Ali Akhunov Amirjon, Aliev Firdavs, Mukhamadiev Nurali, Kahwir Oscar Facknwie, Dengaev Alexey, Majeed Mohammed Yasin, Esmaeel Mustafa, Al-Qaz Abdulvahhab, Mirzaev Oybek, Vakhin Alexey
Department of Chemistry, Samarkand State University, Samarkand 140104, Uzbekistan.
Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies, Kazan Federal University, Kazan 420008, Russia.
Molecules. 2025 Jul 18;30(14):3013. doi: 10.3390/molecules30143013.
The growing global demand for energy necessitates the efficient utilization of unconventional petroleum resources, particularly heavy oil reserves. However, extracting, transporting, and processing these resources remain challenging due to their low mobility, low API gravity, and significant concentrations of resins, asphaltenes, heteroatoms, and metals. In recent years, various in situ upgrading techniques have been explored to enhance heavy oil quality, with catalytic aquathermolysis emerging as a promising approach. The effectiveness of this process largely depends on the development of cost-effective, environmentally friendly catalysts. This study investigates the upgrading performance of water-soluble ammonium alum, (NH)Al(SO)·12HO, for an extra-heavy oil sample from the Zarafshan Depression, located along the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border. Comprehensive analyses demonstrate that the catalyst facilitates the breakdown of heavy oil components, particularly resins and asphaltenes, into lighter fractions. As a result, oil viscosity was significantly reduced by 94%, while sulfur content decreased from 896 ppm to 312 ppm. Furthermore, thermogravimetric (TG-DTG) analysis, coupled with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), revealed that the thermal decomposition of ammonium alum produces catalytically active AlO nanoparticles. These findings suggest that ammonium alum is a highly effective water-soluble pre-catalyst for hydrothermal upgrading, offering a viable and sustainable solution for the development of extra-heavy oil fields.
全球对能源的需求不断增长，这使得高效利用非常规石油资源成为必要，特别是重油储量。然而，由于这些资源流动性低、API重度低以及树脂、沥青质、杂原子和金属的浓度高，提取、运输和加工这些资源仍然具有挑战性。近年来，人们探索了各种原位升级技术来提高重油质量，催化水热裂解作为一种有前途的方法应运而生。这个过程的有效性在很大程度上取决于开发具有成本效益、环境友好的催化剂。本研究调查了水溶性硫酸铝铵（NH）Al（SO）·12HO对来自塔吉克斯坦-乌兹别克斯坦边境的扎拉夫善凹陷的超重油样品的升级性能。综合分析表明，该催化剂有助于将重油成分，特别是树脂和沥青质分解成较轻的馏分。结果，油的粘度显著降低了94%，而硫含量从896 ppm降至312 ppm。此外，热重（TG-DTG）分析与傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和X射线衍射（XRD）相结合，表明硫酸铝铵的热分解产生了具有催化活性的AlO纳米颗粒。这些发现表明，硫酸铝铵是一种用于水热升级的高效水溶性预催化剂，为重油油田的开发提供了一种可行且可持续的解决方案。
