Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110278460 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE COKE GENERATION TENDENCY OF HYDROCARBONS - Near IR spectroscopy may be used for determining the coke generation tendency of a hydrocarbon. The coke generation tendency of hydrocarbons may be used to control refining conditions. An apparatus for determining the coke generation tendency of hydrocarbons comprising a near infrared spectrophotometer and other components may be used to make the determinations continuously. | 11-17-2011 |
20120125087 | OPTICAL METHOD FOR DETERMINING FOULING OF CRUDE AND HEAVY FUELS - A method for detecting the formation of at least one phase in a mixture, particularly a hydrocarbon mixture. The method may include using a probe to expose a portion of the mixture to electromagnetic radiation to determine the value of a parameter of interest indicative of the formation of a phase. The method may also include using the value of the parameter of interest with a correlation between a known property of the mixture and the value of a parameter of interest to detect the formation of a phase. | 05-24-2012 |
20130341241 | PROCESS FOR PREDICITING THE STABILITY OF CRUDE OIL AND EMPLOYING SAME IN TRANSPORTING AND/OR REFINING THE CRUDE OIL - A process for refining crude oil can be controlled to mitigate fouling by deploying a refractive index probe at a location suitable for making a crude oil stability determination, wherein the crude oil stability determination is relevant to controlling the refining process; making a measurement of crude oil stability; and then controlling the process for refining crude oil by maintaining the process or implementing a change to the process, based upon the determination of crude oil stability. This concept can also be applied to transporting, blending, and storing crude oil. | 12-26-2013 |
20150102224 | METHODS OF MEASURING THE FOULING TENDENCY OF HYDROCARBON FLUIDS - A stability of at least one foulant within a hydrocarbon-based fluid sample may be determined where the hydrocarbon-based fluid sample may have or include, but is not limited to a hydrocarbon fluid and foulant particles. The fluid sample may have a viscosity ranging from about 0.5 cSt to about 5000 cSt. The hydrocarbon-based fluid sample may be centrifuged, and a laser light (in the near-infrared region) with a detector may be applied to the hydrocarbon-based fluid sample. At least one transmittance measurement from the laser light passing through the hydrocarbon-based fluid sample may be used to measure foulant flocculation. A foulant stability reserve measurement may be obtained by comparing a first transmittance measurement of the centrifuged hydrocarbon-fluid sample to a second transmittance measurement of a non-centrifuged hydrocarbon-fluid sample. | 04-16-2015 |
20150152338 | METHOD FOR REDUCING QUENCH OIL FOULING IN CRACKING PROCESSES - Quench oil aging and its propensity to cause fouling may be evaluated by determining the amount of a precipitant necessary to cause the flocculation of polymer species present in the quench oil. The propensity of quench oil to cause fouling may be used as a basis to mitigate fouling in cracking processes. | 06-04-2015 |
20150218468 | ANTIFOULANTS FOR USE IN HYDROCARBON FLUIDS - An effective amount of at least one antifoulant may be added into a hydrocarbon fluid having at least one potentially fouling causing-component for reducing the fouling by the potentially fouling causing-component(s) as compared to an otherwise identical hydrocarbon fluid absent the antifoulant(s). The hydrocarbon fluid may be present within a location, such as but not limited to an ebullated bed hydrocracking unit feed, a separator, a vacuum distillation column, an atmospheric distillation column, and combinations thereof. The antifoulant(s) may have or include a hydrocarbon backbone attached to at least a first functional group. The hydrocarbon backbone may be or include, but is not limited to, an poly(alpha-olefin), a polyisobutylene, an ethylene-propylene copolymer, a styrene-butadiene copolymer, a polymethyl acrylate, a polyacrylate, and combinations thereof. The first functional group(s) may be polar functional group(s). | 08-06-2015 |
20150219614 | METHODS OF DETERMINING CRUDE OIL STABILITY - The stability of an oil-based fluid crude oil fluid may be determined by measuring a first RI value of the crude oil that does not comprise a solvent where the first RI value is used to determine a first solubility parameter therefrom. A second RI value may be taken from the crude oil at a point of asphaltene flocculation during a turbidimetric flocculation titration. The second RI value may be used to determine a second solubility parameter. A process for refining the crude oil may be controlled by maintaining the process or implementing a change to the process based on a ratio of the first solubility parameter to the second solubility parameter. | 08-06-2015 |