Cavitation technology for quality improvement of hydrocarbon fuels

Abstract

A method is described for altering the physicochemical parameters of petroleum products by inducing a multifactorial effect in a pulsed rotor unit. Experimental data are cited for the pulsed multifactorial energy treatment of atmospheric resids produced by various refineries; these data confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method for improving the quality of hydrocarbon fuels.Various methods and procedures that make it possible to vary the physicochemical parameters of petroleum fuels, and increase the yield of light petroleum derivatives during the refining of crude are currently under development. The kinetics of processes of crude and petroleum-derivative refining can be influenced by chemical substances (catalysts, surfaceactive substances -SAS, additives, etc.) and physical fields (thermal, cavitation, electromagnetic, etc.). The radius of the nucleus and the thickness of the adsorption-solvate layer -the complex base unit, which is a component of a disperse petroleum system -is altered as a result of such interference.The influence exerted by chemical substances on crude and its resids is a complex regulated process, which results in accelerated wear of production equipment. Today, many researchers are focusing their attention on methods of vigorous treatment of crude and petroleum derivatives to increase the yield of light fractions, lower the sulfur content, reduce the viscosity, etc.The method of a pulsed energy effect of acoustic waves and cavitation [1-3], which alter the hydrodynamics and dispersion stability of liquid media, is the basis of technologies utilizing the cavitation effect on crude and petroleum derivatives; this will exert different influences on process mechanisms -markedly intensifying one (destruction) and abruptly slowing others (coking).An energy effect on the crude and petroleum derivatives makes it possible to increase the yield of highly volatile fractions resulting from their distillation. Using a pulsed energy effect, it is possible to derive 20-30% of naphtha, 40-50% of diesel fuel, and 20-30% of atmospheric resid, asphalt, and other heavy commercial products from heavy crude. Cavitation treatment will accelerate diffusion of the crude in wax cages and intensify its breakdown. Acceleration of wax dissolution occurs due to intensification of the agitation of crude on the crude-wax boundary, and the effects of pressure pulses, which disperse the wax particles. Cavitation ruptures the bonds between individual parts of the molecules, and influences the change in structural viscosity. Under long-term vigorous cavitation, the C-C bonds are broken in the wax molecules, as a result of which the physicochemical parameters are altered (the molecular mass, crystallization temperature, etc.), and the properties of the petroleum derivatives (viscosity, density, flash point) are lowered [4][5][6][7][8][9].To rupture the bonds in the molecules of the hydrocarbon compounds in such multicomponent systems as crude and petroleum derivatives, it is necessary to provide a multifactorial energ...

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