Kinetic Modeling of Arab Light Vacuum Residue Upgrading by Aquaprocessing at High Space Velocities

Abstract

Aquaprocessing (AQP) is a novel method that offers higher conversion level under asphaltenes stability limit. It is a process of steam catalytic cracking using unsupported ultradispersed catalyst. Following a 2011 published work by Fathi and Pereira on upgrading a paraffinic residuum from Arab Light Vacuum Residue (ALVR) by AQP, this work investigates a proposed lumped kinetic model for the upgrading of ALVR via AQP for the first time. The model is evaluated based on experimental results conducted in a continuous upflow open tubular pilot-plant reactor under short-space times and under conditions distant from coke formation. The proposed model is based on five cascaded lumps generated at and below the asphaltenes stability limit: 540 °C+ ALVR, VGO (455−540 °C), distillates (204−455 °C), naphtha (IBP−204 °C), and gases. The model compositions are found close to the experimental values with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) of <5.5%.

In Situ Catalytic Upgrading of Heavy Crude with CAPRI: Influence of Hydrogen on Catalyst Pore Plugging and Deactivation due to Coke

“…Though the asphaltene contents of the upgraded oils were lower than that of the THAI oil, the presence of hydrogen further decreased it due to the hydrogenation of cracked fragments which is rarely experienced in the presence of nitrogen. This reaction involves hydrogen transfer from the gas-phase to the macromolecular radicals in the oil phase, which is possible under high reaction temperatures such as 425 • C and high hydrogen pressure [42,43].…”

A Review of Thermal Cracking, Hydrocracking, and Slurry Phase Hydroconversion Kinetic Parameters in Lumped Models for Upgrading Heavy Oils

“…Specific gravity is a good measure of how heavy a petroleum liquid is, with a value of >1 defining an extra heavy oil. Figure concerns the residue feedstocks used in the kinetic models considered here. ,,− It gives the frequency distribution for feedstock specific gravity for the three types of process studied. The widest range of feedstocks has been used to research thermal cracking while the heaviest liquids were used in studies into slurry phase hydroconversion.…”

“…Figure indicates reported operating temperature and pressure ranges for residue and heavy oil upgrading. Thermal cracking ,,,,,,, is performed at high temperatures, from 400–530 °C, and low pressure with the exception of one study included here, where a higher pressure was used, but no catalyst . The lowest experimental temperatures are below the industrial values and this reflects studies into low severity visbreaking and data collection to determine activation energy .…”

Amelioration of catalytic activity in steam catalytic cracking of vacuum residue with ZrO2-impregnated macro–mesoporous red mud

“…For reaction times of 1 to 2 h, steam catalytic cracking is dominant, while thermal cracking is more effective from 2 to 4 h due to catalyst deactivation. Direct diesel production from VGO is more favorable for steam catalytic cracking, whereas gasoline generation from VGO is more preferred during thermal cracking [5]. Therefore, the diesel yield decreases while the gasoline yield increases slightly as the reaction time is extended.…”

“…Consequently, steam catalytic cracking, which uses steam as an inexpensive hydrogen source, has attracted attention as an alternative and economical method to increase the conversion of residua to lighter products when compared to thermal cracking. Several studies involving the use of water at sub or supercritical conditions to transform heavy oils into lighter and more valuable products have been published [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Furthermore, numerous catalysts have been investigated for steam catalytic cracking, including natural zeolites [7], alkali and transition compounds [8][9][10][11], and zirconiasupported iron oxide catalysts [12][13][14][15][16].…”