Use of a scanner to determine the optical density of calcined coke as a measure of coke quality
View Patent ↗An improved test for quantifying luster of petroleum products in particle form, especially coke, as an index of quality. A representative sample of the product is obtained and prepared. A digital image of the sample is formed using a scanner. The image is then processed digitally to produce a representative luster or optical density measurement for the sample. The preceding process may be repeated several times for each sample and the resultant luster or optical density measurements for each iteration are totaled and averaged. Once the luster measurement or optical density for the sample is obtained, it is compared to established parameters to assign a CTE value to the sample, assuming there is sufficient historical data correlating the two measurements. Various refining operating parameters including feedstocks, temperatures and pressures, may be altered to obtain a desired product.
1. A method for testing a petroleum product produced during refining to classify said product, said method comprising the steps of:
a) obtaining and preparing a representative sample of said product;
b) forming a digital image of said sample with a scanner; and
c) processing said digital image by extracting and filtering said digital image to produce a representative lustre measurement of said sample wherein said b) and c) are iterated a plurality of times and including the additional step of totaling said representative lustre measurement of said sample produced during each of said iterations and then averaging said total to obtain an average lustre measurement of said sample; and
d) further including the step of comparing said average lustre measurement to established parameters to assign a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) value to said sample to determine the CTE of said product, given historical correlation between CTE and lustre measurements.
2. A method for testing as recited in claim 1 wherein said step b) of forming a digital image of said sample with a scanner includes the steps of placing said sample in a cylinder having a transparent end, placing said transparent end on a glass plate of said scanner, and blocking said plate.
3. A method of testing as recited in claim 1 further including the step of repeating all previous steps for successive samples and designating each sample as to low or high CTE.
4. A method of testing as recited in claim 1 further including the step of varying known operating parameters during petroleum refining to alter said lustre measurement of said sample in order to obtain a product with a desirable CTE.
5. A method for testing a petroleum product in particle form to classify said product, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) placing a sample of said particles next to a calibrated optical density scale on a a scanner;
(b) using said scanner to produce a visible reflection image of light from said sample particles and said optical density scale;
(c) creating a calibration curve of optical density versus gray scale using the optical density scale image; and
(d) determining the average gray scale value of the sample image and converting it to optical density using said calibration curve.
6. A method for testing as recited in claim 5 wherein step (a) includes the steps of placing said sample of particles in a container having at least one transparent side, and placing said transparent side on said scanner next to said calibrated optical density scale.
7. A method as set forth in claim 5 including the additional step of repeating steps a) through d) a plurality of times to obtain an average lustre measurement.
8. A method for testing as set forth in claim 7 including the step of varying known operating parameters during petroleum refining to alter said lustre measurement of said sample in order to obtain a product with a desirable CTE.
9. A method as set forth in claim 5 including the additional step of comparing said optical density determined in step d) against established parameters.