Abstract: The present invention is an improvement to two-dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography. The improvement is a one valve switching modulator connecting the two separation columns. The valve includes either a two position eight-port valve or a two position twelve-port valve, and two transfer lines.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 14, 2009
Date of Patent:
December 4, 2012
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Abstract: The present invention is a method to determine models to predict physical or chemical properties of a petroleum fluid when such properties of such fluids cannot be measured by conventional analytical methods. The invention includes the steps of determining one or more models that predict one or more predetermined properties from a set of oils whose optical spectra and properties are known wherein a model corresponds to each predetermined property which is related to the spectrum, estimating the quality of the models, estimating the predictive quality for samples with unknown properties, augmenting the spectrum with shape parameters and/or properties that are predicted by the step above, and determining the quality and predictive quality of the models. The models are then used to predict properties of very small samples.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 10, 2008
Date of Patent:
November 13, 2012
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Robert J. Chimenti, Patricia H. Kalamaras, Robert J. Pottorf, Bruce N. Perry
Abstract: The present invention provides quantitation of seven classes of compounds (saturates, 1-4+ ring aromatics, sulfides, and polars) present in petroleum streams boiling from 550-1050° F. Operating the present invention in the preparative mode will allow us to load and collect multi-milligram amounts of material. In the present invention, all seven fractions are produced in a single run, whereas the most commonly used preparative liquid chromatographic separations requires two or more large scale separations to generate similar fractions. The present invention uses 100 times less solvent. The present invention protocol provides a quicker and cheaper alternative to most commonly used preparative liquid chromatographic separations and is flexible enough to target many refining and chemicals problems.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 5, 2010
Date of Patent:
February 14, 2012
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company
Abstract: Thousands of process and equipment measurements are gathered by the modern digital process control systems that are deployed in refineries and chemical plants. Several years of these data are historized in databases for analysis and reporting. These databases can be mined for the data patterns that occur during normal operation and those patterns used to determine when the process is behaving abnormally. These normal operating patterns are represented by sets of models. These models include simple engineering equations, which express known relationships that should be true during normal operations and multivariate statistical models based on a variation of principle component analysis. Equipment and process problems can be detected by comparing the data gathered on a minute by minute basis to predictions from these models of normal operation.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 26, 2005
Date of Patent:
March 25, 2008
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Kenneth F. Emigholz, Robert K. Wang, Stephen S. Woo, Richard B. McLain, Sourabh K. Dash, Thomas A. Kendi
Abstract: The invention is a method to improve the prediction of the corrosivity of organic acids in petroleum crudes, feedstocks and distillation fractions by providing a more accurate, repeatable, and rapid means of determining the TAN from the IR spectrum of the material. The method can be easily practiced in refinery, terminal, and assay laboratories. It can be used in conjunction with models and hardware to optimize the usage and improve the valuation of corrosive feed stocks. The invention can be implemented on-line for blending optimization. It comprises the steps of irradiating a heated petroleum sample with IR radiation to produce its IR absorption spectrum, and predicting the TAN from the spectrum using a linear, multivariate regression model. The IR TAN value is then used as input to blending, valuation, and corrosion models.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 16, 2003
Date of Patent:
January 9, 2007
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Robert J. L. Chimenti, Gerald M. Halpern, Patricia H. Kalamaras, Michael P. Anderson, Maureen Iannucci
Abstract: The present invention is an apparatus for simulating corrosion activity in liquid and vapor/condensate corrosion environments. The apparatus includes a container, including a lower region containing the liquid and an upper region, including a condenser, a heater for providing heat to the lower region such that the liquid is maintained at a given temperature, a vacuum pump for providing a partial vacuum at a given pressure in the upper region of the container, one corrosion probe removably positioned in the liquid, and a second corrosion probe removably positioned above the liquid.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 21, 2005
Date of Patent:
October 31, 2006
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Saul C. Blum, Guido Sartori, Winston K. Robbins, Liza Monette, Andreas Vogel, Mohsen S. Yeganeh
Abstract: The thermal decomposition of Athabasca asphaltene at relatively low (<350° C.) temperatures is believed to proceed by elimination of groups situated on peripheral sites of the asphaltene. More severe degradation of the asphaltene structure does not occur until elevated (>350° C.) temperatures are attained.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 31, 2003
Date of Patent:
April 18, 2006
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Abstract: This invention is a method to measure fluid flow properties of a porous medium, including, but not limited to, the fluid flow permeability. In a preferred embodiment, the measurements are made down hole in drill wells exploring for hydrocarbons or acquifers. The measurement involves two types of instruments. One instrument creates a pressure wave in the porous medium, which generates motion of the fluid in the pore space. The second instrument measures the fluid motion in the pore space using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods. Any type of instrument that can generate a pressure gradient is suitable, including instruments that are remote from the NMR instrument. Magnetic field gradients can be used to localize the NMR signal to a specific region within the porous medium. The magnetic field gradient also provides the method by which the fluid motion is encoded on to the NMR signal.
Abstract: A method to quantify the conjugated dienes in a feedstream including the steps of dissolving 4-methyl-1,2,4-trazoline-3,5-dione (MTAD) in said feedstream, and determining the molar concentration of said conjugated dienes and/or the carbon number distribution of said conjugated dienes by GC/MS and GC/NCD (Nitrogen Chemiluminescence Detection).
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 10, 2003
Date of Patent:
March 22, 2005
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Kuangnan Qian, Kathleen E. Edwards, Frank C. Wang, Michael Siskin
Abstract: The present invention includes a method to determine if asphaltenes are soluble or insoluble in a solution. The solution may be a petroleum oil, a mixture of petroleum oils, petroleum derived oils and mixtures or similar combinations in a solvent. The invention includes the steps of illuminating the solution with a laser, measuring the small angle scattered light as a function of angle away from the laser beam, and determining if the asphaltenes are soluble or insoluble in the solution.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 10, 2003
Date of Patent:
January 4, 2005
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Thomas G. Mason, James C. Sung, Zhengdong Cheng, Eric B. Sirota, Michael Siskin
Abstract: A new synthetic porous crystalline material, designated EMM-1, is disclosed having, in its calcined form, the X-ray diffraction pattern of Table 2 above. Also disclosed are methods of making EMM-1 in the presence of HF using various organic nitrogen compounds as directing agents. Aluminum-containing EMM-1 can be produced either by inclusion of Al in the synthesis, or by incorporation of B or Ga in the synthesis, followed by post treatment with aluminum nitrate or other sources of Al. EMM-1 is useful as an acid catalyst and as an adsorbent.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 14, 2003
Date of Patent:
September 7, 2004
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Arthur W. Chester, Sandeep S. Dhingra, Stephen G. Casmer
Abstract: The present invention is a method to monitor and analyze the performance of a hydrocarbon-processing unit such as pipestill or hydrocracker unit. The invention includes the steps of collecting historical data relating to the hydrocarbon processing unit, from a process history database, validating the historical data, correcting the data performing a workup to determine the output measurements for the hydrocarbon processing unit, and storing the results of the workup in the process history database.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 8, 2002
Date of Patent:
May 11, 2004
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Kenneth C. Kern, George P. Charles, Christopher F. Sullivan, Andrew D. Sullivan, Howard H. Shiel, John M. Righi, Michael A. Hayes, Daniel H. Mason
Abstract: The invention is related to a zeolite membrane composite composition comprising a first zeolite or zeolite-like layer, a second independently selected catalytic, permselective, or combined catalytic-permselective layer, and a porous support, the porous support having a first surface in contact with the first zeolite layer and a second surface in contact with the second layer. In another embodiment, the invention is directed toward a zeolite membrane composite composition comprising a supported zeolite or zeolite-like layer, the support having a catalytic functionality contained thereon.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 22, 2002
Date of Patent:
May 11, 2004
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Wenyih F. Lai, Edward William Corcoran, Jr.
Abstract: A catalytic cracking process for selectively producing C2 to C4 olefins is described in which a feedstock containing hydrocarbons having at least 5 carbon atoms is contacted, under catalytic cracking conditions, with a catalyst composition comprising the synthetic porous crystalline material ITQ-13 and, optionally, a large pore molecular sieve, such as zeolite Y.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 14, 2003
Date of Patent:
March 23, 2004
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Abstract: A method for determining a property of an unknown material including the steps of determining the IR spectrum of the unknown material, fitting the IR spectrum to a linear combination of known spectra in a database, wherein a database includes spectra of reference materials whose assay properties are known, and determining the property of the unknown material from the assay properties of the reference materials.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 30, 2001
Date of Patent:
December 9, 2003
Assignee:
ExxonMobile Research and Engineering Company
Abstract: The invention includes a start-up system for providing fuel and water as an emulsion to the reformer of a fuel cell and for starting a fuel cell powered vehicle.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 29, 2001
Date of Patent:
November 25, 2003
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Paul J. Berlowitz, Ramesh Varadaraj, Frank Hershkowitz
Abstract: A fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process performed in a FCC process unit containing a reactor, a regenerator and an outboard vessel. Catalyst particles containing vanadium are circulated back and forth from the reactor to the regenerator and back and forth from the regenerator and the outboard vessel. The outboard vessel contains a vanadium trap material that removes vanadium from at least a portion of the catalyst particles.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 9, 2000
Date of Patent:
August 26, 2003
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Guang Cao, Todd Richard Steffens, Gordon Frederick Stuntz, Daniel Paul Leta, William Russell Adamson, Albert Yuan-Hsin Hu
Abstract: The present invention provides a CO2-selective membrane process that is useful for the purification and/or water gas shift reaction of a reformed gas, generated from on-board reforming of a fuel, e.g., hydrocarbon, gasoline, diesel, methanol or natural gas, to hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed toward a composition comprising a hydrophylic polymer and at least one ammonium halide salt, the ammonium halide salt being present in an amount ranging from about 10 to 80 wt % based on the total weight of the composition. The composition is suitable in formation of a membrane useful for separating CO2 from a CO2-containing gas, particularly from an on-board reformed gas for the CO2-selective membrane process.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 3, 1999
Date of Patent:
June 17, 2003
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Abstract: A shape-selective catalyst comprises a synthetic porous crystalline material having the structure of ZSM-5 and a composition involving the molar relationship: X2O3:(n)YO2, wherein X is a trivalent element, such as aluminum, boron, iron and/or gallium, preferably aluminum; Y is a tetravalent element such as silicon and/or germanium, preferably silicon; and n is greater than about 12, and wherein the crystals have a major dimension of at least about 0.5 micron and a surface YO2/X2O3 ratio which is no more than 20% less than the bulk YO2/X2O3 ratio of the crystal. The crystals have a diffusion-modifying surface coating of a refractory material such as silica or coke. The catalyst is useful in a wide variety of selective hydrocarbon conversion processes, particularly the selective disproportionation of toluene to para-xylene.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 4, 1998
Date of Patent:
November 26, 2002
Assignee:
Mobil Oil Corporation
Inventors:
Jeevan S. Abichandani, Daria N. Lissy, Mae K. Rubin, Sanjay B. Sharma, David S. Shihabi
Abstract: A new synthetic porous crystalline material, designated ITQ-12, is disclosed having, in its calcined form, the X-ray diffraction pattern of Table 2 herein. Also disclosed are methods of making ITQ-12 in its silicate, aluminosilicate and borosilicate forms in the presence of HF using 1,3,5-trimethylimidazole as a directing agent and hydolyzed tetraethylorthosilicate as a silica source. ITQ-12 is useful in the conversion of methanol to olefins and as an adsorbent.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 29, 2001
Date of Patent:
October 29, 2002
Assignee:
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company
Inventors:
Teresa Boix, Marta Puche, Miguel A. Camblor, Avelino Corma