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【Name of Invention】Method and Apparatus for Reforming Heavy Oil【Inventors】【Name】Shigeo Nagaya【Name】Masayoshi Hiraoka【Summary】【Problem】In a method for obtaining low-viscosity reformed oil from heavy oil by employing a reaction process that involves supercritical water reactions or subcritical water reactions to form an emulsion, there is a need to provide a method and apparatus for reforming heavy oil that enables an improvement in the level of reformation, such as a reduction in viscosity. 【Solution】A continuous method and apparatus for the modification of heavy oil into low-viscosity modified oil, which involves feeding raw water for reactions such as supercritical water reactions—whose pH is adjusted to 7.5–12 by adding heavy oil and pH regulators—into a continuous reactor 16; this process includes a reaction step in which emulsions are generated through supercritical water reactions. 【Claims】 【Claim 1】 Heavy oil that is pumped and supplied into a continuous reactor, subjected to a supercritical water reaction or a subcritical water reaction (hereinafter referred to as \"supercritical water reactions, etc.\"). A method for modifying heavy oil, which involves a reaction process that generates an emulsion through such reactions, and enables the continuous production of low-viscosity modified oil from heavy oil; this method is characterized in that the pH of the water used as a reactant in reactions such as supercritical water reactions is adjusted to between 7.5 and 12 before it is fed into the reactor. 【Claim 2】 The method for modifying heavy oil as described in Claim 1, characterized in that the pH of the said raw water is adjusted to pH 8–11 before it is fed into the said reactor. 【Claim 3】 A method for modifying heavy oil as described in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pH adjustment of the said raw water is carried out using one or more types selected from amines or ammonia with a basic ionization index pKb (–logKb) of 3 to 5.5. 【Claim 4】 Further, a method for modifying heavy oil as described in any one of Claims 1–3, characterized in that the aforementioned emulsion is subjected to an oil-water separation process to separate the oil phase from the water phase, and a modified oil is recovered from the oil phase. 【Claim 5】 A method for modifying heavy oil as described in Claim 4, characterized in that, in the reaction step, the mixing ratio (mass ratio) of the heavy oil to the raw water is set at the range of former/the latter = 1/1 to 1/10, and in the oil-water separation step, an inorganic salt of a strong electrolyte is added as a demulsifier. 【Claim 6】 A method for modifying heavy oil as described in Claim 5, characterized in that the aqueous solution containing inorganic salts obtained after the recovery of modified oil in the aforementioned oil-water separation process is further sent to an inorganic salt recovery process; in this process, water is separated to recover the inorganic salts, which are then reused as demulsifiers in the oil-water separation process, while the separated water is reused as raw material water in the reaction process. 【Claim 7】 A device for modifying heavy oil, characterized in that it comprises: a raw material water supply unit equipped with a pH adjustment mechanism; a continuous reactor used in a reaction process in which the heavy oil is continuously subjected to supercritical water reactions or similar processes to generate an emulsion; an oil-water separator used in an oil-water separation process in which the generated emulsion is separated into an oil phase and an aqueous phase consisting of water in which inorganic salts are dissolved, by adding strong electrolyte inorganic salts, so as to obtain a modified oil from the oil phase; and an inorganic salt recovery unit used in an inorganic salt recovery process in which water is separated from the water containing the inorganic salts to recover the inorganic salts. 【Claim 8】 A heavy oil reforming device as described in Claim 7, further characterized by comprising a water recycling means for supplying the separated water generated by the aforementioned inorganic salt recovery unit as feed water to the reactor.