IYQ Upgrading at a 1 bbl/d ScaleIYQ Upgrading at a 1 bbl/d Scale
NCUT Upgrading and Refining Conference
September 14, 2009
ETX Systems Inc. © 2007
The ChallengeThe Challenge
How to meet future energy demands in the face of:
Diminishing conventional oil resourcesEscalating capital costsg pUnstable oil pricesEnvironmental uncertaintiesPolitical uncertaintiesChallenging capital markets
ETX Systems Inc. © 20072
Role of TechnologyRole of Technology
Use technology to:
Improve economicsReduce capitalpBetter use of resource
Improve environmental footprintp pFacilitate integration with environmental technologiesBetter use of resource
ETX Systems Inc. © 20073
The Growing Emphasis on Primary UpgradingThe Growing Emphasis on Primary Upgrading
Primary upgrading converts pitch into distillable liquids
Bitumen Production
Primary Upgrading
Secondary Upgrading
Conventional Refining
Primary upgrading benchmark is a century old
Significant performance gap relative to “ideal coking”
ETX Systems Inc. © 20074
From I.A. Wiehe, “Process Chemistry of Petroleum Macromolecules”
Comparing Primary Upgrading Technology is SimpleComparing Primary Upgrading Technology is Simple…
The technology metrics are:Liquid yieldLiquid qualityCapacity / Capital
The winner achieves benefits in some categories, but compromises in noneo e
ETX Systems Inc. © 20075
but Finding the Winning Concept is Difficult…but Finding the Winning Concept is Difficult
Current picture of upgrading science
Products OvercrackedgasesGas
phase
Products
p
Feed
Liquidphase
Coke
How to meet opposing constraints in liquid and vapour phases with a single technology?g gy
ETX Systems Inc. © 20076
IYQ Upgrading Leverages Current UnderstandingIYQ Upgrading Leverages Current Understanding
Thin films limit liquid severity
Decoupling of vapour and liquid phase residence times allow constraints of vapour phase to be met without compromising p p p gcapacity
Liquid feedFluidization gas
and reaction products
Cool solids
Hot solids
Reactor characteristics enable reduction in operating temperature which benefits both yield and quality
Fluidization gas
ETX Systems Inc. © 20077
Temperature Dictates Fate of HydrogenTemperature Dictates Fate of Hydrogen
Final distribution of hydrogen among coking products is significantly ff t d b ti t taffected by reaction temperature
Positively affects qualities
Reaction Temperature
Liquid Products
Gas Coke
450°C 83% 8% 9%
470°C 82% 9% 9%
500°C 79% 13% 8%
530°C 74% 18% 8%
ETX Systems Inc. © 20078
Demonstration of IYQ Upgrading at 1 bbl/dDemonstration of IYQ Upgrading at 1 bbl/d
Objective was to provide additional support for yield and quality claims
Full coke circulation
Accumulator
PTo Gas Chromatograph
Solids R t L
To Flare
PF
F
Return Loop
KnockoutPotProcess
Gas
E‐405 E‐406 D‐401
Reactor
F
WT‐425 V‐403Liquid feed
V‐404
CollectionPail
HeavyProduct
LightProduct
DemisterProduct
KnockoutPot Product
ETX Systems Inc. © 20079
Assessing Yield BenefitAssessing Yield Benefit
For a given technology, coke production has been shown to be relatively insensitive to temperature
Therefore, to assess relative impact of temperature, focus on split , p p , pbetween gas and liquid production
Liquid
GasYiel
d
T t
Coke
Gas
ETX Systems Inc. © 200711
Temperature
Assessing Yield Benefit (cont’d)Assessing Yield Benefit (cont d)
For once through yields, performance measured based on product produced per quantity of feed consumed
Liquid
eld
Pit h
Coke
GasYie Pitch
ETX Systems Inc. © 200712
Gas Yields Show BenefitsGas Yields Show Benefits
Sulfur release indicates excellent data consistency
9
10
5
6
7
8
d (%
)
2
3
4
5
Yield
H2S
C4‐
0
1
490 500 510 520 530 540
Bed Temperature (°C)
ETX Systems Inc. © 200713
Bed Temperature ( C)
Coke and Gasoil Yields Consistent with ExpectationsCoke and Gasoil Yields Consistent with Expectations
Coke yields relatively insensitive to temperature
Bulk of yield benefit lies in gasoil
70
75
80
7
8
9
10
%)
%)
60
65
70
2
3
4
5
6
Gasoil Y
ield (%
Coke Yield (%
Coke
Gasoil
50
55
0
1
2
490 500 510 520 530 540
Bed Temperature (°C)
ETX Systems Inc. © 200714
Bed Temperature ( C)
Assessing Quality BenefitAssessing Quality Benefit
Primary factor driving quality is hydrogen content
Hydrogen content of gas is much higher than liquids
Olefinic character of gas related to severity of treatment
ETX Systems Inc. © 200715
Quality metrics support IYQ Upgrading ClaimsQuality metrics support IYQ Upgrading Claims
Indications that overcracking dramatically reduced
3.8
4
1
1.2
3
3.2
3.4
3.6
0.6
0.8
1
mol/m
ol)
H2S
(wt/wt)
Propylene
2 2
2.4
2.6
2.8
0.2
0.4 H/C (m
Ratio
with
Propylene
Olefinic C4
Butadiene
H/C
2
2.2
0
490 500 510 520 530 540
Bed Temperature (°C)
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Bed Temperature ( C)
Hydrogen Losses to Gas Phase ReducedHydrogen Losses to Gas Phase Reduced
Conservative?
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Assessing PerformanceAssessing Performance
Must consider unreacted pitch
90
100
35
40
%)
50
60
70
80
20
25
30
id Yield (%
)
r Carryover (%
10
20
30
40
5
10
15
Total Liqui
Pitch Yield or Pitch Carryover
Pitch Yield
Total Liquid
0
10
0
5
490 500 510 520 530 540
P
Bed Temperature (°C)
ETX Systems Inc. © 200718
Bed Temperature ( C)
Results Support Claims on Once Through BasisResults Support Claims on Once Through Basis
More liquids produced per amount of pitch reacted
Liquids are of higher quality
ETX Systems Inc. © 200719
Recycle to ExtinctionRecycle to Extinction
Model in good agreement with experimental data
Product Yield (Mass %)
Model Pilot Results
Product Liquids 76.1 75.2
Pitch 14.2 14.2
Coke 6.5 6.3
Gas 3.0 3.01
H2S 1.2 1.4
ETX Systems Inc. © 200720
Advantage Leveraged Upon RecycleAdvantage Leveraged Upon Recycle
Link between once through and recycle to extinction well established
Product Mass Yields (%)
IYQ Upgrading Fluid Coking IYQ Advantage
Liquids 66.4 60.8 +5.6
HGO 41.6 36.5 +5.1
LGO 13.2 11.6 +1.6
Naphtha 11.6 12.7 ‐1.1
Coke 25.7 28.3 ‐2.6
Gas 7.9 10.9 ‐3.0
Volume Yields (%)
Liquids 76.7 70.0 +6.7
HGO 45.0 38.9 +6.1
LGO 15.6 13.5 +2.1
Naphtha 16.1 17.6 ‐1.5
ETX Systems Inc. © 200721
Commercial ImplementationCommercial Implementation
Recent commercial projects advertise yields of 80% (vol/vol) from implementation of delayed coking (whole bitumen basis)
Through lower operating temperatures IYQ Upgrading achieves g p g p Q pg gliquid yields of 90% with:
Increased hydrogen retentionIncreased hydrogen retentionLower capital investment
IYQ performance adds $8 of value per barrel processedI Q performance adds $8 of value per barrel processed
ETX Systems Inc. © 200722
Upgrading without CompromiseUpgrading without Compromise
Current results support that IYQ Upgrading can deliver:
Improved liquid yields with;Improved product qualitiesp p q
Previous studies show a reduction in capital cost of ~30% relative to competing alternatives (Jacobs Consultancy)co pet g a te at es (Jacobs Co su ta cy)
Therefore, IYQ Upgrading can deliver on all three metrics
ETX Systems Inc. © 200723
Beyond the 1 bbl/d PilotBeyond the 1 bbl/d Pilot
ETX Systems has followed a rigorous development path
Gating process requires third party evaluation at each stage
Key activity remaining is to prove operability
Commercial rollout
Technology Demonstration
Technology Development
ETX Systems Inc. © 200724
Conception Commercially Proven
DevelopmentComplete
Proving OperabilityProving Operability
Project involves testing implementation with 2,000 bbl/d reactor feed
Land purchased in Belle Plaine, SK to support this undertaking
ETX Systems Inc. © 200725
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