Mineral oils: processes and products – Refining – Purifying used oil
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-23
2002-06-11
Griffin, Walter D. (Department: 1764)
Mineral oils: processes and products
Refining
Purifying used oil
C208S184000, C208S185000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06402938
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the re-refining of used motor oil.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Extensive work has been reported in the patent literature on use of large amounts of hot, high pressure hydrogen for vaporization of used motor oil (UMO). While such processes are certainly technically feasible, there are significant capital costs associated with the relatively high pressure operation reported (typically 500 psig). Operation at high pressure makes it difficult to vaporize the used lube oil components, so higher hydrogen addition/circulation rates are used to facilitate vaporization, with hydrogen circulation rates of 10,000-18,000 SCFB being reported. Hydrogen helps suppress some condensation coking reactions that otherwise could occur in the heating and vaporization step. The hydrogen is also present in an amount sufficient to supply the hydrogen demand of a downstream hydrotreating reactor. This combination, high-pressure hydrogen coupled with downstream hydrotreating, can produce a liquid product from a UMO fraction which is excellent for use as either a lube stock or as cracker charge.
Representative hot hydrogen: UMO processes are listed below:
U.S.
Issue
Pat. No.
Date
Inventor
Title
4,806,233
Feb. 21, 1989
James, Jr., et al.
Method of Separating a
Hot Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream
4,818,368
April 4, 1989
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature-Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Component to
Produce a Hydrogenated
Distillable Hydrocar-
bonaceous Product
4,840,721
June 20, 1989
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature-Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a
Hydrogenated Distillable
Hydrocarbonaceous
Product
4,882,037
Nov. 21, 1989
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature-Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a
Selected Hydrogenated
Distillable Light
Hydrocarbonaceous
Product
4,923,590
May 8, 1990
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature-Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a
Hydrogenated Distillable
Hydrocarbonaceous
Product
4,927,520
May 22, 1990
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a
Hydrogenated Distillable
Hydrocarbonaceous
Product
5,004,533
April 2, 1991
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating an
Organic Stream Contain-
ing a Non-Distillable
Component to Produce
an Organic Vapor and a
Solid
5,013,424
May 7, 1991
James, Jr., et al.
Process for the Simulta-
neous Hydrogenation of
a First Feedstock Com-
prising Hydrocar-
bonaceous Compounds
and Having a Non-
Distillable Component
and a Second Feedstock
Comprising Halogenated
Organic Compounds
5,028,313
July 2, 1991
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature-Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a
Distillable Hydrocar-
bonaceous Product
5,068,484
Nov. 26, 1991
James, Jr., et al.
Process for the Hydro-
conversion of a Feed-
stock Comprising
Organic Compounds
Having a Tendency to
Readily Form Polymer
Compounds
5,102,531
April 7, 1992
Kalnes, et al.
Process for Treating a
Temperature Sensitive
Hydrocarbonaceous
Stream Containing a
Non-Distillable Com-
ponent to Produce a Dis-
tillable Hydrocar-
bonaceous Product
5,176,816
Jan. 5, 1993
Lankton, et al.
Process to Produce a
Hydrogenated Distillable
Hydrocarbonaceous
Product
5,244,565
Sept. 14, 1993
Lankton, et al.
Integrated Process for the
Production of Distillate
Hydrocarbon
5,302,282
April 12, 1994
Kalnes, et al.
Integrated Process for the
Production of High
Quality Lube Oil
Blending Stock
5,316,663
May 31, 1994
James, Jr.
Process for the Treatment
of Halogenated Hydro-
carbons
5,354,931
Oct. 11, 1994
Jan, et al.
Process for Hydrotreating
an Organic Feedstock
Containing Oxygen
Compounds and a
Halogen Component
5,384,037
Jan. 24, 1995
Kalnes
Integrated Process for the
Production of Distillate
Hydrocarbon
5,401,894
Mar. 28, 1995
Brasier, et al.
Process for the Treatment
of Halogenated Organic
Feedstocks
5,552,037
Sept. 3, 1996
Kalnes, et al.
Process for the Treatment
of Two Halogenated
Hydrocarbon Streams
5,723,706
Mar. 3, 1998
Brasier, et al.
Process for the Treatment
of Halogenated Organic
Feedstocks
5,817,288
Oct. 6, 1998
Bauer, et al.
Process for Treating a
Non-Distillable
Halogenated Organic
Feed Stream
5,904,838
May 18, 1999
Kalnes, et al.
Process for the Simulta-
neous Conversion of
Waste Lubricating Oil
and Pyrolysis Oil,
Derived from Organic
Waste to Produce a
Synthetic Crude Oil
While this approach is excellent in terms of product quality, the capital and operating expense of such an approach are significant.
We devised a vapor vaporization process that, although it does not do as much as the high-pressure, hydrogen gas process, costs significantly less to build and operate. Our vapor vaporization process does not hydrogenate the UMO to any significant extent. The capital and operating costs are low because the process operates at relatively low pressures, ranging from atmospheric to 10 atmospheres.
We devised several related vapor vaporization processes using:
high heat content vapor (e.g. methane, ethane),
low pressure hydrogen,
steam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly the present invention provides a process for direct contact heating and vaporization of a UMO liquid hydrocarbon feed comprising lube oil boiling range hydrocarbons comprising heating a compressed recycled vapor in a heating means to produce a superheated vapor having a temperature sufficiently high to vaporize, at the conditions employed in said UMO vaporization process, at least a portion by weight of the distillable, lube oil boiling range hydrocarbon components in said UMO heating and vaporizing at least a portion of said UMO by direct contact of said UMO liquid feed with said superheated vapor in a UMO vaporization vessel operating at UMO vaporization conditions to produce a UMO vaporization vessel overhead vapor (OHV) fraction comprising vaporized UMO components and said superheated vapor and a UMO bottoms fraction comprising unvaporized UMO cooling said UMO vaporization vessel overhead fraction in a product recovery section comprising a cooling means at OHV condensation conditions including a temperature sufficiently low to condense at least a majority of the lube oil boiling range hydrocarbon components in said OHV fraction to produce a condensed liquid hydrocarbon fraction containing lube oil boiling range components as a liquid product of the process and a vapor fraction containing essentially all of said injected superheated vapor, exclusive of solution losses, if any compressing said recovered vapor fraction from said product recovery fraction to produce a compressed, recycle vapor fraction recycling said compressed vapor to said heating means of step a); and wherein said vapor, pressure and temperature in said UMO vaporization and cooling are selected to effect UMO vaporization, and condensation without hydrogenation of said UMO.
In another embodiment the present provides a heat pump, direct vapor injection, UMO vaporization process comprising heating vaporizing a liquid UMO liquid hydrocarbon feed by direct contact with a superheated vapor in a UMO vaporization vessel operating at UMO vaporization conditions to produce a UMO vaporization vessel OHV fraction comprising vaporized UMO components and said superheated vapor and a UMO bottoms fraction comprising unvaporized UMO cooling said OHV fraction in a cooling means to a temperature sufficient to condense at least a majority of normally liquid hydrocarbons present in said OHV, and wherein said cooling conditions include a temperature above ambient temperature recovering a vapor fraction above ambient temperature from said cooling separating means and heating said vapor by compressing same to form a compressed, pre-heated vapor superheating said compressed, pre-heated vapor in a fired heater or by indirect heat exchange to produce a superheated vapor stream; and recycling said c
Moore Howard F.
Shaffer, Jr. Arthur G.
Griffin Walter D.
Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC
Nguyen Tam M.
Stone Richard D.
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