US 11,866,653 B1
Processes and systems for upgrading crude oil
Ki-Hyouk Choi, Dhahran (SA); Faisal Mohammed Almulla, Dhahran (SA); and Seung-Hak Choi, Dhahran (SA)
Assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Dhahran (SA)
Filed on Nov. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/052,304.
Int. Cl. C10G 53/02 (2006.01)
CPC C10G 53/02 (2013.01) [C10G 2300/1033 (2013.01); C10G 2300/4006 (2013.01); C10G 2300/4012 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process for upgrading crude oil, the process comprising:
upgrading crude oil and feed water in a supercritical water (SCW) unit to produce a first upgraded output, wherein
the feed water having a salinity defined by a conductivity of less than 1 microsiemens (μS)/centimeters (cm); and
the SCW unit operates at a pressure greater than a critical pressure of water and a temperature greater than a critical temperature of water;
separating the first upgraded output in a first gas-water-oil separator to produce
a first gas effluent,
a first water effluent, and
a first oil effluent;
separating the first water effluent in a first water treatment unit to produce
a rejected water stream having a salinity defined by a conductivity from 10 to 1500 μS/cm, and
a recycle water stream having a salinity defined by a conductivity less than 2 μS/cm;
upgrading the first oil effluent and the rejected water stream in a nearcritical water (NCW) unit to produce a second upgraded output, where the NCW unit operates at a pressure above 22 MPa and a temperature of 200 to 370° C.; and
recycling at least a portion of the recycle water stream for introduction into the SCW unit.