas” is not removed or recovered, leaving the potential risk of fire or explosion.
In addition, known methods for removing and disposing of hydrocarbon residue are costly and time consuming. Removing the hydrocarbon residue from a single crude oil storage tank, which may typically hold up to 500,000 barrels of oil, sludge, gasoline, water, hydrocarbons, or other types of materials, may take several days to remove and can be extremely costly. The typical amount of time it takes to remove the hydrocarbon residue from the ship and tanks may take up to a month. In addition, the expense involved in removing the hydrocarbon residue from the tank may easily cost several hundred thousand dollars per ship or refinery. Moreover, once the hydrocarbon residue has been removed from the tank, there are additional costs and time involved in handling and transporting the hydrocarbon residue to another location at a distant site, and in particular, if the hydrocarbon residue is treated as a waste stream product. There are also additional costs involved in disposing of the hydrocarbon residue, such as costs for waste incineration at a federally approved treatment facility and transportation costs. Moreover, there are issues of potential liability for disposal of waste stream products at federally approved treatment facilities.
In addition, known methods for removing hydrocarbon residue from storage tanks often involve disposing of the hydrocarbon residue into a waste stream rather than converting or recycling the hydrocarbon residue into a usable refinery product. Such disposal of hydrocarbon residues or other petroleum residues into a waste stream has the potential for contaminating land or water environments, and in turn, has the potential for creating liability problems for the entity disposing of the hydrocarbon residue as waste.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for recovering and recycling hydrocarbon residue or petroleum based residue from crude oil, where the hydrocarbon residue is typically in the form of a waxy solid material. In addition, there is a need for a method for recovering all or substantially all of the hydrocarbon residue remaining in a ship or storage vessel after it has been initially cleaned with known washing methods and machines, such that the method of recovery decreases or eliminates the potential risk of fire or explosion. In addition, there is a need for a method for recovering and recycling hydrocarbon residue from crude oil that decreases the overall costs of removal and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue from storage tanks or vessels; that decreases the overall time for removal and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue from storage tanks or vessels; that decreases or eliminates the handling, transport, and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue to another location once it is removed from the storage tank or vessel, and thus decreases the associated time and expense involved; that allows for conversion or recycling of the hydrocarbon residue from a waste stream product to a usable refinery product; and, that eliminates potential liability for environmental contamination due to the disposal of the waste stream product, and in particular, the potential liability involved with disposal at federally approved treatment facilities.
The present invention satisfies these needs and provides all of these advantages over known methods for removal and recycling of hydrocarbon residue from crude oil.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a method for the recovery and recycling of hydrocarbon residue from a petroleum material such as crude oil. Such hydrocarbon residue is typically in the form of a solid waxy material that accumulates in storage tanks or vessels used in the petroleum, or oil industry. The present invention has numerous advantages over known methods. The present invention increases the total recovery of the hydrocarbon residue from the storage tank or vessel so that all or substantially all of the hydrocarbon residue is recovered, and the potential risk of fire or explosion in the tank is decreased or eliminated. The present invention decreases the overall cost and time involved for recovery and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue from the storage tanks or vessels, and decreases or eliminates the handling, transport, and disposal of the hydrocarbon residue to another location once it is removed from the storage tank or vessel, which also decreases the associated time and expense involved. The present invention allows for the recycling of the hydrocarbon residue from a waste stream product to a usable refinery product, and in turn, eliminates any potential liability for environmental contamination due to the disposal of the waste stream product.
The present invention provides for a method for recovering and recycling a hydrocarbon residue from a petroleum product such as crude oil. The method comprises providing a hydrocarbon residue in a first vessel, such as a cardboard box lined with a polypropylene lining, wherein the hydrocarbon residue is in the form of a solid waxy material; heating a sufficient
Burbridge Carol S.
Johnson George W.
Nakamura John P.
Tietavainen Gary
Atlantic Richfield Company
Yesukevich Robert A.
Yildirim Bekir L.
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