Enhancing biocrude and bitumen-derived heavy gas oil co-processing: Addressing feedstock immiscibility

Hydrodeoxygenation of crude bio-oil with various metal catalysts in a continuous-flow reactor and evaluation of emulsion properties of upgraded bio-oil with petroleum fuel

Catalytic hydrotreating of crude bio-oil from straw and its distillates obtained by molecular distillation: A comparative study

Thermal – Catalytic cracking of real MSW into Bio-Crude Oil

Study on the hydrodeoxygenative upgrading of crude bio-oil produced from woody biomass by fast pyrolysis

Heavy crude oil is an important unconventional hydrocarbon resources that can be upgraded to useful petroleum products. However, heavy oil has some challenges due to its high viscosity, low mobility coupled with its low API gravity, these features make processing and transportation of heavy oil quite challenging. Consequently, there is need to upgrade heavy oil using suitable technique and appropriate catalyst. In this study, an equilibrated FCC catalyst (E-CAT) was sourced from a refinery, characterized using XRD, XRF and FT-IR techniques and tested in upgrading heavy crude oil. In a preliminary work, heavy gas oil (HGO) and vacuum gas oil (VGO) were used as model oils. They were cracked in a high pressure-high temperature batch reactor at varying temperatures of 350, 400 and 450oC, initial pressure of 1MPa and catalyst-to-oil ratio of 0.01 for the catalytic reaction. Parameters studied include viscosity reduction and change in structural composition of the model oils before and after upgrading using FT-IR technique. Results of VGO upgrade showed viscosity reduction of 3.5, 10 and 32% after thermal upgrade at 350,400, 450oC and 10, 15 and 42% after catalyst addition at the temperatures respectively. The HGO upgrading result showed viscosity reduction of 4, 7 and 24% after thermal upgrade at 350, 400 and 450 oC respectively and 6, 13 and 33% viscosity reduction after catalyst addition correspondingly. FT-IR results suggest the formation of saturated hydrocarbons an indication of the formation of valuable products after upgrading reactions with a better results recorded after catalyst addition. Results from the experimental investigation showed that the E-Cat has the potential to be used in heavy crude oil upgrading

This work deals with the production of light fuel cuts of (gasoline, kerosene and gas oil) by catalytic cracking treatment of secondary product mater (heavy vacuum gas oil) which was produced from the vacuum distillation unit in any petroleum refinery. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the catalyst -to- oil ratio parameter on catalytic cracking process of heavy vacuum gas oil feed at constant temperature (450 °C). The first step of this treatment was, catalytic cracking of this material by constructed batch reactor occupied with auxiliary control devices, at selective range of the catalyst –to- oil ratio parameter ( 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5) respectively. The conversion of heavy vacuum gas oil which was obtained, reaches to (50, 70, 75 and 80) % for (2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5 catalysts -to- oil ratio parameter respectively. The second step for this study was distillation of this cracking heavy vacuum gas oil liquid by atmospheric distillation device for these several catalyst -to- oil ratio parameter, according to obtained light fuel cuts (gasoline, kerosene and gas oil). The percentage volume of light fractions at various COR are (7, 25 and 18) for COR 2, (10, 20 and 40) for COR 2.5, (10, 30 and 35) for COR 3 and (15, 30 and 35) for COR 3.5 which separates according to its boiling point. The light cuts were distilled by atmospheric distillation device in order to obtained distillation curve. The third step was study the major physical and chemical properties for feed (heavy vacuum gas oil) and catalytic cracking liquid of HVGO at various COR with its light fuel fractions, the results refers to acceptable properties compared with other commercial properties.

Synthesis and application of functionalized polymers for the removal of nitrogen and sulfur species from gas oil

Co-processing of standard gas oil and biocrude oil to hydrocarbon fuels

To assess mild hydrocracking as an option to improve the quality of the heavy gas oil (HGO) fraction of Syncrude's synthetic crude oil (known as Syncrude Sweet Blend or SSB), severe hydrotreating tests were performed by using Athabasca oilsands bitumen-derived coker HGO, heavy vacuum gas oil, and a blend of the two in a pilot-scale down-flow reactor over a typical commercial NiMo/Al2O3 hydrotreating catalyst. Kinetics of sulfur and nitrogen removal, 343°C+ conversion, and aromatics hydrogenation were investigated by incorporating the effect of catalyst deactivation. The total liquid products (TLPs) from the pilot tests were distilled into naphtha, light gas oil (LGO), and HGO fractions, and the TLPs and distilled products were characterized. Cetane number (CN) was determined by engine test for selected LGOs and by ignition quality tester for all LGOs. The quality of product HGOs as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit feedstock was evaluated by using correlations (developed based on feed properties including GC-MS data) to predict FCC product yields. The CN of the LGOs and the predicted gasoline yields from HGO products were much better than that produced from the corresponding fractions of current SSB. The CN and FCC gasoline yield were related to the level of 343°C+ conversion (i.e., the higher the conversion, the higher the CN and FCC gasoline yield).

Catalytic gasification of light and heavy gas oils in supercritical water

Characterization of molecular change of heavy oil under mild thermal processing using FT-IR spectroscopy

ABSTRACTHeavy oil is less expensive than light crude oil, but heavy oil is more expensive to obtain light oil products. Conventional light crude oil resources are decreasing, therefore heavy oil resources will be needed more in the future. There are huge differences from field to field for heavy oil deposits. In terms of final productive use, heavy oil is considered as an unconventional resource. Heavy oil upgrading depends on four important factors: catalyst selection, heavy oil classification, process design, and production economics. Heavy and extra-heavy oils are unconventional reservoirs of oil. Globally, 21.3% of total oil reserves are heavy oil. Heavy oil is composed of long chain organic molecules called heavy hydrocarbons. The thermal degradation of the heavy hydrocarbons in heavy oil generates liquid and gaseous products. All kinds of heavy oils contain asphaltenes, and therefore are considered to be very dense material. The most similar technologies for upgrading of heavy oils are pyrolysis and catalytic pyrolysis, thermal and catalytic cracking, and hydrocracking. The amount of liquid products obtained from pyrolysis of heavy oil was dependent on the temperature and the catalyst. Pyrolytic oil contains highly valuable light hydrocarbons as gasoline and diesel components range. The constant increase in the use of crude oils has raised prices of the most common commercial conventional products and consequently seeking for new alternative petroleum resources, like some unconventional oil resources, becomes an interesting issue. The mass contents of gasoline, diesel, and heavy oil in the crude oil are 44.6%, 38.3%, and 17.1%, respectively. The gasoline yield from the heavy oil catalytic (Na2CO3) pyrolysis is higher than the diesel efficiency for all conditions. The yield of gasoline products increases with increasing pyrolysis temperature (from 230°C to 350°C) and percentage of catalyst (from 5% to 10%). The yields of gasoline-like product are from 21.5% to 39.1% in 5% catalytic run and from 32.5% to 42.5% in 10% catalytic run. The yields of diesel-like product are from 9.3% to 29.8% in 5% catalytic run and from 15.5% to 33.7% in 10% catalytic run.

Primary oil distillation units form the basis of all oil refineries; the quality and yield of the resulting fuel components, as well as raw materials for secondary and other oil refining processes, depend on their operation. Many Atmospheric Vacuum Tubing (AVT) plants are characterized by low recovery of heavy vacuum gas oil. Insufficient selection of heavy vacuum gas oil production leads to a high yield of vacuum residue - tar, which reduces the volume of oil refining in general.The article analyzes ways to improve the process of vacuum distillation of fuel oil at CDU/AVT primary oil distillation units, and searches for ways to increase the efficiency of already built CDU/AVT plants by increasing the selection of heavy vacuum gas oil. Options for technical re-equipment are presented to improve the technical and economic efficiency of atmospheric-vacuum tubing plants with the maximum use of the best achievements in this area and the maximum possible selection of heavy vacuum gas oil at existing primary oil distillation units. The schemes of intensification during vacuum distillation by the method of fractionation of hydrocarbon raw materials by exposing it to electromagnetic oscillations, by the method of gas oil cryolysis. Besides, the schemes of fuel oil distillation according to a two-column scheme and the rectification of half-tar in an additional vacuum column are considered. The main features in the technological design of the process, as well as the features of installation operation, are noted. The proposed schemes make it possible to obtain high-quality feedstock for catalytic cracking and hydrocracking with a high recovery of vacuum gas oil.

As conventional petroleum is approaching its maximum production and the world oil demand continues to grow, heavy oil becomes one of the obvious replacement resources. By 2015, its contributions to total oil production would reportedly grow from the present 2.5 MMbpd to 4MMbpd and stay at this level for a couple of decades. Recovery of heavy oil reservoir with wells is a challenge due to low API gravities (6 °-25 °), high viscosity (100cp-1000cp)-particularly in the presence of water. For example, the recovery factor from a heavy oil reservoir with bottom water in the H.K. oilfield, Shandong province, in China, having viscosity of 710 cp does not exceed one percent. One of the most important problems in heavy oil recovery is dramatic loss of wells' productivity at the onset of water inflow due to the two fluids' mobility contrast. Not only the recovery at breakthrough time is very low, but also the water cut increase is extremely rapid. The presented simulation study investigates dynamics of productivity loss in wells producing heavy oil with bottom water. The production system (nodal) analysis model simulates inflow performance relationship with variable water cut. The model captures the difference between heavy and light oil in terms of mobility ratio effect, recovery dynamics prior to and after water breakthrough, and water cut control with production rate. The results show that preventing water breakthrough to wells in heavy oil is several-fold more important (in terms of well productivity and recovery rate) than that for conventional oil wells. Introduction Definition of heavy oil is not rigorous and varies between authors. Some clarify heavy oil by density measured on the API gravity scale as lower than 20 API. Others emphasize in-situ viscosity of heavy oil. Conventional-oil viscosity may range from 1 cp to about 10 cp. Viscosity of heavy oil and extra heavy oils may range from less than 20 cp to more than 1,000,000 cp. On the extreme, the most viscous hydrocarbon, bitumen, is a solid at room temperature (1, 2). Most of the world's oil resources are heavy, viscous hydrocarbons. It is commonly accepted that after conventional oil and natural gas, the next easiest fossil fuel resource to develop is the viscous oil. It has been estimated that there is probably 2.5 times the amount of viscous oil as there is conventional oil. By some estimates, there are 8–9 trillion barrels of heavy oil and bitumen in place in the world (not including hydrocarbon in shales) (1). Canada has the largest heavy oil resource with some 1.7 trillion barrels of extra-heavy oil situated in the oil sands of Alberta, plus a further 25 billion barrels of heavy oil in the 10 – 22.3 API gravity range. Venezuela has around 1.2 trillion barrels of extra-heavy oil in the 400-mile long Orinoco Belt in the eastern part of the country. Reserves in Russia-another heavy oil giant, are approaching 200 billion barrels of bitumen and extra heavy oil (1- 3).

Effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on the hepatic cytochrome P450 1A1 system in rainbow trout