A Materials Science Perspective of Midstream Challenges in the Utilization of Heavy Crude Oil

Abstract

An increasing global population and a sharply upward trajectory of per capita energy consumption continue to drive the demand for fossil fuels, which remain integral to energy grids and the global transportation infrastructure. The oil and gas industry is increasingly reliant on unconventional deposits such as heavy crude oil and bitumen for reasons of accessibility, scale, and geopolitics. Unconventional deposits such as the Canadian Oil Sands in Northern Alberta contain more than one-third of the world’s viscous oil reserves and are vital linchpins to meet the energy needs of rapidly industrializing populations. Heavy oil is typically recovered from subsurface deposits using thermal recovery approaches such as steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). In this perspective article, we discuss several aspects of materials science challenges in the utilization of heavy crude oil with an emphasis on the needs of the Canadian Oil Sands. In particular, we discuss surface modification and materials’ design approaches essential to operations under extreme environments of high temperatures and pressures and the presence of corrosive species. The demanding conditions for materials and surfaces are directly traceable to the high viscosity, low surface tension, and substantial sulfur content of heavy crude oil, which necessitates extensive energy-intensive thermal processes, warrants dilution/emulsification to ease the flow of rheologically challenging fluids, and engenders the need to protect corrodible components. Geopolitical reasons have further led to a considerable geographic separation between extraction sites and advanced refineries capable of processing heavy oils to a diverse slate of products, thus necessitating a massive midstream infrastructure for transportation of these rheologically challenging fluids. Innovations in fluid handling, bitumen processing, and midstream transportation are critical to the economic viability of heavy oil. Here, we discuss foundational principles, recent technological advancements, and unmet needs emphasizing candidate solutions for thermal insulation, membrane-assisted separations, corrosion protection, and midstream bitumen transportation. This perspective seeks to highlight illustrative materials’ technology developments spanning the range from nanocomposite coatings and cement sheaths for thermal insulation to the utilization of orthogonal wettability to engender separation of water–oil emulsions stabilized by endogenous surfactants extracted during SAGD, size-exclusion membranes for fractionation of bitumen, omniphobic coatings for drag reduction in pipelines and to ease oil handling in containers, solid prills obtained from partial bitumen solidification to enable solid-state transport with reduced risk of damage from spills, and nanocomposite coatings incorporating multiple modes of corrosion inhibition. Future outlooks for onsite partial upgradation are also described, which could potentially bypass the use of refineries for some fractions, enable access to a broader cross-se...

Enhancing Heavy Crude Oil Flow in Pipelines through Heating-Induced Viscosity Reduction in the Petroleum Industry

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“…In the last few decades, the continuous growth in world energy needs driven by economic growth and the enormous population expansion have caused a decrease in the availability of petroleum resources with characteristics that are amenable to refining and effective production [1,2]. Heavy crude oil transportation through pipelines is a problem because of the oil's inability to flow freely [3,4].…”

Textured ceramic membranes for desilting and deoiling of produced water in the Permian Basin

“…An effective membrane module can greatly enhance the efficiency of PW treatment trains. In designing a membrane for PW treatment, it is imperative to consider (i) the characteristics of the emulsion sought to be separated; (ii) interfacial interactions at the solid/liquid boundary; and (iii) process conditions and reactor design, with a view toward optimizing flow properties and system performance ( Douglas et al., 2022 ). When building membrane architectures to destabilize complex emulsions and engender separations, the wettability of the surface is of paramount importance.…”

Thermodynamics of Wettability: A Physical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

“…Investigations of wettability provide a strikingly visual means of illustrating subtle differences in intermolecular interactions at macroscopic scales. Understanding of the fundamental aspects of wettability has evolved substantially over the years; mathematical models describing the thermodynamics of wettability for surfaces are well-documented in the surface chemistry literature. , This progression in understanding has been crucial to enabling the design of surfaces that facilitate passive separation of oil–water emulsions based on orthogonal wettability, − enable safer handling of viscous liquids, − and underpin antifogging, , as well as anti-icing applications. , The interactions of liquid droplets with (textured) surfaces also allow for illustration of concepts such as sampling of free energy landscapes, which represents a fundamental tenet in understanding of chemical reaction trajectories, protein conformations, and solid-state polymorphism. − …”

“…The experiment builds on our previous works, wherein ZnO nanotetrapod-based membranes and coatings were developed to enable handling and transportation of viscous oilssuch materials play an increasingly important role in midstream transportation of bitumen across the railcar, pipeline, shipping arteries that transport fuel across North America . Specifically, superoleophobic coatings allow viscous oil to glide out of containers used during transport of bitumen, thereby reducing maintenance costs, decreasing downtime, alleviating the need for thermal jacketing required to flow rheologically challenging fluids, enhancing product recovery, and mitigating the need to dilute viscous oil with light hydrocarbons. ,, Translation of industrial research to the teaching lab, overlooking the train tracks where railcars carry bitumen from Northern Alberta to Houston Gulf Coast refineries provides a tangible means to place chemistry in context.…”