Patent ID: 7594989
Filing Date: 2009-09-29
Classification: C10G,C10M,C10N,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method for upgrading heavy oils which method comprises: a) contacting the heavy oil with an effective amount of a water-soluble inhibitor additive to provide an inhibitor additized heavy oil, which water-soluble inhibitor additive is represented by the chemical structure: where Ar is a homonuclear aromatic group of at least 2 rings, and X is selected from Group I (alkali) and Group II (alkaline-earth) elements of the Periodic Table of Elements, and n is an integer from 1 to 5 when an alkali metal is used and from 2-10 when an alkaline earth metal is used; b) thermally treating said inhibitor additized heavy oil at a temperature in the range of about 250° C. to 500° C. for a time between about 0.1 to 10 hours, thereby resulting in an upgraded the heavy oil; c) contacting said thermally treated additized heavy oil with water wherein the water-soluble inhibitor additive migrates to the water phase; d) separating the thermally treated heavy oil from the water phase containing said inhibitor additive; e) separating the inhibitor additive from the water; and f) recycling said separated inhibitor additive to contacting a heavy oil in step a) above.