Abstract
An interfacially active cobalt complex, cobalt dodecylbenzenesulfonate, was synthesized. Elemental analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis, and surface/interfacial tension determination were performed to investigate the properties of the catalyst. Results showed that the synthesized catalyst showed active interfacial behavior, decreasing the surface tension and interfacial tension between heavy oil and liquid phase to below 30 and 1.5 mN/m, respectively. The catalyst was not thermally degraded at a temperature of 400 °C, indicating its high thermal stability. Catalytic performance of the catalyst was evaluated by carrying out aquathermolysis. The viscosity determination showed that the viscosity of the heavy oil decreased by 38 %. The average molecular weight, group compositions, and average molecular structure of various samples were analyzed using elemental analysis, FT-IR, electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI FT-ICR MS), and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance. Results indicated that the catalyst could attack the sulfur- and O2-type heteroatomic compounds in asphaltene and resin, especially the compounds with aromatic structure, leading to a decrease in the molecular weight and then the reduction in the viscosity of heavy oil. Therefore, the synthesized catalyst might find an application in catalytic aquathermolysis of heavy oil, especially for the high-aromaticity heavy oil with high oxygen content.
Highlights
IntroductionHeavy oil is an important supplement to traditional crude oil, especially in Canada, Venezuela, and China, it is difficult to recover and transport due to its highly viscous character (Shah et al 2010; Hart 2014; Santos et al 2014; Zhao et al 2014)
Keywords Interfacially active cobalt dodecylbenzenesulfonate (CoDBS) Á Catalytic aquathermolysis Á Oxygen-contained groups Á Heavy oil heavy oil is an important supplement to traditional crude oil, especially in Canada, Venezuela, and China, it is difficult to recover and transport due to its highly viscous character (Shah et al 2010; Hart 2014; Santos et al 2014; Zhao et al 2014)
The results proved that the synthesized catalyst can effectively reduce the viscosity of Shengli heavy oil
Summary
Heavy oil is an important supplement to traditional crude oil, especially in Canada, Venezuela, and China, it is difficult to recover and transport due to its highly viscous character (Shah et al 2010; Hart 2014; Santos et al 2014; Zhao et al 2014). Catalysts and water have been adopted in thermal cracking of heavy oil to lower the reaction temperature after Hyne’s pioneering work and the process was named catalytic aquathermolysis (Hyne et al 1982). Catalysts with surface and interfacial activity have attracted researchers’ attention They are usually metal complex compounds with a catalytically active metal ion and amphiphilic ligands, such as aromatic sulfonic iron, molybdenum, and nickel (Chen et al 2008, 2010; Wang et al 2010; Chao et al 2012). Because most of the cracking reactions take place at the water/oil interface, amphiphilic catalysts are expected to show better performance than other type of catalysts. The changes of heavy oil compositions, SARA (saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene) compositions, and average molecular structures were studied to investigate the mechanism of heavy oil viscosity reduction during catalytic aquathermolysis
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