Effect of Tetralin, Decalin and Naphthalene as Hydrogen Donors in the Upgrading of Heavy Oils

Alemán-Vázquez, Laura O.; Cano-Domínguez, José Luis; García-Gutiérrez, José Luis

doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2012.07.445

Cited by 63 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In the light of this, a hydrogen-donor solvent such as cyclohexane, tetralin, and decalin, for example can be injected to supplement the produced hydrogen from hydrocarbons and steam. The use of hydrogen-donor solvents such tetralin, decalin, and cyclohexane for coal/oil shale liquefaction and thermal/catalytic upgrading of heavy oil vacuum residues have been extensively recognised in the literature [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Hart

Lewis

White

et al. 2015

Fuel Processing Technology

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The incorporation of catalysts to enhance downhole upgrading in the Toe-to-Heel Air Injection (THAI) process is limited by deactivation due to coking arising from the cracking of heavy oil. This study aims to reduce the catalyst deactivation problems that can occur with upgrading of heavy oils. Ultradispersed catalyst particles could potentially replace pelleted catalysts which may be difficult to regenerate once deactivated during the THAI operation. The dispersed particles could potentially be applied once through, down-hole for in situ upgrading of heavy oil. The catalyst studied was finely crushed pelleted Ni-Mo/Al 2 O 3 catalyst (2.4 μm). The product distribution of liquid, coke and gas may be influenced by the presence of a suitable hydrogen source which promotes hydroconversion reactions rather than simple cracking. In order to improve liquid yield whilst suppressing coke formation, the effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor solvent was studied in a stirred batch reactor (100 mL) at temperature 425°C, initial pressure 17.5 bar, agitation 500 rpm, and a short reaction time of 10 min. The use of cyclohexane was evaluated against that of hydrogen gas. The reaction under hydrogen atmosphere significantly reduced coke yield by 41.3% compared with a nitrogen environment under the same conditions. Also, the coke decreased by 6.2-45.4% as the cyclohexane:oil ratio increased from 0.01 to 0.08 (g·g −1 ) relative to 4.67 wt.% of coke observed without added cyclohexane in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading under nitrogen environment. As the cyclohexane:oil ratio increases, the produced oil API gravity and middle distillate fractions (200-343°C) increase whilst the viscosity decreases. An estimated 0.073 CH:oil ratio was found to suppress coke formation in a similar manner to upgrading under hydrogen atmosphere at the same conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Hart

Lewis

White

et al. 2015

Fuel Processing Technology

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“…Cyclohexane and tetralin are widely used as hydrogen donor solvents for industrial applications such as nylon and coal liquefaction respectively. Dehydrogenation of cyclohexane for hydrogen storage and supply, as well as the use of tetralin as a donor solvent for coal/oil shale liquefaction and thermal/catalytic upgrading of heavy vacuum residues, have been extensively documented (Biniwale et al, 2005;Peden and Goodman, 1987;Liu and Fan, 2002;Alemán-Vázquez et al, 2012). In this study both of these solvents have been used as a potential source of continuous supply of hydrogen for the CAPRI catalyst to effect upgrading and as diluent for higher recovery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of pore coking in catalyst for thermal down-hole upgrading of heavy oil

Dim

Hart

Wood

et al. 2015

Chemical Engineering Science

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a b s t r a c tHeavy oil and bitumen are a potential alternative energy source to conventional light crude. However, recovery of these resources can have substantial environmental impact. Downhole upgrading offers the prospect of both improving recovery, and decreasing environmental impact. However, use of catalysts to enhance downhole upgrading is limited by the need for one that can survive the extreme coking conditions arising from the cracking of heavy oil. In this work the potential of hydrogen donors to improve upgrading and enhance catalyst lifetime was considered. In order to extract detailed information on the catalyst structural evolution during reaction a novel parallel adsorption and thermoporometry characterization method was used. This technique allows detailed information to be obtained on the spatial juxtaposition of different pores, and their relative connectivity, as well as on size distributions. For catalyst operated at the conditions studied, it has been found that coking arises in smaller pores branching off the larger pores providing access to the catalyst interior. It has been found that while coking following use of different types of hydrogen donor leads to similar primary patterns of evolution in the pore-scale descriptors of the remaining accessible void-space, differences do arise in the overall accessible volume. Hence, it seems the hydrogen donor affects the location rather than general nature of the pore structure changes. However, at a secondary level of scrutiny, some differences in porescale evolution are also identified for different hydrogen donors. These differences identified helped the understanding of variations in the performance of different hydrogen donor and catalyst combinations.

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“…In [81], the influence of ultradispersed iron oxide/hydroxide produced directly in the reaction zone with heavy oil was investigated. The procedure of catalyst synthesis was thoroughly described in [82]. In [83], the activity of redox catalysts based on ferrospheres in cracking of two heavy oil types (paraffinic and asphaltenic), as well as fuel oil fraction of the paraffinic type of crude oil was investigated in reservoir conditions.…”

Section: Oil-soluble Catalystsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-Situ Heavy Oil Aquathermolysis in the Presence of Nanodispersed Catalysts Based on Transition Metals

et al. 2021

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The aquathermolysis process is widely considered to be one of the most promising approaches of in-situ upgrading of heavy oil. It is well known that introduction of metal ions speeds up the aquathermolysis reactions. There are several types of catalysts such as dispersed (heterogeneous), water-soluble and oil soluble catalysts, among which oil-soluble catalysts are attracting considerable interest in terms of efficiency and industrial scale implementation. However, the rock minerals of reservoir rocks behave like catalysts; their influence is small in contrast to the introduced metal ions. It is believed that catalytic aquathermolysis process initiates with the destruction of C-S bonds, which are very heat-sensitive and behave like a trigger for the following reactions such as ring opening, hydrogenation, reforming, water–gas shift and desulfurization reactions. Hence, the asphaltenes are hydrocracked and the viscosity of heavy oil is reduced significantly. Application of different hydrogen donors in combination with catalysts (catalytic complexes) provides a synergetic effect on viscosity reduction. The use of catalytic complexes in pilot and field tests showed the heavy oil viscosity reduction, increase in the content of light hydrocarbons and decrease in heavy fractions, as well as sulfur content. Hence, the catalytic aquathermolysis process as a distinct process can be applied as a successful method to enhance oil recovery. The objective of this study is to review all previously published lab scale and pilot experimental data, various reaction schemes and field observations on the in-situ catalytic aquathermolysis process.

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Effect of Tetralin, Decalin and Naphthalene as Hydrogen Donors in the Upgrading of Heavy Oils

Cited by 63 publications

References 4 publications

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Effect of cyclohexane as hydrogen-donor in ultradispersed catalytic upgrading of heavy oil

Characterization of pore coking in catalyst for thermal down-hole upgrading of heavy oil

In-Situ Heavy Oil Aquathermolysis in the Presence of Nanodispersed Catalysts Based on Transition Metals

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