Patent ID: 6402938
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: C10M

Abstract:
A process for direct contact heating and vaporization of a used motor oil (UMO) liquid hydrocarbon feed comprising lube oil boiling range hydrocarbons comprising:a) heating a compressed recycled vapor in a heating means to produce a superheated vapor having a temperature sufficiently high to vaporize, at the conditions employed in said UMO vaporization process, at least a portion by weight of the distillable, lube oil boiling range hydrocarbon components in said UMO; b) heating and vaporizing at least a portion of said UMO by direct contact of said UMO liquid feed with said superheated vapor in a UMO vaporization vessel operating at UMO vaporization conditions to produce a UMO vaporization vessel overhead vapor (OHV) fraction comprising vaporized UMO components and said superheated vapor and a UMO bottoms fraction comprising unvaporized UMO; c) cooling said UMO vaporization vessel overhead fraction in a product recovery section comprising a cooling means at OHV condensation conditions including a temperature sufficiently low to condense at least a majority of the lube oil boiling range hydrocarbon components in said OHV fraction to produce a condensed liquid hydrocarbon fraction containing lube oil boiling range components as a liquid product of the process and a vapor fraction containing essentially all of said injected superheated vapor, exclusive of solution losses, if any; d) compressing said recovered vapor fraction from said product recovery fraction to produce a compressed, recycle vapor fraction; e) recycling said compressed vapor to said heating means of step a); and f) wherein said vapor, pressure and temperature in said UMO vaporization and cooling are selected to effect UMO vaporization, and condensation without hydrogenation of said UMO.