Synthetic Crude Oil Research Articles

Dynamic Modeling of a Thermochemical System for Solar Fuel Production Based on an Open-Source Framework

This paper describes the dynamic process model for a solar fuels synthesis plant currently being built in Germany. The open-source, equation-based modelling language Modelica is used as the foundation. In this plant, biogas and steam are reformed, producing synthesis gas and subsequently turned into synthetic crude oil. This work contains the necessary model setups for the thermal energy storage, solar-absorbing gas receiver and reforming reactor to consider the thermohydraulic, thermochemical and radiative interactions occurring in the process. The remaining infrastructure is modeled with the Modelica Standard Library. A way to fit these models with experimental data for validation is also outlined.

Dynamic Deposition of PDA on a Hollow Fiber Ceramic Membrane for Oily Water Treatment.

Ceramic membranes have been widely used in oil-water treatment; however, membrane fouling remains a challenge that must be addressed to improve the process feasibility. A thin layer of polydopamine (PDA) was dynamically deposited on the surface of the alumina hollow fiber membranes to reduce oil adhesion. The PDA-alumina membranes were characterized by using SEM-EDS, AFM, and water contact angle measurements. The performance of the modified membranes was evaluated using synthetic crude oil emulsions (100 mg·L-1) in a crossflow system. Membranes modified with PDA exhibited 97% oil rejection, and a stabilized permeate flux of 463 L·h-1·m-2 with a relative flux reduction of 60% and a flux recovery ratio of 75% was observed after cleaning, indicating lower oil adhesion and better fouling reversibility. The most predominant fouling mechanism for the modified membranes seems to be cake filtration because of the reduction in pore size due to the deposition of the PDA layer.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of plastic marine debris from the North Pacific Garbage Patch

Ocean plastic waste poses a growing environmental threat, efforts are now underway to help clean the ocean surface or to prevent plastic streams entering. Repurposing these highly mixed polymers presents a great challenge due to their inherent complexity, intertanglement, and the presence of contaminants. Herein, we process real samples of ocean-floating plastics from the North Pacific Garage Patch through supercritical hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), targeting their chemical recycling into synthetic crude oil. Investigating key process parameters (temperature, pressure, time, and plastic load), we found that plastic load and temperature are crucial parameters influencing oil yield and that moderate conditions maximized hydrocarbon yield, reaching 90 wt%. Overall, longer residence times and higher temperatures favored aromatic-rich oils. We suggest a reaction pathway to account for hydrogen release from aromatization reactions, influencing paraffin, olefin, and aromatic contents. Supercritical HTL offers an effective, tailored approach for recycling complex plastic mixtures to produce synthetic crude oil.

Interactions between chloride-based salts (CaCl2 and MgCl2), ionic liquids, pH, and titanium oxide nanoparticles under low and high salinity conditions, and synthetic resinous crude oil: dorud oilfield

AbstractUnfortunately, oil reservoirs are complex considering the fluids (e.g., crude oil composition) and rock properties making it hard to propose a simple enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method for higher oil production. Besides, most of the investigations had focused on crude oil which is a complex mixture of thousands of components making it hard to extract any reliable conclusions with respect to the crude oil type. So, the current study is focused on the application of ionic liquids from different families of pyridinium and imidazolium, titanium oxide nanoparticles, and salts (MgCl2 and CaCl2) in the presence of resinous synthetic oil for the first time. The obtained results using the central composite design (CCD) approach revealed the positive effect of resin fraction on the IFT reduction by 27% considering the initial value (34.9%). Using the CCD approach revealed that using pH = 7, MgCl2 concentration = 21,000 ppm, CaCl2 concentration = 21,000 ppm, resin fraction of 9wt%t and 500 ppm of [C12mim][Cl] concentration reduces the IFT to minimum value of 0.62 mN/m while the minimum IFT value for optimum conditions of solution includes [C12py][Cl] led to minimum IFT value of 2.2 mN/m. But, the contact angle measurements revealed better synergy between [C12py][Cl] and TiO2-NPs (0–200 ppm) for better wettability alteration toward water-wet condition (27.3°) than [C12mim][Cl] (33.2°). Moreover, the IFT measurements revealed that the presence of TiO2-NPs is effective in reducing the IFT of the optimum formulations to 0.55 and 0.84 mN/m for [C12mim][Cl], and [C12py][Cl], respectively. According to the results, it seems that the obtained optimum formulations for [C12mim][Cl], and [C12py][Cl] are applicable for EOR purposes as new hybrid solutions.

Optimization of water/oil emulsion preparation: Impact of time, speed, and homogenizer type on droplet size and dehydration efficiency

Due to their distinctive physical and chemical properties, emulsions are widely used in various industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, energy, and oil. Emulsion preparation differs from one application to another due to the effect of multiple parameters that can control droplet size and stability. However, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the effect of emulsion preparation on its stability and performance. The emulsion preparation protocols can directly affect dehydration efficiency and stability. Herein, we report the influence of preparation conditions on the properties of the formed emulsions; we investigated the effect of mixing time, speed, and mixer type on the synthetic crude oil emulsion's droplet size and dehydration efficiency.

E-fuels, technical and economic analysis of the production of synthetic kerosene precursor as sustainable aviation fuel

In the context of European and national energy policies to pursue the energy transition process, the issue of alternative-renewable liquid fuels is clearly addressed, whose purpose is to support the growth of sustainable mobility towards the goal of net zero emissions. On the base of the goals to be achieved in the medium and long term in relation to the theme of decarbonization and the development of new sustainable technologies, the present work deals with the e-fuels, which are produced by hydrogen from water electrolysis driven by renewable energy and CO2 captured from air or industrial sources. In particular, the attention is focused on the production of synthetic kerosene with the purpose to decarbonize the aviation sector, which is one of the most difficult electrifiable sectors due to logistical problems. The main objective of this work is the techno-economic analysis of the production of synthetic kerosene starting from green H2 and CO2 from direct air capture. The study of two main process schemes is carried out for the production of a synthetic crude oil, also called syncrude, rich in the kerosene fraction of interest. In the first scheme, called two-stage or indirect process, the incoming carbon dioxide and hydrogen are transformed through the Reverse-Water-Gas-Shift (RWGS) reaction in a syngas which allows to produce, by means of the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction, the product of interest. The second scheme, referred to as single-stage or direct process, involves the direct formation of syncrude (direct FT-CO2) starting from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In both cases, kinetic models representative of the considered reactions are selected in order to carry out an accurate process analysis. Through sensitivity analysis and process evaluations, some process optimizations like material recycle and heat integration are performed in order to increasing the efficiency and carry out a cost comparison to evaluate economic feasibility. Regarding the indirect and direct processes, 66.18 bbl/d and 38.46 bbl/d are produced respectively. Considering all the results and scenarios with and without optimizations, the range of the product cost is from 460 to 1435 €/bbl for the indirect process and from 752 to 2364 €/bbl for the direct process. These values strongly depend on the considered prices of power energy and hydrogen used for the present work.

The production of hydrogen through microwave-initiated catalytic dehydrogenation of model hydrocarbon compounds on Fe/AC catalyst without significant CO2 emissions

The utilization of hydrogen as a fuel source through the microwave-initiated catalytic deep-dehydrogenation (MICDD) of Saudi Arabian light crude oil (LCO) using Fe metal supported on activated carbon has been proposed for this study to achieve the current target of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Should renewable technologies, for example, wind and solar, be not able to decarbonise the energy industry sufficiently in the near future, other approaches are needed to generate energy without the emission of massive amounts of aerial carbon (CO2). The composition of crude oil varies depending on its source; however, it is mainly composed of three families of hydrocarbons (paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics). The aim of this work is to gain an understanding into the contribution of a single hydrocarbon model compound and combinations of these model compounds in proportions close to their real proportions in the LCO preparing a “synthetic crude oil”. In this work, hexadecane, cyclohexane, and benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) were selected to closely represent paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics respectively. It was found that this as a facile route to produce both high concentrations of hydrogen from hexadecane (~90 vol. selectivity) and significant amounts of carbon multiwalled nanotubes over 30 wt. % Fe/AC catalyst at 1000 W input power. The results highlighted the effect of the composition of crude oils on the efficiency of H2 production and showed that paraffinic feedstock was relatively better for producing H2 among other hydrocarbons, and the presence of cyclic hydrocarbons, particularly aromatics, may inhibit H2 production. Importantly, this process creates solid carbon as a by-product of the process instead of CO2 and therefore does not contribute to climate change. The approach also has the potential to synthesise other high-value hydrocarbons as by-products.

Microemulsion phase behavior of live crude oil and revisiting the EACN framework for crude oils

Determination of the EACN of dead, surrogate, and live crude oils are revisited. The main objective of the study was to better understand the EACN of crude oil systems and to find more desirable practices in terms of approximation of crude oils. Microemulsion phase behaviors were measured in a wide range of oil compositions while keeping all formulation variables fixed except the oil. Pure hydrocarbons were used as oil phases or diluents to investigate the effect of nonideal mixing between crude oil and diluents. A synthetic live crude oil was constituted by adding 39.5 mol% of methane to a dead crude oil and then microemulsion phase behavior was investigated to determine the optimum salinity and solubilization ratios at 172 bar (2500 psi) and 90 °C. The results were analyzed based on two existing approaches in EACN framework, i.e., pure n-alkane trends against EACN versus dilution curves against EACN. The method using crude oil dilution curve results in a greater EACN of the crude oil by 2 units than by the method utilizing the pure n-alkane trend as a basis. The apparent EACN of methane was found to be much greater than its alkane carbon number of 9.3 based on the pure n-alkane trend and 11.6 based on the crude oil dilution method, respectively. Through systematic construction and investigation of optimum salinity vs. EACN curves, desirable practices to determine EACN of crude oils are presented. The results could be useful to approximate live crude oil EACN by designing more representative surrogate crude oils.

A molecular kinetic model for heavy gas oil catalytic pyrolysis to light olefins

AbstractPetroleum catalytic pyrolysis to light olefin technology has received wide‐ranging research interest in the refining industry. This work built a molecular kinetic model for the catalytic pyrolysis of a heavy gas oil from bitumen synthetic crude oil (SCO) to light olefins. A feedstock compositional model was constructed containing 1311 molecules using bulk properties information. A variety of reaction rules was summarized and digitized, and from which, a reaction network involving 2631 substances and 6793 reactions was generated via a reaction network autogeneration algorithm. The reaction network for the catalytic pyrolysis was transformed into reaction rate equations. Systematical pilot‐scale catalytic pyrolysis experiments were carried out, which were used to regress the molecular kinetic model parameters. The tuned model is able to predict the product yield and molecular distribution. Moreover, a range of sensitivity analysis was performed, revealing the dependence of light olefins yields on the reaction conditions.

Assessing the impacts of light synthetic crude oil on microbial communities within Laurentian Great Lakes’ sediment habitats

The ability of microbial communities to respond to and degrade crude oil in marine environments is well understood, yet fewer studies have examined freshwater environments. The Laurentian Great Lakes are one of the world’s largest surface freshwater sources. A pipeline that transports light synthetic crude oil crosses between two of the Great Lakes (the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lakes Michigan and Huron, U.S.A.), and there is uncertainty on how the various habitats within this region would respond to accidental crude oil exposure. In this study, sediment microbial communities from three distinct habitats (coastal beach, freshwater coastal wetland, and Lake Michigan deep sediments) were used in microcosm experiments to document their community response (16S rRNA gene sequencing) to light synthetic crude oil (headspace gas chromatography). Microbial community structure (beta diversity) was impacted after exposure to crude oil in each of the habitats examined, with each habitat showing a different level of resistance to crude oil. Additionally, within each habitat, beta diversity distinguished sub-communities that increased in abundance in experimental treatments. Specifically, an increase in total abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, or Gammaproteobacteria was observed in microcosms exposed to crude oil regardless of habitat type. Methane, a potential hydrocarbon degradation byproduct, was observed in the headspace of the microcosms after exposure to crude oil, which may indicate methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation. These data suggest Great Lakes freshwater microbial communities will respond differently to crude oil exposure but may have shared community members involved in resisting and degrading light synthetic crude oil.

Process design and techno-economic analysis of CO2 reformation to synthetic crude oil using H2 produced by decomposition of CH4 in a molten media

This work introduces a new process concept for the conversion of CO2 to gas-to liquid (GTL) products. CO2 is first reformed to syngas via the reverse water gas shift reaction using hydrogen produced by catalytic thermal decomposition of CH4 in a Cu-Bi molten media. The produced syngas is then used to manufacture 30,000 bbl per day of syncrude in a low temperature Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The carbon and energy efficiencies of the GTL plant are 85 % and 35 %, respectively. The plant emits 21.1 g of CO2 per 1 MJ of syncrude when considering upstream emissions associated with the supply of natural gas and CO2 feed streams. This is at least 48 % lower than the CO2 emissions of GTL plants that reform CH4 to syngas, but is higher than water electrolysis-based GTL plants. The fixed capital investment of the plant and the manufacturing cost of syncrude are $1.81 billion and $140 bbl−1, respectively. The levelized price of the produced solid carbon is estimated to be $720 tonne-1 for a syncrude market price of $59 bbl−1.

Intensification of hydrothermal treatment process of oil shale in the supercritical water using hydrogen donor solvents

This research investigates the use of supercritical water (SCW) with solvents to enhance the conversion of oil shale (in core and powder form) in synthetic oil at temperatures of 380, 400, and 420 °C. Analyses of products were illustrated using current combined physical and chemical methods. The results suggested an important decomposition of carbonates compounds in the SCW, resulting in higher yield of CO2 at 380–400 ºC. Consequently the pores increased from 1.08 % to 4.40 %. It was found that use of decalin has beneficially improved the yield of synthetic crude oils from 51.87 % to 64.47 % at 420 ºC. Moreover, the resulting synthetic crude oil included a maximal content of light fractions (C8-C25) of 93.30 %, whereas the fractions > C25 decreased from 44.19 % to 6.70 %. Overall the findings demonstrated that beneficial generation of synthetic crude oil can only take place by a decomposition of bitumens, kerogens, and mineral species namely at 420 ºC.

Liquid-liquid extraction of polyaromatic compounds with ionic liquid. A theoretical and experimental approach

Recent legislation worldwide aims to reduce the levels of polyaromatics compounds in lubricant bases due to their harmful effect on health. Ionic liquids have obtained broad interest as green recyclable extractants. Here, we presented new experimental data of liquid-liquid extraction implementing ionic liquids for the removal of aromatics compounds of synthetic crude oil in a 1:1 mass/mass ratio for temperatures ranging from 303.15 to 293.15 K. Selectivity and distribution constant data are obtained to know the extractive potential of each ionic liquid. To support the experimental results, several computational calculations have been performed. First, two predictive thermodynamic models COSMO-SAC and UNIFAC, have been applied, and the reliability of both models has been compared with experimental results. The results show that using UNIFAC is more accurate than using COSMO to predict extraction behavior. Second, the extractive process has been studied using molecular dynamics. This tool allows us to understand better how the extraction process occurs and the molecules’ situation when they reach equilibrium. It is shown that the cation of the ionic liquid is the primary driver of liquid–liquid extraction. In addition, molecular dynamics will enable a qualitative comparison between the performance of ionic liquids and the experimental results. It is a helpful tool to save time and material resources before laboratory experimentation.

Application of near infrared spectroscopy in sub-surface monitoring of petroleum contaminants in laboratory-prepared soils

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to determine the suitability of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for subsurface monitoring of crude oil contaminants in different soil types under different moisture conditions. Calibration tests, carried out in both wet and dry soils, with crude oil contents 5–30% indicate an inverse relationship between spectra and oil content with R2 values ≥0.98 for dry soil mixtures. A derived index termed “Oil Index” was generated by calculating a spectral ratio between the main oil peak in the NIR region and a spectrally inactive part of the spectrum within the visible region. It was used in a series of experiments designed to test whether NIR probes could yield useful information about the movement of oil through different soils. Synthetic crude oil was dropped into a series of soil samples of different particle size distribution and moisture content. Analyses of the 3D distribution of values of the Oil Index demonstrate that it is possible to estimate and map synthetic crude oil concentration in the subsurface of the soil samples. Results showed that while the Oil Index provided a reasonable estimation for oil concentration in dry samples, this was not the case for wet samples, although the Index was useful in understanding the pattern of movement of oil contaminant in wet soils. The work indicates that this technique may enhance field investigation of oil contamination, providing an accurate in-field technique.

Greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian oil sands supply chains to China

The main purpose of this study is to develop a bottom-up life cycle assessment model to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the Canadian oil sands supply to China. Two pathways were considered. In pathway I, extracted bitumen is sent to Edmonton for upgrading and pipelined to the Westridge terminal near Vancouver, then shipped to a port in China. In pathway II, extracted bitumen is mixed with diluent, directly pipelined to the Westridge terminal, and shipped to China. The results from both the pipeline and the shipping models suggest that pathway I has better GHG emissions than pathway II on a per-barrel basis. GHG emissions are 2.4–3.5 times lower in pipelining synthetic crude oil (SCO) to Westridge than in pipelining dilbit, without and with a diluent return. The emissions range from 826−401+701 g CO2 eq/bbl for SCO, 1819−719+1172 for dilbit without diluent return, and 2684−1065+1374 g CO2 eq/bbl for dilbit with a diluent return. Shipping SCO has 15% fewer emissions than shipping dilbit. The shipping emissions are due to fuel use in the main engine. The emissions for shipping are 5536−914+966 g CO2/bbl for dilbit and 4034−822+899 g CO2/bbl for SCO.

Performance Evaluation of Demulsifier Using the Optimum Formulation HLD Concept: A Practical Case Using Heavy Crude Oil Diluted in Naphtha or in Synthetic Aromatic Oil

Summary Asphaltene-stabilized water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions can cause severe problems during oil production and transportation. These emulsions are broken by adding a demulsifying agent at a suitable concentration (CD*) to obtain the optimal formulation, with minimal emulsion stability (stability*). Herein, we studied, from a phenomenological point of view, the performance of two demulsifiers on W/O emulsion breaking with high asphaltene content. A very simple polyethoxylated nonylphenol demulsifier (6EO) and a complex commercial demulsifier (COD) were studied. The influence of the chemical nature of the oil phase on the performance of the demulsifiers was evaluated. The emulsion stability* and CD* values of W/O systems of heavy crude oil diluted in cyclohexane (Systems A and B) were compared to W/O emulsions composed by a heavy crude oil diluted in heavy naphtha or in an aromatic synthetic crude oil as the oil phase (Systems C and D). The results show that demulsifier performance improves significantly when the crude oil is diluted in heavy naphtha and in aromatic synthetic crude oil, obtaining unstable W/O emulsions (rupture time of 10−2–10−1 minutes). In the latter cases, the CD* value is significantly lower and with a wide area of low emulsion stability compared to systems formulated with crude oil diluted in cyclohexane. The mechanisms that generate this type of behavior are discussed and strategies to increase performance and robustness analyzed.

Life cycle flaring emissions mitigation potential of a novel Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquid microreactor technology for synthetic crude oil production

This paper compares the environmental impacts of the operation of a novel Gas-to-Liquid (GtL) process for synthetic crude oil production with conventional crude oil production. This process uses novel microreactor technology (NetMIX) applied in Steam Methane Reforming and Fischer-Tropsch (FT-SMR) for the conversion of associated gas originated on offshore Oil and Gas exploration.Data from literature for Oil and Gas extraction together with data obtained from Aspen Plus ® simulations was used to build the life cycle inventory. An attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the FT-SMR pathway to conventional crude oil production, using 1 MJ LHV as the functional unit. An additional assessment was also conducted by reporting the impact to 1 barrel. This is done to assess the effect that the add-on technology may have on the impact of current crude production.Converting associated gas using the FT-SMR pathway produces a synthetic crude with negative net GWP impacts. This is because the amount of avoided emissions is larger than the emissions due to the operation of the pathway. The remaining impact categories increase since the FT-SMR has additional intermediary steps, with added fuel energy needs, and additional process emissions. Moreover, the amount of natural gas required to produce 1 MJ of synthetic crude oil (abbreviated in the text as syncrude) results in larger impacts in the extraction phase, than those associated with the extraction of 1 MJ of conventional crude.The obtained syncrude has a GWP impact of −0.34 [−0.62, −0.14] kg CO2 eq/MJ, in comparison to 0.012 [0.009, 0.017] kg CO2 eq/MJ of conventional crude. A reduction of 8% to the impacts per daily barrel of crude (70.3 kg CO2 eq/barrel and 64.6 kg CO2 eq/barrel before and after using the FT-SMR pathway) was observed for a reduction of 34% of the total flared gas mass.

Reconstruction of a Synthetic Crude Oil Using Petroleomics and Molecular Dynamics Simulations: A Multistructural Approach to Understanding Asphaltene Aggregation Behavior

Reconstruction of a Synthetic Crude Oil Using Petroleomics and Molecular Dynamics Simulations: A Multistructural Approach to Understanding Asphaltene Aggregation Behavior

Simulation of the deasphalting process of crude oils: Models development and extraction conditions analysis

Heavy crude oils are under constant investigation due to light oil exhaustion. So, its use is compulsory to meet the world energy demand. Heavy crude oils present several drawbacks as high content of metals, heteroatoms, and asphaltenes, and, therefore, upgrading processes are becoming essential. A deasphalting process, conventionally used for vacuum residue upgrading, can be an interesting pretreatment to eliminate the heavier phases and ease the crude processing in conventional refining facilities. Most of the models developed for deasphalting simulation show problems to be implemented in simulation software packages. In this work, a versatile deasphalting simulation method is developed, composed by the definition of a synthetic crude oil model, formed by discrete pseudo components, and a deasphalting model approaching the process to a liquid-liquid extraction based on the thermodynamic model modified UNIFAC (Dortmund). Both models were satisfactorily validated. The deasphalting method was used to explore the solvent/crude ratio, extraction temperatures, and alternative solvents in substitution of conventional light paraffins. Higher extraction temperatures did not enhance remarkably the deasphalting process and the optimum solvent to crude ratio depends on the solvent type. Alcohols were found as promising compounds as their use is recommended by some studies and they showed great deasphalting results. • A discrete pseudocomponent-based crude oil model is developed. • A deasphalting model is proposed using a liquid-liquid equilibrium extraction and the modified UNIFAC (Dortmund) model. • The solvent selection is better from extraction yield+asphaltene reduction than from selectivity+partition coefficients. • Alcohols are found as alternative sustainable solvents for deasphalting use.

The Study of Flow Behavior and Performance of Polymer Injection in Homogenous Porous Media Using Etched Micromodel

The implementation of polymer injection on a field scale needs a preliminary laboratory test to analyze the performance and flow behavior of polymer injection in a porous media. Compared to coreflooding method, micromodel provides the visualization of oil displacement mechanism and facilitating a more detailed process description. Understanding the effect of polymer concentration on the incremental of oil recovery factor and its displacement mechanism are essential to know the polymer injection performance with the intention of avoiding failures in the implementation of polymer injection at field scale. We used dry etching technique for the fabrication of acrylic micromodel with homogenous characteristic. In this work, pre-flush (waterflooding) is performed first before doing the polymer injection to determine the incremental oil recovery factor and analyze the effect of polymer concentration on oil recovery factor enhancement in homogenous porous media. They were positioned horizontally then saturated with synthetic brine and light crude oil as the initial condition before starting the injection scenario. The experiment was conducted at room temperature. The entire process of micromodel flooding test was monitored by camera and then for the further analysis was done using Digital Image Analysis (DIA). According to the polymer rheology and aqueous stability test, it can be proven that polymer is a non-newtonian fluid indicated by shear thinning behavior and it can be observed that FP3630S polymer is a good candidate for micromodel flooding test. The micromodel flooding result confirmed that the increasing of polymer concentration will result in higher incremental oil recovery factor. In addition, based on the final condition of the micromodel after the polymer injection process, there is improvement of sweep efficiency due to the front stability resulted by the decreasing of mobility ratio between displacing fluid (polymer solution) and the oil bank.