UPGRADING SIMPLIFIED PROCESS FOR HEAVY OILS FLUIDIZATION DEDICATED TO THE HEAVY OILS TRANSPORTATION AND GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION

摘要

An economic and sustainable process is described herein for zeroing the addition of diluent required in heavy oils transportation by pipelines and by rails. The process reduces both heavy oils characteristics such as: (a) viscosity, (b) density, (c) acidic compounds (TAN), (d) sulfur and (e) olefins generated during the thermal treatment in order to meet stablished criteria for transportation. To prevent premature catalyst deactivation and precipitation, the solids materials in the crude heavy oil are removed first through a physical separation unit, and constitutes a fraction called solid fraction (≤30%), while the solids free fraction or de-solidified fraction (≥70%) of the heavy oil undergoes a thermo-catalytic treatment in a second unit under hydrogen pressure. During this step, both heavy oils properties listed above are reduced. Once produced, the olefins are then saturated by the hydrogen (or additive) present during the reaction yielding a stable treated heavy oil.