Patent ID: 7854836

Claim:
A process for upgrading a heavy hydrocarbon from a waste drilling fluid, comprising the steps of: obtaining a waste drilling fluid containing a heavy hydrocarbon; contacting the waste drilling fluid with a solvent at upgrading conditions so as to produce a first product comprising a mixture of upgraded hydrocarbon and solvent and a second product comprising asphaltene waste, water and solvent, wherein the upgrading conditions comprise a pressure of between about 100 psig and about 350 psig and a temperature of between about 30° C. and about 100° C. and wherein the heavy hydrocarbon and the solvent are contacted at a ratio by weight of heavy hydrocarbon to solvent of between about 1:1 and about 1:3; and feeding the first product to a separator to separate the upgraded hydrocarbon from the solvent; wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of propane, liquid natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), light refinery cuts, and combinations thereof.