Analysis of Soot Formed during the Pyrolysis of Athabasca Oil Sand Asphaltenes

Abstract

Asphaltenes are formed during the primary upgrading process of bitumen. Gasification is considered as a good option for conversion of the low-value asphaltenes into syngas. Syngas can later be used in the generation of steam for steam-assisted gravity drainage, and the hydrogen from the syngas can be used for upgrading. Understanding the decomposition of asphaltenes, the subsequent formation of soot, and the properties of soot enables optimization of the process of asphaltene gasification. In this work, the effects of feed particle size, temperature, and residence time on the formation of soot particles during the pyrolysis of Athabasca oil sand asphaltenes were investigated. Morphological, structural, and elemental properties of collected soot were also investigated. The experiments were carried out in an atmospheric entrained-flow reactor that was electrically heated to a range of set temperatures between 800 and 1400 °C, and the residence time was varied between 5 to 12 s by controlling the carrier gas nitrogen flow rate. The pyrolysis products were air-cooled in the collection probe after the reactor and passed through a cyclone to separate out particles larger than 10 μm. The particles smaller than 10 μm were subsequently passed through a cascade impactor for segregation of soot and ash particles in the size range from 0.03 to 3 μm. It was found that asphaltenes devolatilize to produce char, light gases, and tar. The different feed particle size ranges used in this study had a negligible effect on the analyzed properties of the soot. The yield of soot formed increased with the pyrolysis temperature. It was observed that the average size of primary soot particles decreases with an increase in temperature. The sulfur and hydrogen contents of soot decrease with temperature as a result of the liberation of sulfur as hydrogen sulfide during the pyrolysis reactions. With increasing residence time, the average size of the primary soot particles increases.