Article
Energy & Fuels
Temurali Kholmurodov, Arash Tajik, Abdolreza Farhadian, Oybek Mirzayev, Pooya Tahay, Alexey V. Vakhin, Alimorad Rashidi
Summary: This study aims to fill the research gap of using aromatic ligands in catalyst synthesis for catalytic aquathermolysis of heavy oil. The developed oil-soluble catalyst (Ni-OSC) using catechol as a novel ligand effectively interacts with heavy oil fractions, reducing the content of resin and asphaltene and increasing the amounts of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. GC-MS analysis revealed an increase in low molecular weight hydrocarbons and a higher concentration of alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons in the presence of Ni-OSC, improving the quality and recovery of heavy oil.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Hao Shi, Zengqiang Mao, Longchao Ran, Candong Ru, Shengwei Guo, Hua Dong
Summary: The increasing energy consumption has made heavy oil more important in the world energy system, but its exploitation is challenging due to high viscosity. This study develops a Ni-based nanocatalyst for heavy oil aquathermolysis, which effectively reduces the viscosity of heavy oil. The fabricated catalyst shows excellent catalytic performance, resulting in a significant decrease in heavy compositions and increase in light compositions, leading to up to 86.47% reduction in oil viscosity. The magnetic nature of the catalyst allows for easy separation, minimizing its effect on oil refining.
FUEL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Rui Guo, Wei Fu, Le Qu, Yongfei Li, Weihua Yuan, Gang Chen
Summary: In this study, Fe(III) oleate was used as a catalyst and methanol was introduced as a hydrogen donor in aquathermolysis. The results showed that methanol can increase the viscosity reduction rate of aquathermolysis. The addition of methanol promoted the breakage of long-chain alkanes in heavy oil, decreased the content of asphaltene and resin, and improved the fluidity of oil samples.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Irek I. Mukhamatdinov, Indad S. S. Salih, Mohammed Amine Khelkhal, Alexey V. Vakhin
Summary: The study focused on the effect of various solvents on upgrading heavy oil, with results showing that benzene released the largest amount of gases and toluene had the best effect on reducing viscosity and resin content. Infrared spectral data confirmed that solvents can enhance energy efficiency in thermal steam exposure for heavy oil and natural bitumen deposits.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yiya Wang, Riyi Lin, Liqiang Zhang, Xinlu Han, Jinyu Li, Chenxing Huang, Qiwei Dong, Pengyu Chen, Huanan Li, Xinwei Wang
Summary: This study investigates the catalytic viscosity reduction of heavy oil at low temperatures using a series of ZrO2-MoO3-based catalysts loaded on raw or modified lotus stem biochar. The results show that catalyst IV, consisting of KH570-MLSB, ZrO2, and MoO3, exhibits the best catalytic effect at 200 degrees C.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Liwa Ma, Michal Slany, Rui Guo, Weichao Du, Yongfei Li, Gang Chen
Summary: This study focuses on the synergistic effect of external catalysts and in-situ inorganic minerals in aquathermolysis for enhancing heavy oil recovery. The results show that B@Cu(II)L is the most effective catalyst combination, reducing the viscosity of heavy oil at a lower temperature. Additionally, the reaction leads to the cracking of macromolecules in heavy oil into smaller molecules, decreasing the amounts of resin and asphaltene while increasing the saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Alexis Tirado, Guillermo Felix, Muneer A. Suwaid, Ameen A. Al-Muntaser, Dmitry A. Antonenko, Igor S. Afanasiev, Mikhail A. Varfolomeev, Chengdong Yuan, Jorge Ancheyta
Summary: Oil-soluble catalysts have been found to improve the flow properties of heavy crude oil during steam injection processes. In order to better understand the effects and reaction mechanisms of these catalysts, further studies using complex kinetic models are needed. This study investigated the catalytic effect of copper oleate on aquathermolysis of heavy crude oil, and developed a kinetic model to predict the yield of different fractions and gases. The results showed that copper oleate reduces polyaddition reactions of heavy fractions and favors the production of lighter compounds.
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jianwei Wang, Xiaodong Tang, Jingjing Li, Lan Dai, Guizhong Deng
Summary: The effects and upgrading mechanism of biomass in the aquathermolysis of heavy oil were studied. The results showed that biomass is more suitable as a source of hydrogen and oxygen compared to water, but the active hydroxyl group in biomass reduces the upgrading efficiency.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xian Zhang, Hongchang Che, Yongjian Liu
Summary: The addition of transition metal oxide submicro-particles as catalysts in aquathermolysis significantly upgrades the quality of heavy oil and achieves in situ upgrading. Furthermore, a five-lump model is proposed to estimate the kinetic parameters of aquathermolysis effectively and is well-matched with the experimental data.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Alexey V. Vakhin, Mohammed A. Khelkhal, Arash Tajik, Nikita E. Ignashev, Tatiana O. Krapivnitskaya, Nikolay Yu. Peskov, Mikhail Yu. Glyavin, Svetlana A. Bulanova, Olga V. Slavkina, Konstantin A. Schekoldin
Summary: The experiments demonstrated that the iron-magnetite-based nanocatalyst improves the destructive hydrogenation processes of resins and asphaltenes compounds in carbonate oil-containing rock samples. The presence of the catalyst results in a decrease in asphaltene content and molecular weight, increasing the oil fluid's filtration capacity in the reservoir rock porous medium. Additionally, the absence of the catalyst leads to the least increase in non-extractable organic matter content in the rock samples.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ameer H. AL-Rubaye, Muneer A. Suwaid, Ameen A. Al-Muntaser, Mikhail A. Varfolomeev, Ilfat Z. Rakhmatullin, Mohammed H. Hakimi, Shadi A. Saeed
Summary: The study demonstrates that bimetallic catalysts based on transition metals can effectively improve the in-situ heavy oil upgrading process by reducing viscosity, increasing saturates content, improving H/C ratio, and removing sulfur and nitrogen compounds. Among the catalysts tested, CoFe2O4 shows the best performance in enhancing the quality of heavy crude oil.
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ronal de la Cruz Parejas, Francisco Jose Moura, Roberto Ribeiro de Avillez, Paulo Roberto de Souza Mendes
Summary: Heavy and extra heavy oils account for 70% of global reserves, but their high viscosity and complex composition pose challenges for recovery. Conventional methods only recover around 30% of crude oil, while enhanced oil recovery techniques offer higher recovery rates. This study explores the use of nanoparticles during steam injection to enhance cracking and reduce oil viscosity.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xiao Qu, Guangqian Zhou, Yukun Lu, Songyan Li, Longli Zhang, Jiqian Wang, Hai Xu
Summary: Different Mo-based catalysts, including commercially available chemicals and lab-made POMs, were studied for the catalytic aquathermolysis of Mackay River bitumen. Anderson-type POMs with long alkyl chains showed considerable high activity in heavy fraction conversion and viscosity reduction, indicating potential application in heavy oil reservoirs with high requirements for viscosity reduction.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhichao Zhou, Michal Slany, Eva Kuzielova, Wangyuan Zhang, Liwa Ma, Sanbao Dong, Jie Zhang, Gang Chen
Summary: The study found that sodium clay showed the best catalytic effect on the aquathermolysis of heavy oil, while methanol was the most suitable alcohol to enhance viscosity reduction efficiency. Under optimal conditions, the viscosity reduction rate can reach 87.32%.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Arash Tajik, Abdolreza Farhadian, Mohammed A. Khelkhal, Morteza Rezaeisadat, Sergey M. Petrov, Alexey A. Eskin, Alexey V. Vakhin, Meisam Babapour Golafshani, Semen E. Lapuk, Alexey E. Buzurov, Airat Kiiamov, Jorge Ancheyta
Summary: In this study, a new ligand was synthesized using sunflower oil as the source material to prepare Fe, Ni, Co and Cu-based oil soluble catalysts. Computational study showed that Cu-based catalyst had the strongest bond energy with the ligand. Experimental results demonstrated the efficiency of the catalysts on heavy oil oxidation process and achieved a maximum temperature shift in the high-temperature oxidation zone.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)