Patent ID: 7947165

Claim:
A method for reducing the density, sulfur content, nitrogen content, metal content or any combination thereof, of materials bearing high molecular weight hydrocarbon, comprising: a. introducing supercritical water into a single flow-through reaction chamber under pressure in a continuous manner, wherein said supercritical water refers to supercritical, near-supercritical, and nominally-supercritical water which exists at temperatures of 250 deg C.-450 deg C.; b. introducing high molecular weight hydrocarbon into the reaction chamber under pressure in a continuous manner; c. maintaining continuously introduced materials consisting essentially of said supercritical water and said high molecular weight hydrocarbon in said reaction chamber at operating temperatures of 250° C.-300° C. and at operating pressures between 500 and 2000 psi while said materials are mixed and held inside the chamber for a time of between 25 seconds to about 1 minute to provide a reaction substantially entirely between said high molecular weight hydrocarbon and said supercritical water; and d. permitting reaction products to leave said reaction chamber under pressure in a continuous manner.