Evaluation of the potential end use of oils produced by the ROPE copyright process from California tar sand

Abstract

The oil products produced by the rope process from Process Development Unit (PDU) run SPR-111 were evaluated for potential end use. This run was a five-day test using Arroyo Grande tar sand from California as the feed to the PDU. The distillate from knockout {number sign}2 was hydrotreated to produce a series of process intermediates. One of the intermediates was evaluated as a feedstock for the production of transportation fuels. The heavy product oil was distilled to produce a residue that was evaluated as an asphalt. Analysis of a selected process intermediate shows that it is not suitable for the production of gasoline or for use as a gasoline-blending feedstock. The process intermediate was not suitable for the production of aviation turbine fuels because of a high concentration of alkanes. However, the presence of alkanes does make the oil valuable as a feedstock for the production of diesel fuel. The heavy oil product as received from the PDU is not suitable for the production of an asphaltic material because it contains a large amount of very fine solid material. However, after filtration and distillation, the application of ASTM D-3381 specification tests to the +410{degree}C residue shows that all of themore » requirements are met except for the trichloroethylene solubility requirement. This value is below specification because a small amount of mineral matter was not removed during the filtrations process. Also, the residue had a very high aging index. Results from successive freeze-thaw cycling also show that the residue is comparable to petroleum asphalts when it is coated on the same appropriate aggregate. 14 refs., 8 figs., 8 tabs.« less