Downhole Upgrading of Orinoco Basin Extra-Heavy Crude Oil Using Hydrogen Donors under Steam Injection Conditions. Effect of the Presence of Iron Nanocatalysts

Abstract

An extra-heavy crude oil underground upgrading concept and laboratory experiments are presented which involve the addition of a hydrogen donor (tetralin) to an Orinoco Basin extra-heavy crude oil under steam injection conditions (280-315 °C and residence times of at least 24-h). Three iron-containing nanocatalysts (20 nm, 60 nm and 90 nm) were used and the results showed increases of up to 8° in API gravity, 26% desulfurization and 27% reduction in the asphaltene content of the upgraded product in comparison to the control reaction using inert sand. The iron nanocatalysts were characterized by SEM, XPS, EDAX, and Mössbauer spectroscopy before and after the upgrading reactions. The results indicated the presence of hematite (Fe2O3) as the predominant iron phase. The data showed that the catalysts were deactivating by particle sintering (~20% increase in particle size) and also by carbon deposition. Probable mechanisms of reactions are proposed. OPEN ACCESSCatalysts 2015, 5 287

Determining the Optimal Conditions for the Catalytic Hydrogenation of a Mixture of Tian Shan Coal and a Wide Fraction of Heavy Oil Residues with an End-Boiling Point of 300°C

“…The application of a standard hydrogen donor (tetralin) for large-scale production of synthetic fuel from alternative sources (coal, peat, slate, heavy oil residues and their fraction, etc.) is unpro table [16][17][18]. Therefore, a wide fraction of heavy oil residues with an end-boiling point of 300 C was chosen as the hydrogen donor (paste former).…”

Heavy oil upgrading in a hydrodynamic cavitation system: CFD modelling, effect of the presence of hydrogen donor and metal nanoparticles

“…[26][27] Transition metals and their salts are used to catalyze desulphurization and hydrogenation reactions in aquathermolysis processes. [28][29][30][31] In latter processes metal catalysts could assist the hydrogen transfer from hydrogen donor to heavy oil molecules and thereby the removal of sulphur and asphaltenes will increase in the presence of metal particles. [30] In aquathermolysis processes that are also known as steam stimulation processes, catalysts can also improve the pyrolysis of heavy oil, promote the cleavage of the C-S, C-O, and C-N bonds of the heavy oil, and remove heteroatoms which finally lead to the visbreaking and upgrading of the oil.…”

“…[28][29][30][31] In latter processes metal catalysts could assist the hydrogen transfer from hydrogen donor to heavy oil molecules and thereby the removal of sulphur and asphaltenes will increase in the presence of metal particles. [30] In aquathermolysis processes that are also known as steam stimulation processes, catalysts can also improve the pyrolysis of heavy oil, promote the cleavage of the C-S, C-O, and C-N bonds of the heavy oil, and remove heteroatoms which finally lead to the visbreaking and upgrading of the oil. [28][29]32] The role of a catalyst in catalytic cracking or hydrocracking processes, on the other hand, is to eliminate the condensation reactions of highly unsaturated compounds that yield from the cracking process by favouring the hydrogenation reactions.…”

“…iron, cobalt, titanium, magnesium, nickel, and copper oxides) are used for adsorption and oxidation of asphaltene molecules to decrease the asphaltene content of a crude oil and upgrade it . Transition metals and their salts are used to catalyze desulphurization and hydrogenation reactions in aquathermolysis processes …”

In situ preparation of well-dispersed CuO nanocatalysts in heavy oil for catalytic aquathermolysis

“…Recently, nanosized metal and metal oxides based on these TMs, which possess large specific surface area and high catalytic efficiency, have become a focal interest as aquathermolysis catalysts. Several nanocatalysts, involving Fe/FeO (Yang et al 2014), Fe 2 O 3 (Ovalles et al 2015), Fe 3 O 4 (Abdullah 2014), NiO (Noorlaily et al 2013), Cu/CuO (Shokrlu and Babadagli 2014), ZrO 2 (Wang et al 2012) and MoO 3 (Shuwa et al 2015), are capable of achieving acceptable viscosity reduction. It has been recognized that Cu-based oxide behaves better than other TMs in the same catalytic conditions (Shokrlu and Babadagli 2014).…”