WASTE UPGRADING AND RELATED SYSTEMS
A method upgrading waste to produce fuel can include: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a 450° C. to 1050° C. coking zone of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles; allowing the coke particles to pass downwards to a stripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into the stripper section; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/720,969, filed Aug. 22, 2018, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDAccording to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generated about 259 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2014. About 90 million tons were recycled or composted, 33 million tons were burned for energy recovery, and 136 million tons were landfilled. An example of burning for energy recovery involves burning the waste in a combustion chamber where the heat produced converts water to steam. The steam is sent to a turbine generator that produces electricity. The remaining ash is collected and sent to landfills. There is a need for other ways of processing waste to useful products.
SUMMARYThis application relates to upgrading waste to produce fuel and the related systems.
A method in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter comprises: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a coking zone at 450° C. to 1050° C. of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles; allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into the stripper section of the reactor; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
A system in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter comprises: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receives the cold coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the hot coke stream and a fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
An alternative system in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter comprises: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream; a heater that receives the cold coke stream, a partly gasified coke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and produces the hot coke stream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified coke stream and the first fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
The following figures are included to illustrate certain aspects of the embodiments, and should not be viewed as exclusive embodiments. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modifications, alterations, combinations, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the art and having the benefit of this disclosure.
The present application relates to upgrading waste to produce fuel and the related systems. More specifically, hydrocarbon-rich waste and optionally water-rich waste can be used as a portion of the feed for FLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed coking methods that produce fuel gas.
DefinitionsThe term “coke” refers to the solid residue remaining from the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons.
As used herein, the term “hydrocarbon-rich waste” refers to waste that at 15° C. is a liquid or solid containing at least 10 wt %, preferably more than 50 wt %, compounds made from primarily carbon and hydrogen (that is, at least 75 mol % of the compounds are cumulatively carbon and hydrogen). Two non-limiting examples of hydrocarbon-rich waste are refinery tank bottoms and plastics.
As used herein, the term “water-rich waste” refers to waste that at 15° C. is a liquid containing at least 10 wt %, preferably more than 50 wt %, water.
As used herein, the term “oxygen-limited atmosphere” refers to a sub-stoichiometric usage of O2 for complete combustion of hydrocarbons include coke to CO2 and H2O. Preferably, the O2 deficiency is maintained at a level to have minority moles of carbon oxides be carbon dioxide.
As used herein, the term “resid” refers to the complex mixture of heavy petroleum compounds otherwise known in the art as residuum or residual.
As used herein, the term “fuel gas” refers to a gas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a combined concentration of at least 20 wt %, preferably at least 30 wt %, and more preferably at least 90 wt %. Carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen may also be included in fuel gas.
General Methods and SystemsHeavy petroleum oils and residual fractions derived from them are characterized by a combination of properties which may be summarized as high initial boiling point, high molecular weight, and low hydrogen content relative to lower boiling fractions such as naphtha, gasoline, and distillates; frequently these heavy oils and high boiling fractions exhibit high density (low API gravity), high viscosity, high carbon residue, high nitrogen content, high sulfur content, and high metals content.
Technologies for upgrading heavy petroleum feedstocks can be broadly divided into carbon rejection and hydrogen addition processes. Carbon rejection redistributes hydrogen among the various components, resulting in fractions with increased H/C atomic ratios and products including fractions with lower H/C atomic ratios and solid coke-like materials. Carbon rejection processes may be either non-catalytic or catalytic. Both can be said generally to operate at moderate to high temperatures and low pressures and suffer from a lower liquid yield of transportation fuels than hydrogen addition processes, because a large fraction of the feedstock is rejected as solid coke; light gases are also formed as by-products in the thermal cracking reactions and, being of high H/C ratio tend to degrade the quantity of the more valuable liquid products. The liquids are generally of poor quality and must normally be hydrotreated before they can be used as feeds for catalytic processes to make transportation fuels.
Thermal cracking processes include those such as visbreaking, which operate under relatively mild conditions and are intended mainly to increase the yields of distillates from residual fractions. Coking processes, by contrast, operate at significantly higher severities and produce substantial quantities of coke as the by-product; the amount of the coke is typically of the order of one-third the weight of the feed. The main coking processes now in use are delayed coking, fluid-bed coking, and a fluid-bed coking variant known as FLEXICOKING™.
The present application relates to upgrading waste like municipal and industrial waste by using it as a feedstock in FLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed coking methods that produce fuel gas and hydrocarbon products. The waste streams can include hydrocarbon-rich waste and, optionally, water-rich waste.
The hydrocarbon-rich waste can include, for example, waste from municipal sources, commercial sources, industrial sources, and the like, and combinations thereof. Specific examples of hydrocarbon-rich waste can include, but are not limited to, animal fats, plant fats (e.g., frying and cooking oil), plastics, wood chips, chemical solvents, pigments, sludge, paints, paper products (e.g., paper and cardboard), construction materials, compost, agricultural waste (e.g., spoiled or unwanted crops/fruits and watermelon shell), and combinations thereof.
The water-rich waste can include waste from municipal sources, commercial sources, industrial sources, or a combination thereof. Specific examples of water-rich waste can include, but are not limited to, diapers, food waste (e.g., from restaurants and households), a benzene containing wastewater (e.g., benzene containing refinery water waste such as desalter bottoms), an industrial wastewater containing hydrocarbons (e.g., API separator waste), and combinations thereof.
Preferably, the hydrocarbon-rich waste and the water-rich waste are absent metal (especially volatile metals like mercury) and glass. However, small amounts of metal (e.g., less than 1 wt %) may be tolerated provided that the metal is non-volatile. Such metals may lay on the produced coke particles and be recovered with further processing.
Hydrocarbon-rich waste and optionally water-rich waste can be used as a portion of the feed for FLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed coking methods that produce fuel gas.
A general method of the in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter that applies to FLEXICOKING™ methods and fluid-bed coking methods includes the following steps: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a coking zone of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures (e.g., about 40° C. to about 1050° C., preferably about 150° C. to about 900° C., preferably about 300° C. to about 750° C., and more preferably about 450° C. to about 650° C.) to about to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles; introducing a steam stream into a stripper section of the reactor; allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of the reactor; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at an elevated temperature to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
In fluid-bed coking methods, a burner is used. In FLEXICOKING™ methods, a gasifier is used. In some FLEXICOKING™ methods, a heater section (also referred to herein simply as a heater) is included between the reactor and the gasifier.
A cyclone system is typically used to remove coke fines from the fuel gas. For example, a cyclone system can include serially connected primary and secondary cyclones with diplegs that return the separated fines to the fluid bed in the vessel in which the cyclone system is connected or a part of. The cyclone system can be a portion of the gasifier/burner. When a heater section is included in FLEXICOKING™ methods, the cyclone system can be included as part of the heater section.
Typically, the coking zone of the reactor operates at about 450° C. to about 850° C., and the combustion or gasification zone of the burner operate at about 850° C. to about 1000° C. However, depending on the composition of the waste streams, these zones of the reactor and burner or gasifier may be operated at a higher temperature to reduce buildup sticky, adherent high molecular weight hydrocarbon deposits on the particles that could lead to reactor fouling. For example, when plastic is a large component of the hydrocarbon-rich waste, the coking zone of the reactor may be operated at a higher temperature to ensure cracking and mitigate reactor and coke particle fouling. For higher operating temperatures, the coking zone of the reactor operates at about 850° C. to about 1050° C., and the combustion or gasification zone of the burner or gasifier operate at about 1000° C. to about 1200° C. where the combustion or gasification zone is at a higher temperature than the coking zone. Therefore, the methods described herein can be performed with the coking zone of the reactor operating at about 450° C. to about 1050° C. and the combustion or gasification zone of the burner or gasifier operating at about 850° C. to about 1200° C. where the combustion or gasification zone is at a higher temperature than the coking zone. Preferably, the coking zone of the reactor operates at about 600° C. to about 1050° C. and the combustion or gasification zone of the burner or gasifier operate at about 950° C. to about 1200° C.
The methods in accordance with aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter advantageously upgrade waste (hydrocarbon-rich waste and/or water-rich waste) to fuel gas and hydrocarbon product. The fuel gas (also known as syngas) is useful as an intermediate when producing, for example, ammonia, methanol, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels. Additionally, fuel gas can be combusted to produce electricity. Further, the hydrocarbon products comprise C5+-rich hydrocarbons that can be used in various industrial processes and as components to be processed for blending into gasoline, jet, kerosene and diesel.
Fluid-Bed Coking Units
The fluid-bed coking unit 100 includes a reactor 107 containing coke particles that are maintained in the fluidized condition at the required reaction temperature for hydrocarbon cracking (e.g., at about 450° C. to about 1050° C.). A gaseous stream, preferably a steam stream 108 is injected at the bottom of the reactor 107 with the average direction of movement of the coke particles being downwards through the bed. Optionally, a first water-rich waste stream 105 can be used in combination with (shown) or in alternative of (not shown) the steam stream 108.
Hydrocarbon feed stream 109 is preheated to a temperature, typically in the range of 350° C. to 400° C. and introduced into the reactor 107. The hydrocarbon feed stream 109 can include, but is not limited to, resids, petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar, and bitumens (e.g., from tar sands, tar pits, and/or pitch lakes), and combinations thereof.
Optionally, a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 can be entrained with the hydrocarbon feed stream 109. The first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 can be derived from liquid waste and/or solid waste. When using solid waste, the waste can, if needed, be chopped into small pieces so that it can be easily transported and distributed in the fluid-bed coking unit 100. The first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 can optionally have a carrier gas like air, steam, or a hydrocarbon gas, which may assist in transportation of the waste in the fluid-bed coking unit 100. The hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103 optionally in the carrier gas can also be heated before entraining in the hydrocarbon feed stream 109. A carrier liquid such as heavy hydrocarbon streams may also be used. This stream may also dissolve the waste before injection.
The hydrocarbon feed stream 109, optionally with entrained the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 103, is fed through multiple feed nozzles which may be arranged at several successive levels in the reactor 107 including one or more coking zones of the reactor 107. An advantage of utilizing a fluidized coke bed reactor for waste management is its robustness for handling various solid particle sizes in various concentrations. As described above, the coking zone(s) can be at temperatures of about 450° C. to about 1050° C.
Steam stream 108 is injected into a stripping section at the bottom of the reactor 107 and passes upwards through the coke particles descending through the dense phase of the fluid bed in the main part of the reactor above the stripping section. Part of the hydrocarbon feed stream 109 injected into the reactor 107 coats the coke particles in the fluidized bed and is subsequently cracked into (1) layers of solid coke and (2) a hydrocarbon product stream 102 that evolves as gas or vaporized liquid. Reactor pressure is preferably relatively low in order to favor vaporization of the hydrocarbons. The vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 102 are separated from the coke particles and extracted from the reactor 107. Typically, the vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 102 comprises, in the majority (i.e., greater than 50 wt %, preferably greater than 75 wt %, most preferably greater than 85 wt %), a C5+-rich product. The vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream 102 can be fractionated where the heavier hydrocarbons can be recycled back to the reactor 107 (e.g., by being entrained with the hydrocarbon feed 109).
The coke particles formed in the coking zone pass downwards in the reactor 107 and leave the bottom of the reactor vessel through a stripper section where they are exposed to steam stream 108 in order to remove occluded hydrocarbons. The coke particles at this point in the fluid-bed coking unit 100 are referred to herein as “cold coke.” A cold coke stream 110 from the reactor 107 (consisting mainly of carbon with lesser amounts of hydrogen, sulfur, nitrogen, and traces of vanadium, nickel, iron, and other elements derived from the hydrocarbon feed 109 and optionally entrained first hydrocarbon-rich feed stream 103) passes through the stripper section and out of the reactor 107 to a burner (typically referred to as a gasifier in FLEXICOKING™ processes/systems and burner in fluid-bed coking processes/systems) 111 where the coke in the gasifier is partly burned in a fluidized bed (e.g., at a temperature of about 850° C. to about 1200° C.) with an oxygen-containing gas stream 112 in an oxygen-limited atmosphere to raise the temperature of the coke and produce fuel gas. The heated coke is removed (e.g., via a cyclone system (not shown)) from the fuel gas to produce a fuel gas stream 101. Hot coke is extracted from the burner 111 and supplied to the reactor 107 as a hot coke stream 113. The hot coke stream 113 supplies the heat required for the endothermic coking reactions occurring in the reactor 107.
Optionally, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 104 can also be supplied to the burner 111.
The illustrated fluid-bed coking unit 100 upgrades one or more waste streams 103, 104, 105 to a fuel gas stream 101 and a vapor phase hydrocarbon product stream 102.
FLEXICOKING™ UnitsThe FLEXICOKING™ process, developed by Exxon Research and Engineering Company, is a non-catalytic thermal conversion process with a continuous and totally contained fluidized bed integrated coking and gasification technology. In this process, fluid coke produced in the reactor is gasified with process steam and air to produce a higher value fuel gas (FLEXIGAS™).
The FLEXICOKING™ process is described in patents of Exxon Research and Engineering Company, including, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,543 (Saxton), U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,676 (Lahn), U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,084 (Moser), U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,516 (Luckenbach), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,696 (Metrailer). A variant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,848 (Saxton) in which the heat requirement of the reactor coking zone is satisfied by introducing a stream of light hydrocarbons from the product fractionator into the reactor instead of the stream of hot coke particles from the heater. Another variant is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,596 (Kerby) using a stream of light paraffins injected into the hot coke return line to generate olefins. Early work proposed units with a stacked configuration but later units have migrated to a side-by-side arrangement. Aspects of the FLEXICOKING™ process are described in Coking without the Coke, Kamienski et al., Hydrocarbon Engineering March 2008.
The FLEXICOKING™ unit may be a conventional three-vessel unit of cracking reactor, heater, and gasifier or, alternatively, a two-vessel unit of reactor and gasifier in which the coke from the reactor passes directly to the gasifier and hot, partly gasified coke particles from the gasifier are cycled back to the reactor to provide the heat for the endothermic cracking reactions. A unit of this type is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0368572 (Rajagopalan), to which reference is made for a description of the unit and its method of operation.
The FLEXICOKING™ unit 220, as illustrated, includes four possible waste streams: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 224, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 225, a first water-rich waste stream 226, and a second water-rich waste stream 226. While each are referred to in the description below as optional, one or more are required for the present invention.
The FLEXICOKING™ unit 220 comprises reactor section 221 with the coking zone (e.g., at about 450° C. to about 1050° C.) and its associated stripping and scrubbing sections (not separately indicated as conventional), a heater section 222, and a gasifier section 223. The relationship of the coking zone, scrubbing zone, and stripping zone in the reactor section is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,596 (Kerby), to which reference is made for a description of the FLEXICOKING™ unit and its reactor section. A hydrocarbon feed stream 228 is introduced into the reactor 221, optionally with a hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 224 entrained therein. A vapor phase hydrocarbon product 229 is withdrawn from the reactor 221. A steam stream 230 is supplied to the reactor 221 for fluidizing and stripping the coke particles to produce cold coke. Optionally, the first water-rich waste stream 226 can be entrained in the steam stream 230 (shown) or used in alternative of the steam stream 230 (not shown).
A cold coke stream 232 passes from the reactor 221 to the heater 222. The heater 222 raises the temperature of the coke particles. A coke stream 233 from heater 222 is transferred to gasifier 223. An oxygen-containing gas stream 234 is introduced to the gasifier 223 in an oxygen-limited atmosphere and used for combustion to produce fuel gas and hot, partly gasified particles of coke. The gasification zone(s) of the gasifier 223 can be at temperatures of about 850° C. to 1200° C. Optionally, the oxygen-containing gas stream 234 can be entrained with a steam stream 235, which optionally can be entrained with the second water-waste stream 227 or be replaced with the second water-waste stream 227. Optionally, a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream 225 can be introduced to the gasifier 223 where the hydrocarbons participate in combustion.
A stream 236 of hot, partly gasified particles of coke stream a separate first fuel gas stream 237 are supplied from the gasifier 223 to the heater 222. The coke particles and fuel gas are further heated in the heater 222, which further gasifies the coke particles. A cyclone system 238 is used to remove coke particles from the fuel gas to produce a second fuel gas stream 239. The hot coke stream 240 (hot coke extracted from the heater 222) is then introduced back into the reactor 221. Excess coke is withdrawn from the heater 222 in excess coke stream 241.
The illustrated FLEXICOKING™ unit 220 upgrades one or more waste streams 224, 225, 226, 227 to the second fuel gas stream 239 and the vapor phase hydrocarbon product stream 229.
The reactor 351 operates in the same manner as reactor 221 of
The illustrated FLEXICOKING™ unit 350 upgrades one or more waste streams 353, 354, 355, 356 to a fuel gas stream 365 and a vapor phase hydrocarbon product stream 359.
A first nonlimiting example method of the present invention comprises: introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a coking zone at 450° C. to 1050° C. of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles; allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of the reactor; introducing a steam stream into a stripper section of the reactor; transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner; contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen; recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
Optionally, the first nonlimiting example method can include one or more of the following: Element 1: wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises: entraining the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream into the hydrocarbon feed stream before introduction into the reactor; Element 2: wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises: introducing the second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream to the gasifier/burner; Element 3: one or more of Elements 1-2 wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tank bottoms and/or crude emulsion solids; Element 4: one or more of Elements 1-3 wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element 5: one or more of Elements 1-4 wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: an animal fat, a plant fat, a plastic, a wood chip, a chemical solvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, a paper product, a construction material, compost, agricultural waste, and any combination thereof; Element 6: one or more of Elements 1-5 chopping hydrocarbon-rich waste; and entraining the chopped hydrocarbon-rich waste with air, steam, a hydrocarbon gas, a hydrocarbon liquid, or a combination thereof to produce the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream; Element 7: wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a first water-rich waste stream and the method further comprises: entraining the first water-rich waste stream into the steam stream before introduction to the stripper portion of the reactor; Element 8: wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, the at least one waste stream comprises a second water-rich waste stream, and the method further comprises: introducing the second water-rich waste stream into the gasifier; and further contacting the coke particles in the gasifier with steam; Element 9: one or more of Elements 7-8 wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element 10: one or more of Elements 7-9 wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: a diaper, a food waste, a benzene containing waste water, an industrial waste water containing hydrocarbons, and any combination thereof; Element 11: one or more of Elements 7-10 further comprising: chopping water-rich waste; and entraining the chopped water-rich waste with air, steam, or water to produce the first and/or second water-rich waste stream; Element 12: one or more of Elements 7-11 wherein the water-rich waste stream comprises wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons; Element 13: wherein the hydrocarbon feed stream comprises one selected from the group consisting of: resids, petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar, and bitumens from tar sands, tar pits, and pitch lakes; Element 14: wherein the coking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.; Element 15: wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein a gasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; Element 16: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one or more of Elements 1-7 and 9-14 wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, and wherein a combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; and Element 17: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one or more of Elements 1-15 wherein transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to the gasifier includes passing the coke particles through a heater, wherein recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier to the coking zone of the reactor includes passing the coke particles through the heater, and wherein the fuel gas product is extracted from the heater as a fuel gas stream. Nonlimiting combinations of elements include: Elements 1 and 2 in combination; two or more of Elements 1, 2, 7, and 8 in combination; two or more of Elements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 17 in combination; two or more of Elements 13-15 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more of Elements 1, 2, 7, 8, and 17; and two or more of Elements 13, 14, and 16 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more of Elements 1, 2, 7, and 8.
A first nonlimiting example system of the present invention comprises: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receives the cold coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the hot coke stream and a fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
A second nonlimiting example system of the present invention comprises: a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream; a heater that receives the cold coke stream, a partly gasified coke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and produces the hot coke stream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream; a gasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified coke stream and the first fuel gas stream; and one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
Optionally, the first and nonlimiting example systems can, independently, include one or more of the following: Element 18: wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tank bottoms and/or crude emulsion solids; Element 19: wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element 20: wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: an animal fat, a plant fat, a plastic, a wood chip, a chemical solvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, a paper product, a construction material, compost, agricultural waste, and any combination thereof; Element 21: a chopping unit along the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream; Element 22: wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source; Element 23: wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: a diaper, a food waste, a benzene containing waste water, an industrial waste water containing hydrocarbons, and any combination thereof; Element 24: a chopping unit along the first and/or second water-rich waste stream; Element 25: wherein the water-rich waste stream comprises wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons; Element 26: wherein the hydrocarbon feed stream comprises one selected from the group consisting of: resids, petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar, and bitumens from tar sands, tar pits, and pitch lakes; Element 27: wherein the coking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.; Element 28: wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein a gasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.; and Element 29: the first nonlimiting example method optionally with one or more of Elements 18-27 wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, and wherein a combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C. Nonlimiting combinations of elements include: Elements 21 and 24 in combination; two or more of Elements 18-20 in combination; two or more of Elements 22, 23, and 25 in combination; one or more of Elements 18-20 in combination with one or more of Elements 22, 23, and 25; two or more of Elements 26-28 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more of Elements 18-25; and two or more of Elements 26, 27, and 29 in combination optionally in further combination with one or more of Elements 18-25.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as molecular weight, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the present specification and associated claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the embodiments of the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claim, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.
One or more illustrative embodiments incorporating the invention embodiments disclosed herein are presented herein. Not all features of a physical implementation are described or shown in this application for the sake of clarity. It is understood that in the development of a physical embodiment incorporating the embodiments of the present invention, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's goals, such as compliance with system-related, business-related, government-related and other constraints, which vary by implementation and from time to time. While a developer's efforts might be time-consuming, such efforts would be, nevertheless, a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art and having benefit of this disclosure.
While compositions and methods are described herein in terms of “comprising” various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps.
Therefore, the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the present invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered, combined, or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element that is not specifically disclosed herein and/or any optional element disclosed herein. While compositions and methods are described in terms of “comprising,” “containing,” or “including” various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps. All numbers and ranges disclosed above may vary by some amount. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and any included range falling within the range is specifically disclosed. In particular, every range of values (of the form, “from about a to about b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to set forth every number and range encompassed within the broader range of values. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. Moreover, the indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- introducing a hydrocarbon feed stream into a 450° C. to 1050° C. coking zone of a reactor containing a fluidized bed of coke particles maintained at coking temperatures to produce a vapor phase hydrocarbon product while coke is deposited on the coke particles;
- allowing the coke particles to pass downwards in the reactor to a stripper section of the reactor;
- introducing a steam stream into the stripper section of the reactor;
- transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to a gasifier/burner;
- contacting the coke particles in the gasifier/burner an oxygen-containing gas in an oxygen-limited atmosphere at 850° C. to 1200° C. to heat the coke particles and form a fuel gas product that comprises carbon monoxide and hydrogen;
- recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier/burner to the coking zone of the reactor; and
- introducing at least one waste stream to the reactor and/or the gasifier/burner.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:
- entraining the first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream into the hydrocarbon feed stream before introduction into the reactor.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:
- introducing the second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream to the gasifier/burner.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises tank bottoms and/or crude emulsion solids.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: an animal fat, a plant fat, a plastic, a wood chip, a chemical solvent, a pigment, sludge, a paint, a paper product, a construction material, compost, agricultural waste, and any combination thereof.
7. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
- chopping hydrocarbon-rich waste; and
- entraining the chopped hydrocarbon-rich waste with air, steam, a hydrocarbon gas, a hydrocarbon liquid, or a combination thereof to produce the first and/or second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one waste stream comprises a first water-rich waste stream and the method further comprises:
- entraining the first water-rich waste stream into the steam stream before introduction to the stripper portion of the reactor.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, the at least one waste stream comprises a second water-rich waste stream, and the method further comprises:
- introducing the second water-rich waste stream into the gasifier; and
- further contacting the coke particles in the gasifier with steam.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises waste from one or more of: a municipal source, a commercial source, and an industrial source.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first and/or second water-rich waste stream comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of: a diaper, a food waste, a benzene containing wastewater, an industrial wastewater containing hydrocarbons, and any combination thereof.
12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:
- chopping water-rich waste; and
- entraining the chopped water-rich waste with air, steam, or water to produce the first and/or second water-rich waste stream.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the water-rich waste stream comprises wastewater contaminated with hydrocarbons.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon feed stream comprises one selected from the group consisting of: resids, petroleum vacuum distillation bottoms, aromatic extracts, asphalts, steam cracker tar, and bitumens from tar sands, tar pits, and pitch lakes.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the coking zone of the reactor is at 850° C. to 1050° C.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the gasifier/burner is a gasifier, and wherein a gasification zone of the gasifier is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the gasifier/burner is a burner, and wherein a combustion zone of the burner is at 1000° C. to 1200° C.
18. The method of claim 1, and wherein transferring the coke particles from the stripper section of the reactor to the gasifier includes passing the coke particles through a heater, wherein recycling the heated coke particles from the gasifier to the coking zone of the reactor includes passing the coke particles through the heater, and wherein the fuel gas product is extracted from the heater as a fuel gas stream.
19. A system comprising:
- a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream;
- a gasifier/burner that receives the cold coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the hot coke stream and a fuel gas stream; and
- one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
20. A system comprising:
- a reactor that receives a hydrocarbon feed stream, a steam stream, and a hot coke stream and produces a vapor-phase hydrocarbon product stream and a cold coke stream;
- a heater that receives the cold coke stream, a partly gasified coke stream, and a first fuel gas stream and produces the hot coke stream, a second fuel gas stream, and a heated coke stream;
- a gasifier/burner that receives the heated coke stream and an oxygen-containing gas stream and produces the partly gasified coke stream and the first fuel gas stream; and
- one or more of: a first hydrocarbon-rich waste stream entrained in the hydrocarbon feed stream that is received by the reactor; a second hydrocarbon-rich waste stream received by the gasifier/burner; a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the steam stream that is received by the reactor; and a first water-rich waste stream entrained in the oxygen-containing gas stream received by the gasifier/burner.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 8, 2019
Publication Date: Feb 27, 2020
Inventor: Mohsen N. Harandi (New Hope, PA)
Application Number: 16/535,251
