US3886062A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for fractionating multi-component feeds
Assignee: Mobil Oil AS
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Filing: 1974-01-14
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Granted: 1975-05-27
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Expires: 1994-01-14
Abstract
Abstract A three tower pressure-vacuum distillation arrangement for separating crude oil into desired components and the interrelated heat recovery by the crude oil charged to the combination is described. The arrangement of the fractionation sequence along with the use of a reboiler heat in the pressured distillation tower increases the thermal efficiency of the overall process thereby reducing the heat requirement of the process.
Inventors
- 👤 Alfred M Peiser
- 👤 Pasquale Matthew J De
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 21:16
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01D; B01D3/00; B01D3/14; B01D3/32; B01D3/322; B01D3/143; B01D3/146; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P70/00; Y02P70/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
157 words
IN A CRUDE OIL DISTILLATION PROCESS ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PRESSURED AND A VACUUM DISTILLATION ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES, A. PROVIDING AN INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE BETWEEN SAID PRESSURED AND SAID VACUUM DISTILLATION ZONES IN SEQUENTIAL ARRANGEMENT, B. PASSING A DESALTED CRUDE OIL PREHEATED TO A DESIRED ELEVATED TEMPERATURE BY INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE WITH PRODUCT STREAMS RECOVERED FROM THE COMBINATION OF DISTILLATION ZONE TO A LOWER PORTION OF SAID PRESSURED DISTILLATION ZONE, RECOVERING KEROSENE, HEAVY NAPHTHA, LIGHT NAPHTHA AND LOWER BOILING GASEOUS MATERIAL SEPARATELY FROM SAID PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE ABOVE SAID CRUDE OIL CHARGE THERETO, RECOVERING A RESIDUAL OIL FRACTION HIGHER BOILING THAN KEROSENE FROM A BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE, C. HEATING SAID RECOVERED RESIDUAL OIL FRACTION TO A HIGHER TEMPERATURE THAN ITS RECOVERED TEMPERATURE AND THEREAFTER PASSING IT TO A LOWER PORTION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE, SEPARATING HEAVY GAS OIL, LIGHT GAS OIL AND LOWER BOILING MATERIAL FROM A HIGHER BOILING
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
157 words
IN A CRUDE OIL DISTILLATION PROCESS ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PRESSURED AND A VACUUM DISTILLATION ZONE, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES, A. PROVIDING AN INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE BETWEEN SAID PRESSURED AND SAID VACUUM DISTILLATION ZONES IN SEQUENTIAL ARRANGEMENT, B. PASSING A DESALTED CRUDE OIL PREHEATED TO A DESIRED ELEVATED TEMPERATURE BY INDIRECT HEAT EXCHANGE WITH PRODUCT STREAMS RECOVERED FROM THE COMBINATION OF DISTILLATION ZONE TO A LOWER PORTION OF SAID PRESSURED DISTILLATION ZONE, RECOVERING KEROSENE, HEAVY NAPHTHA, LIGHT NAPHTHA AND LOWER BOILING GASEOUS MATERIAL SEPARATELY FROM SAID PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE ABOVE SAID CRUDE OIL CHARGE THERETO, RECOVERING A RESIDUAL OIL FRACTION HIGHER BOILING THAN KEROSENE FROM A BOTTOM PORTION OF SAID PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE, C. HEATING SAID RECOVERED RESIDUAL OIL FRACTION TO A HIGHER TEMPERATURE THAN ITS RECOVERED TEMPERATURE AND THEREAFTER PASSING IT TO A LOWER PORTION OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE DISTILLATION ZONE, SEPARATING HEAVY GAS OIL, LIGHT GAS OIL AND LOWER BOILING MATERIAL FROM A HIGHER BOILING
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the crude oil charge is heated sequentially by passing it through indirect heat exchange zones in liquid streams separated from each of said distillation zone providing incremental heat duty sufficient to progressively raise the temperature of the crude oil charge up to an elevated temperature adequate for discharge into the lower portion of said pressured distillation zone.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
23 words
The process of claim 2 wherein the indirectly heated crude oil charge is committed to a desalting operation following a partial heating thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The process of claim 1 wherein separated residual and residium materials of the crude oil are separately heated in fuel fired furnaces to raise the temperature of each before discharge into the next succeeding distillation zone.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
The process of claim 4 wherein steam is combined with at least the residuum material heated in the fuel fired furnace.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
The process of claim 3 wherein the major portion of recovered indirect heat by the crude oil to raise its temperature above a desalting temperature is obtained from materials separated from the intermediate pressure and vacuum distillation zones.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
73 words
The process of claim 4 wherein the crude oil charge following desalting thereof is separated into one or more parallel streams which pass through a combination of indirect heat exchange zones in the recovered product streams from said intermediate pressure and said vacuum distillation zone providing incremental heat duty sufficient to raise the temperature of each stream to a temperature sufficient for discharging the indirectly heated crude oil to said pressured distillation zone.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The process of claim 7 wherein the parallel streams of indirectly heated crude oil are combined before further indirect heating thereof by indirect heat exchange with slop material recovered from a lower portion of said vacuum distillation zone.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of claim 1 wherein steam in conjunction with selected temperature conditions is relied upon for controlling the formation of carbonaceous deposits in the lower portions of each of said distillation zone and in said fuel fired furnace zones.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The process of claim 1 wherein the light and heavy vacuum gas oil is recovered as a combined fraction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of claim 2 wherein recovered light gas oil, heavy gas oil, vacuum gas oil and a liquid pump around in the intermediate distillation zone are each used to indirectly heat crude oil charge before and after desalting thereof.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-05-26 | 1978-11-25 | 1979-05-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-05-26 | 1982-11-25 | 1983-05-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-05-26 | 1986-11-25 | 1987-05-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |