Sawdust biomass promotes aquathermolysis of extra-heavy oil

Abstract

The application of biomass to the enhanced oil recovery of extra-heavy oil is a promising technology. In this paper, the promoting effect of sawdust on the viscosity reduction of extra-heavy oil was discussed. During the experiment, sawdust and extra-heavy oil were co-aquathermolysis. The experimental results showed that the viscosity of extra-heavy oil can be reduced from 145 Pa·s to 10.42 Pa·s at 553 K for 24 h and the feedstock ratio of sawdust: extra-heavy oil: water is 1:50:50. Elemental analysis of extra-heavy oil showed that the H/C increased from 1.4347 to 1.6296, and the oxygen content increased from 2.05 wt% to 5.61 wt%. Compared with the upgrading oil without sawdust, the viscosity decreased by 11.03 Pa·s and the H/C increased by 0.0832. The GC–MS results show that the dehydrogenation and deoxidation reactions of small molecular substances generated by sawdust provide hydrogen and oxygen sources for the upgrading of extra-heavy oil.