Hydrocarbon Gas Production Research Articles

Technology road map for the low-carbon production of hydrocarbons

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016, has the objective of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C to substantially reduce the effects of climate change. To achieve this objective, significant and unprecedented deep cuts in carbon emissions are required, as set out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on Global Warming of 1.5°C released in October 2018. To enable this ambitious target, global reductions in carbon emissions will need to be markedly reduced to an average of net zero by 2050 and, as such, will have profound effects on hydrocarbon (oil and gas) production in the coming decades. This paper presents a road map of opportunities for the reduction of carbon emissions from hydrocarbon production, specifically natural gas. It includes technologies for reducing carbon emissions from process streams and utility streams. A case study is used to illustrate the opportunities, along with a discussion on technology readiness for several options.

Preparing High-Octane Motor Fuel Components via the Oxidation of an Industrial Isobutane Fraction

The deep processing of heavy oil increases the production of hydrocarbon gases. The resulting butanes do not always find an equivalent market. A mixture of oxygenates with a high octane number is obtained in this work via oxidation of industrial isobutane fraction. The reaction proceeds both in with and without using Au/Silicalite-1 and Cu/SiO2 as catalysts. The influence of factors that reduce the formation of undesirable impurities (hydroperoxides, peroxides, and acids) is studied. Tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) obtainable with a selectivity of 64–69% and butane conversion of 55–69% is a target product. TBA has a RON of 113. Alcohols and ketones having RONs within 106–115 appear together with TBA during the oxidation. The best result was obtained for a Cu/SiO2 catalyst. More than 18% of TBA and 2.9 times more ketones are removed from a unit volume of a reaction space in the presence of a catalyst than during oxidation without a catalyst. The total productivity of the products suitable as high-octane components is 40 g/(L h), while the RON of this mixture is ≈111. A mixture of oxygenates including TBA has a lower volatility than that of methyl tert-butyl ether, which is especially important for the stability of gasolines in summer.

Possibility of synthesis of high-octane components of motor fuels via oxidation of the industrial isobutane fraction

The necessity of deep conversion of heavy oil gives rise to an increase in the production of hydrocarbon gases. The formed butanes are not always marketable. In the paper, the possibility of the production of high-octane oxygenate mixture via oxidation of the industrial isobutene fraction is discussed. The reaction was conducted in the absence and in the presence of catalysts such as Au/Silicalite-1 and Cu/SiO 2 . The factors were studied that allowed the formation of undesirable impurities (hydroperoxides, peroxides, acids) to be minimized. The target product was tert-butyl alcohol (TBA); it was produced at the selectivity of 64–69 % at the butane conversion of 55–69 %. RON number of TBA is 113. Along with TBA, alcohols and ketones with RON 106–115 were produced. The best result was obtained with the Cu/SiO 2 ; in the presence of this catalyst the yield of TBA was 18 % higher and the yield of ketones was as high as 2.9 times of the yields obtained by the noncatalytic reaction. The total yield of products to be used as high-octane reached 40 g/L·h, while RON was ca. 111 of this mixture. The mixture of TBA-based oxygenates are less volatile than methyl-tert-butyl alcohol that is of particular importance to provide gasoline stability in summertime.

Determination of critical parameters for evaluating coal measure shale gas in China

Coal measure shale is one of the most abundant types of marine-continental shales in China. Two sets of typical coal measure shales in China are developed in the Shanxi Formation (Ordos Basin) and in the Longtan Formation (Guizhou Province). In this study, thermal simulation, rock pyrolysis, and X-ray diffraction experiments were used to analyze four coal measure shale samples collected from typical areas of China. Based on the study of hydrocarbon generation process of the samples, the lower limits of thermal maturity (Ro) of favorable and target areas for coal measure shale were ∼1.8% and 2.5%, respectively. The threshold Ro value of oil generation in coal measure shale was preliminarily inferred to be 0.6%. The gaseous hydrocarbon production per unit of S1+S2, after the gas generation threshold, was linearly and positively correlated with Ro. The lower limits of total organic carbon (TOC), corresponding to the favorable and target areas, were ∼2.45 wt% and 2.84 wt%, respectively. Combined with X-ray diffraction experiments, the diagenetic stage and the hydrocarbon generation model of coal measure shale were established and could be divided into four evolutionary stages. The results of this study have direct scientific and practical significance for the evaluation of gas content and selection of areas in China for the extraction of coal measure shale.

Management of loyalty in developing a company’s brand on the Russian oil and gas B2B market

In this article, we consider the importance of lifestyle and preferences of the decision-makers as parts of management of loyalty in developing a company’s brand on the Russian oil and gas B2B market. We provide the definitions of the concepts of “brand” and “loyalty”, types of loyalty and development stages of a loyalty program. Additionally, we report the results of a marketing research for development of the loyalty program of the oil trading company (characteristics, opinions and preferences of the decisionmakers on the Russian market of light oil and liquefied hydrocarbon gas products).

Effects of temperature on pyrolysis characteristics of Indonesia oil sands

In this work, pyrolysis experiments were conducted on Indonesia oil sands in a Cracking device at different pyrolysis temperatures. The effects of pyrolysis temperature on total hydrocarbon yield, liquid hydrocarbon production rate and gas production rate were investigated. Below 300 °C, the pyrolysis products were mainly gaseous. However, the proportions of liquid and gas products were identical above the temperature of 300 °C. The relationship between the volume fraction of gaseous products and temperature was analyzed using gas chromatography. The presence of functional groups of methyl, methylene, aldehyde, ketone, acid, fat, alkene and aromatic hydrocarbons in liquid pyrolysis products was investigated at different pyrolysis temperatures. The pore structure, electron microscope and fractal dimension of the chars were also analyzed. The result showed that the amount of adsorbed nitrogen reached the maximum value at 450 °C. The adsorption loop of char was close to the B-type loop, and the pore was mainly the slit hole. In addition, the pore structure was very well developed. The BET specific surface area and pore volume presented their peak values at 450 °C and the fractal dimension was obtained using FHH equation, which peaked at the temperature of 450 °C. The pore structure was loose and there was no obvious connection between the particles. Finally, the overall fractal value was slightly lower than the nitrogen adsorption fractal value.

Determination method of shale gas content: A case study in the Ordos Basin, China

Three shale samples, which were from MF-1 well (a) and MF-2 well (b) in the northern Ordos Basin of China and Yan'an Formation of Jurassic coal measure strata of J601 well (c) in the western edge of the Ordos Basin, were taken for thermal simulation and rock pyrolysis experiments. The rules of hydrocarbon generation production and S2 varied with the increase in thermal maturity (Ro), and the relationship between S2 and gaseous hydrocarbon generation production were analyzed. The analytical results indicated that as the Ro increased, the liquid hydrocarbon production of the shale samples first increased and then decreased, while the gaseous hydrocarbon production and total hydrocarbon production increased, and the S2gradually decreased. Gaseous hydrocarbon production increased as S2 decreased, and there was a two-stage negative linear correlation between S2 and gaseous hydrocarbon production. The gaseous hydrocarbon production increased slowly when the Ro value was below 0.8% and rapidly increased after this threshold was met. During the process of the hydrocarbon generation of the shale in the Ordos Basin, the evolution phase could be divided into three stages: the immature stage of producing liquid hydrocarbon, the mature stage of producing gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon, and the overmature stage of gaseous hydrocarbon thermal cracking. Considering the hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency of the shale samples, the total organic carbon (TOC) content had a positive logarithmic correlation with the shale gas content (the gaseous hydrocarbon production minus the expulsed gaseous hydrocarbon production). The hydrocarbon generation potential and gas content increased with the increase of TOC. With the knowledge of the shale samples' TOC content, the shale gas content of the sampling layer could be preliminarily determined based on the regression equations of TOC and gas content. The exploration potential of the shale layer could be evaluated according to the gas content calculation, after considering the standards for the shale gas favorable area and the target area gas content.

RESEARCH AND REGULATION OF THE CORROSIVE DAMAGE PROCESSES ATIN-FIELD GAS PIPEPLINES

The process of production, collection and transportation of hydrocarbon gases, including issues of formation outcrop, delivery of products to separation and cleaning points is based on transportation of natural and associated gas mixture, stratum water and mechanical particles over long distances. The research results show that the major part of failures of gas transporting pipelines is due to their mechanical damage or corrosion.
 The main factors of corrosion failure in pipelines are as follows: change of hydrodynamic pumping mode, corrosion activity and inadequate cleaning of transported gas.
 To protect gas pipelines from failure, a method of hydrodynamic mode selection was developed to provide dependence of mechanical particles transportation on the gas flow speed. Using this method, it is possible to calculate gas regulators with consideration of actual conditions for all possible values of pressure drop within the regulator.
 To enhance the accuracy of calculations, the correction coefficient was proposed depending on has temperature and molecular weight.

Early Leakage Protection System of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Based on ATMega 16 Microcontroller

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). LPG is a hydrocarbon gas production from refineries and gas refinery with the major components of propane gas (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). Limit flame (Flammable Range) or also called gas with air. Value Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) is the minimum limit of the concentration of fuel vapor in the air which if there is no source of fire, the gas will be burned. While the value of the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL), which limits the maximum concentration of fuel vapor in the air, which if no source of fire, the gas will be burned. Protection system is a defend mechanism of human, equipment, and buildings around the protected area. Goals to be achieved in this research are to design a protection system against the consequences caused by the leakage of LPG gas based on ATmega16 microcontroller. The method used in this research is to reduce the levels of leaked LPG and turned off the power source when the leakage of LPG is on the verge of explosive limit. The design of this protection system works accurately between 200 ppm up to 10000 ppm, which is still below the threshold of explosive. Thus protecting the early result of that will result in the leakage of LPG gas.

Performance of MCM-22 zeolite for the catalytic fast-pyrolysis of acid-washed wheat straw

MCM-22 zeolite samples, having different Si/Al ratios, have been studied for the fast-pyrolysis of acid-washed wheat straw at two catalytic pyrolysis temperatures aimed to the production of partially upgraded bio-oil. The best combination of bio-oil deoxygenation activity and energy yield is obtained when the catalytic bed was operated at 450°C using the MCM-22 sample with the lowest Al content (Si/Al=40). Interestingly, the increase in the reaction temperature results in a lower amount of coke deposited over the zeolite. On the other hand, reducing the zeolite Si/Al ratio had a negative effect as a higher concentration of acid sites promotes non-desired reactions: severe cracking of the bio-oil vapours, leading to the enhanced production of gaseous hydrocarbons, and coke formation. Coke produced over MCM-22 zeolite exhibits high oxygen content, whereas the bio-oil fraction presents a high concentration of oxygenated aromatics. These results denote the limited aromatization activity of MCM-22 zeolite for producing aromatic hydrocarbons, in particular when compared with ZSM-5, being of interest for the selective production of phenolic compounds by biomass catalytic pyrolysis.

Intermediate Product Regulation in Tandem Solid Catalysts with Multimodal Porosity for High‐Yield Synthetic Fuel Production

AbstractTandem catalysis is an attractive strategy to intensify chemical technologies. However, simultaneous control over the individual and concerted catalyst performances poses a challenge. We demonstrate that enhanced pore transport within a Co/Al2O3 Fischer–Tropsch (FT) catalyst with hierarchical porosity enables its tandem integration with a Pt/ZSM‐5 zeolitic hydrotreating catalyst in a spatially distant fashion that allows for catalyst‐specific temperature adjustment. Nevertheless, this system resembles the case of close active‐site proximity by mitigating secondary reactions of primary FT α‐olefin products. This approach enables the combination of in situ dewaxing with a minimum production of gaseous hydrocarbons (18 wt %) and an up to twofold higher (50 wt %) selectivity to middle distillates compared to tandem pairs based on benchmark mesoporous FT catalysts. An overall 80 % selectivity to liquid hydrocarbons from syngas is attained in one step, attesting to the potential of this strategy for increasing the carbon efficiency in intensified gas‐to‐liquid technologies.

Intermediate Product Regulation in Tandem Solid Catalysts with Multimodal Porosity for High-Yield Synthetic Fuel Production.

Tandem catalysis is an attractive strategy to intensify chemical technologies. However, simultaneous control over the individual and concerted catalyst performances poses a challenge. We demonstrate that enhanced pore transport within a Co/Al2 O3 Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalyst with hierarchical porosity enables its tandem integration with a Pt/ZSM-5 zeolitic hydrotreating catalyst in a spatially distant fashion that allows for catalyst-specific temperature adjustment. Nevertheless, this system resembles the case of close active-site proximity by mitigating secondary reactions of primary FT α-olefin products. This approach enables the combination of in situ dewaxing with a minimum production of gaseous hydrocarbons (18 wt %) and an up to twofold higher (50 wt %) selectivity to middle distillates compared to tandem pairs based on benchmark mesoporous FT catalysts. An overall 80 % selectivity to liquid hydrocarbons from syngas is attained in one step, attesting to the potential of this strategy for increasing the carbon efficiency in intensified gas-to-liquid technologies.

Paleogeomorphic genesis assembly method for paleogeomorphic recovery in the major region of the Tahe Oil Field, Tarim Basin, northwest China

Tahe oil field is the first marine origin oil field in China, with proven reserves of 500 million tons. Given the important role of the paleogeomorphology in controlling the formation and distribution of karst reservoirs, this paper restored the pre-Carboniferous paleokarst landform in the major blocks of the Tahe oil field, via the paleogeomorphic genesis assembly method. First, four types of secondary landform units (karst platform, karst gentle slope, karst steep slope, and karst intermountain basin) were defined. Next, landform identification factors were added to these four types, to further divide the paleokarst landform into ten tertiary landform units. This enabled a more precise identification of the paleogeomorphic landforms. The karst development and the properties of hydrocarbon reservoirs in micro-geomorphic units were assessed. In addition, the relationship between petroleum production and geomorphology was analysed to robustly predict karst reservoirs in the Tahe oil field. The results show that karst develops differently according to the ancient landform units it developed from and that the current karst function is highly dependent on the precursor ancient landform. In addition, the morphology of the ancient landform significantly controls hydrocarbon accumulation, with oil and gas production being highly associated with the degree of karst development in each landscape unit. The research results indicate that the position of the slope in the karst hill and residual peak is favorable for future oil and gas exploration.

Parametric study of two-stage hydropyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass for production of gaseous and light aromatic hydrocarbons

Non-catalytic hydropyrolysis of pinewood and its components was carried out using a two-stage reactor. The main aim of this work is to investigate the hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenation of volatile matter in the post hydrocracking reactor for oriented production of gaseous and light aromatic hydrocarbons. A portion of volatile matter, which evolved from hemicellulose, neutral extractives and lignin below 275°C, was found to be thoroughly hydrodeoxygenated preventing the release of CO2 and CO. Increasing hydrocracking temperature from 600°C to 750°C and pressure from 1.0MPa to 5.0MPa strongly facilitated the hydrogenation reactions to target products. The summed yield of CH4 and C2H6 (dry biomass basis) reached up to 33.2% at a hydrocracking temperature of 750°C and 5.0MPa, with a concomitant 5.1% yield of BTX. All components in pinewood significantly contributed to the production of CH4 and BTX by hydropyrolysis, differing from the case of pyrolysis.

Catalytic hydrothermal upgrading of pyrolysis oil

Pyrolysis oil from wood pellets was upgraded in this research by catalytic hydrotreatment in a 100 ml batch reactor. Four heterogeneous 5% metal catalysts (Ru, Ni, Rh, and Ni) were used at different hydrotreatment temperatures (250 ºC and 300 ºC). Two different set-ups were also used with formic acid and with only bio-oil. The products of the reforming using two temperature conditions were then analysed and compared. The results showed that higher temperature yielded a lot of char compared to lower temperature giving low bio-oil recovery and poor carbon yield in the bio-oil. Also higher temperature resulted into the production of more carbon dioxide gas and hydrocarbon gases. Ru catalyst appeared to be the best among all the catalysts in reducing the amount oxygen wt-% by 42.12% at 250 ºC. Ru treated bio-oil also registered the highest composition of the lightest compounds of about 88.5% compared to initial bio-oil which only had 30.6%. Elemental analyses results show that all the upgraded bio-oils displayed lower oxygen content than the raw bio-oil with increased hydrogen and carbon composition.

Production of aromatic hydrocarbons by hydrogenation-cocracking of bio-oil and methanol

The hydrogen-lacking characteristic of bio-oil leads to a low yield of desired product and easy coke formation during its cracking for aromatic hydrocarbon generation. Therefore, an improved hydrogenation-cocracking process which could supply hydrogen in two stages to enhance aromatic hydrocarbon production was developed in this study. Furfural was chosen as the model compound of bio-oil to be coprocessed with methanol, and hydrogen supply behavior was regulated by varying hydrogenation temperature and methanol coprocessing ratio in the feedstock. The results showed that raising hydrogenation temperature in the range of 150–250°C increased the hydrogenation degree and thus facilitated aromatic hydrocarbon production in the cracking stage. However, a further increase of temperature to 300°C caused low-reactivity saturated gaseous hydrocarbon production, which decreased the ultimate oil phase yield. The increase of methanol coprocessing ratio in feedstock strengthened the hydrogen supply in the cracking stage, which could promote the deoxygenation of furanic ring and consequently increased aromatic hydrocarbon yield and reduced coke formation. By coprocessing 25% furfural and 75% methanol with a hydrogenation temperature of 250°C, the oil phase yield reached 26.4% with an aromatic hydrocarbon content of 94.4%. Finally, the hydrogenation-cocracking mechanism was proposed according to the experimental results.

Pyrolytic Waste Plastic Oil and Its Diesel Blend: Fuel Characterization.

The authors introduced waste plastic pyrolysis oil (WPPO) as an alternative fuel characterized in detail and compared with conventional diesel. High density polyethylene, HDPE, was pyrolyzed in a self-designed stainless steel laboratory reactor to produce useful fuel products. HDPE waste was completely pyrolyzed at 330–490°C for 2-3 hours to obtain solid residue, liquid fuel oil, and flammable gaseous hydrocarbon products. Comparison of the fuel properties to the petrodiesel fuel standards ASTM D 975 and EN 590 revealed that the synthetic product was within all specifications. Notably, the fuel properties included a kinematic viscosity (40°C) of 1.98 cSt, density of 0.75 gm/cc, sulphur content of 0.25 (wt%), and carbon residue of 0.5 (wt%), and high calorific value represented significant enhancements over those of conventional petroleum diesel fuel.

Production of gaseous hydrocarbons by microbial communities of Lake Baikal bottom sediments

Production of gaseous hydrocarbons by the microbial community of the Posolsky Bank methane seep bottom sediments (Southern Baikal) was studied at 4°C. Formation of both methane and a heavier gas- eous hydrocarbon, ethane, was detected in enrichment cultures. The highest methane concentrations (6.15 and 4.51 mmol L(-1)) were revealed in enrichments from the sediments from 55-cm depth incubated with-so- dium acetate and H2/CO2 gas mixture, respectively. A decrease in activity of aceticlastic methanogensand a decrease in methane concentration produced by hydrogenotrophic archaea occurred with depth. The highest concentration of ethane was revealed in enrichments from the microbial community of the layer close to gas hydrates (75 cm) incubated with CO2 as a substrate. According to analysis of the 16S rRNA gene fragments from the clone library, these enrichments were found to contain members of the phylum Crenarchaeota form- ing a separate cluster with members of the class Thermoprotei. The phylum Euryarchaeota was represented by nucleotide sequences of the organisms homologous to members of the orders Methanococcales, Methanosa- rcinales, and Thermoplasmatales.

New Way for CO2 Reduction under Visible Light by a Combination of a Cu Electrode and Semiconductor Thin Film: Cu2O Conduction Type and Morphology Effect

How to take advantage of CO2 has been one of the main issues to be addressed around the world. Although there are many methods to convert CO2 to organic fuel, the efficiency is still not high enough for practical application. Herein, we have accomplished better conversion of CO2 by the combination of metal electrode and semiconductor thin films responsive to visible light. First, the deposition of p-type and n-type Cu2O thin films onto a Cu substrate is successfully achieved. Then, the prepared Cu/Cu2O samples are used for catalytic reduction of CO2 in photoelectrochemical systems in comparison with that in photochemical and electrochemical systems. The results show that CH4 and C2H4 are the major hydrocarbon gas products, and the prepared Cu/Cu2O samples have much higher selectivity for C2H4 formation compared with the pure Cu electrode. The best yield for CO2 reduction is obtained in the photoelectrochemical system under visible light. Additionally, CO2 conversion efficiency over the Cu/Cu2O (p-type) el...

Conversion of Biomass-Derived Oxygen-Containing Intermediates into Chemical Raw Materials with Zeolite

To establish a new production route of biomass-derived BTX and propylene, the catalytic conversion of oxygen-containing intermediates which are furfural, levulinic acid, acetic acid or butyric acid, obtained by hydrothermal reactions of bagasse or fermentation of molasses was investigated with zeolites, ZSM-5, SAPO-11 and SAPO-34. Levulinic acid and acetic acid were suitable for generating BTX with ZSM-5. On the other hand, the butyric acid was valuable for converting to chemical raw materials with ZSM-5. By using SAPO-11 as the catalyst, butyric acid converted to propylene at high yields. The yield for propylene was the maximum value 58.8C% at 723K, especially the ratio of propylene to gaseous hydrocarbon products increased up to 90.4C%.