D Alharthy Rima, El-Nagar Raghda A, Ghanem Alaa
Department of Chemistry, Science and Arts College, Rabigh Branch, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911, Saudi Arabia.
Oil Lab Analysis, Analysis and Evaluation Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Nasr City, Cairo 11727, Egypt.
Materials (Basel). 2022 Aug 29;15(17):5959. doi: 10.3390/ma15175959.
Heavy and extra heavy oil exploitation has attracted attention in the last few years because of the decline in the production of conventional crude oil. The high viscosity of heavy crude oil is the main challenge that obstructs its extraction. Consequently, catalytic aquathermolysis may be an effective solution to upgrade heavy crude oil to decrease its viscosity in reservoir conditions. In this regard, a series of acidic ionic liquids, 1-butyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonate (IL-4), 1-decyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonate (IL-10), and 1-hexadecyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonate (IL-16), were utilized in the aquathermolysis of heavy crude oil. Of each IL, 0.09 wt % reduced the viscosity of the crude oil by 89%, 93.7%, and 94.3%, respectively, after the addition of 30% water at 175 °C. ILs with alkyl chains equal to 10 carbon atoms or more displayed greater activity in viscosity reduction than that of ILs with alkyl chains lower than 10 carbon atoms. The molecular weight and asphaltene content of the crude oil were decreased after catalytic aquathermolysis. The compositional analysis of the crude oil before and after catalytic aquathermolysis showed that the molar percentage of lighter molecules from tridecanes to isosanes was increased by 26-45%, while heavier molecules such as heptatriacontanes, octatriacontanes, nonatriacontanes, and tetracontanes disappeared. The rheological behavior of the crude oil before and after the catalytic aquathermolytic process was studied, and the viscosity of the crude oil sample was reduced strongly from 678, 29.7, and 23.4 cp to 71.8, 16.9, and 2.7 cp at 25, 50, and 75 °C, respectively. The used ILs upgraded the heavy crude oil at a relatively low temperature.
由于常规原油产量下降，重质和特重质原油开采在过去几年受到关注。重质原油的高粘度是阻碍其开采的主要挑战。因此，催化水热裂解可能是在油藏条件下将重质原油升级以降低其粘度的有效解决方案。在这方面，一系列酸性离子液体，1-丁基-1H-咪唑-3-鎓4-十二烷基苯磺酸盐（IL-4）、1-癸基-1H-咪唑-3-鎓4-十二烷基苯磺酸盐（IL-10）和1-十六烷基-1H-咪唑-3-鎓4-十二烷基苯磺酸盐（IL-16），被用于重质原油的水热裂解。在175℃加入30%水后，每种离子液体0.09 wt%分别使原油粘度降低了89%、93.7%和94.3%。烷基链等于或多于10个碳原子的离子液体在降低粘度方面比烷基链少于10个碳原子的离子液体表现出更大的活性。催化水热裂解后原油的分子量和沥青质含量降低。催化水热裂解前后原油的成分分析表明，从十三烷到异辛烷的较轻分子的摩尔百分比增加了26 - 45%，而较重分子如三十七烷、三十八烷、三十九烷和四十烷消失了。研究了催化水热裂解过程前后原油的流变行为，原油样品在25、50和75℃时的粘度分别从678、29.7和23.4 cp大幅降至71.8、16.9和2.7 cp。所用离子液体在相对较低的温度下使重质原油升级。
