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| Author(s): |
Alessandra Winter
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Química |
| Defense date: | 2011-06-30 |
| Examining board members: |
Maria Regina Wolf Maciel;
Antonio Souza de Araujo;
Gisele Gonçalves Bortoleto;
Paula Sbaite;
Elenise Bannwart de Moraes
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| Advisor: | César Benedito Batistella; Maria Regina Wolf Maciel |
| Abstract | |
Currently, many companies have been adopted process intensification, creating innovative techniques and methods increasing the energy efficiency and the yield of the processes. The reactive distillation is a classic example of intensified process. This work presents the development of a Reactive Molecular Distillation Unit (REAMOL). The objective of reactive molecular distillation process is the oil upgrade by generating a stream of light hydrocarbons that can be injected into the well, including environments offshore, decreasing the viscosity of crude oil and improving the flow and transport properties. This process promotes the cracking of some petroleum components converting them into lighter compounds. The feature of REAMOL is the immediate separation of the light products generated by the reactions of conversion of the original components, moving the equilibrium in the direction of desired reactions. These reactions occur in a heterogeneous way by mixing the solid catalyst to the oil feed (liquid). The centrifugal force applied in the evaporator, consisting of a conical rotor, is responsible for spreading the sample in the form of a thin film, guarantying intense heat exchange, which also promotes the reaction. The short residence time of material in the equipment coupled with low pressures promotes the cracking reactions by directing the formation of the desired products with lower viscosity. After the equipment construction, it was completely automatized to make easy the operating performance, decreasing the operator intervention in the process. Firstly, the experiments were carried out using lubricating oil to evaluate the performance and the plant control. Then, the catalyst was added to the lubricating oil in order to verify the operating conditions of the equipment. There was a significant increase in the operating pressure of the system, which was attributed to the formation of light compounds that affect the vacuum system of the process. From this verification, experiments were initiated with a cut and a petroleum residue with different concentrations of catalyst. The physicochemical characterizations of the samples show that the best operating condition for obtaining lighter compounds occurs at the evaporator temperature of 200 ° C and 3% catalyst. At least, it was carried out a test under the best conditions for processing using different kind of catalysts. The experiment results were extremely positive proving the success of the proposed technology (AU) | |