Effect of minerals on coke precursor formation

Sanaie, Nooshafarin; Watkinson, A. P.; Bowen, Bruce D.; Smith, Kevin J.

doi:10.1016/s0016-2361(00)00176-9

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Even in a continuous reactor configuration partial upgrading, regeneration or recycling of the cuttings may not be necessary or even desired, as they are a waste product with no value to begin with. SEM/EDX imaging in Figure 1c further confirms the catalytic nature of the cuttings, as silicon and aluminum are present However, despite lacking such traditional catalytic properties, the drill cuttings have been shown to possess not only surface catalytic activity, but an additional dispersing effect which is effective at reducing coke formation by exposing the precursor radicals to potential hydrogen donors in the reacting media [29,[44][45][46]. To make up for the lack of catalytic activity, a large concentration, 10 wt.%, of drill cuttings was confirmed effective in our previous work [30].…”

Section: Catalyst Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Additionally, the surface area estimated by BET is very small, especially compared to traditional zeolite catalysts which surface area typically falls in the 200-600 m 2 g −1 range [35,42,43]. However, despite lacking such traditional catalytic properties, the drill cuttings have been shown to possess not only surface catalytic activity, but an additional dispersing effect which is effective at reducing coke formation by exposing the precursor radicals to potential hydrogen donors in the reacting media [29,[44][45][46]. To make up for the lack of catalytic activity, a large concentration, 10 wt.%, of drill cuttings was confirmed effective in our previous work [30].…”

Section: Catalyst Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Partial Upgrading of Athabasca Bitumen Using Thermal Cracking

Kaminski

Husein

2019

Catalysts

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The current industry practice is to mix bitumen with a diluent in order to reduce its viscosity before it can be pumped to refineries and upgraders. The recovery of the diluent and its recycling to the producers, on the other hand, pose major environmental and economic concerns. Hence, onsite partial upgrading of the extracted bitumen to pipeline specifications presents an attractive alternative. In this work, thermal cracking of Athabasca bitumen was carried out in an autoclave at 400 °C, 420 °C and 440 °C in presence and absence of drill cuttings catalyst. At 400 °C, despite no coke formation, the reduction in viscosity was insufficient, whereas at 440 °C, the coke yield was significant, ~20 wt.%. A balance between yield and viscosity was found at 420 °C, with 88 ± 5 wt.% liquid, ~5 wt.% coke and a liquid viscosity and °API gravity of 60 ± 20 cSt and 23 ± 3, respectively. Additionally, the sulfur content and the Conradson carbon residue were reduced by 25% and 10%, respectively. The catalytic thermal cracking at 420 °C further improved the quality of the liquid product to 40 ± 6 cSt and 25 ± 2 °API gravity, however at slightly lower liquid yield of 86 ± 6 wt.%. Both catalytic and non-catalytic cracking provide a stable liquid product, which by far exceeds pipeline standards. Although small relative to the energy required for upgrading in general, the pumping energy requirement for the partially upgraded bitumen was 3 times lower than that for diluted bitumen. Lastly, a 5-lump, 6-reaction, kinetic model developed earlier by our group successfully predicted the conversion of the bitumen to the different cuts.

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Section: Catalyst Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Catalyst Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partial Upgrading of Athabasca Bitumen Using Thermal Cracking

Kaminski

Husein

2019

Catalysts

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“…The potential importance of such a study can be seen from a number of problems such as coke formation, equipment fouling, and catalyst deactivation that is encountered during upgrading and refining of heavy oil. , For instance, asphaltenes are well-known to act as coke precursors during thermal processing of heavy oil. Prior studies showed that the addition of specific minerals such as kaolinite can suppress coke formation. , The present work will provide insights in understanding the coking suppression mechanisms by investigating the adsorption behavior of asphaltenes on thermally treated minerals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Prior studies showed that the addition of specific minerals such as kaolinite can suppress coke formation. 17,18 The present work will provide insights in understanding the coking suppression mechanisms by investigating the adsorption behavior of asphaltenes on thermally treated minerals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Irreversible Adsorption of Asphaltenes on Kaolinite: Influence of Dehydroxylation

2017

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The adsorption of asphaltenes on dehydroxylated mineral surfaces is an important occurrence during thermal processing of unconventional oil resources such as oil sands bitumen. We investigated the irreversible adsorption of Athabasca asphaltenes from toluene solutions onto untreated and dehydroxylated kaolinite. The adsorption density, percent surface coverage, and mean domain thickness were evaluated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and elemental analysis. The dehydroxylated kaolinite gave higher adsorption density and percent surface coverage than the untreated kaolinite, as particularly revealed in multiple contacts of kaolinite with the asphaltene-in-toluene solutions (2 g/L), indicating that dehydroxylation of kaolinite enhanced its adsorption capacity for asphaltenes. The XPS-determined percent surface coverage was 18% and 41% on the untreated and dehydroxylated kaolinite, respectively, corresponding to the maximum adsorption density of 3 and 7 mg/m 2 . The incomplete coverage even at the highest adsorption density proved that the asphaltene adsorption layer was discontinuous on both materials. After saturation of kaolinite binding sites with the first asphaltene layer, at most two additional layers were adsorbed due to asphaltene-on-asphaltene deposition, forming 15 nm thick domains.

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“…Finer drill cuttings most likely better disperse during the reaction. It has been shown earlier that greater dispersion of fine solids within the heavy oil feed improves the dispersion of the coke precursors during upgrading, resulting in more effective exposure to hydrogen donors [30,45]. Subsequently, it is anticipated that the TI yield would decrease, while the liquid yield would increase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrocracking of Athabasca Vacuum Residue Using Ni-Mo-Supported Drill Cuttings

2019

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Ni-Mo supported drill cuttings were used to catalyze the hydrocracking (HDC) of Athabasca vacuum residue (AVR) in an autoclave. Drill cuttings are a common waste product that are, depending on their origin, plentiful in acidic sites. The catalyst was prepared using the wet impregnation method. HDC was carried out at both low and high H2 pressure at 400 °C. Control thermal cracking (TC) and HDC runs with and without raw drill cuttings were performed to better examine the role of the supported drill cuttings catalyst. The quality in terms of viscosity and °API gravity, and the yield of various fractions making up the product oil were used to gauge the performance of the catalyst. Similar temperature and energy profiles between TC and HDC suggested strong overlap between the two different reactions, despite H2 presence. Nevertheless, supported drill cuttings runs at high H2 pressures promoted H2 consumption to a strong extent. Consequently, the liquid yield was the highest (~75 wt.%) and the coke yield was negligible. High temperature simulated distillation results revealed a residue conversion of ~55% for both low and high pressure HDC catalytic runs. The product oil quality with respect to viscosity and °API gravity was also found to be comparable between the low and high pressure HDC catalytic runs. Accordingly, no trade-off between liquid yield and quality was incurred at high H2 pressure. Effectively the supported drill cuttings drastically reduced coke formation, while maximizing the yield of the desired liquid product.

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Effect of minerals on coke precursor formation

Cited by 30 publications

References 5 publications

Partial Upgrading of Athabasca Bitumen Using Thermal Cracking

Partial Upgrading of Athabasca Bitumen Using Thermal Cracking

Irreversible Adsorption of Asphaltenes on Kaolinite: Influence of Dehydroxylation

Hydrocracking of Athabasca Vacuum Residue Using Ni-Mo-Supported Drill Cuttings

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