<i>In Situ</i> Upgrading of Athabasca Bitumen
Using Multimetallic Ultradispersed Nanocatalysts in an Oil Sands Packed-Bed
Column: Part 2. Solid Analysis and Gaseous Product Distribution
Rohallah Hashemi
Nashaat N. Nassar
Pedro Pereira Almao
10.1021/ef401719n.s001
https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/_i_In_Situ_i_Upgrading_of_Athabasca_Bitumen_Using_Multimetallic_Ultradispersed_Nanocatalysts_in_an_Oil_Sands_Packed_Bed_Column_Part_2_Solid_Analysis_and_Gaseous_Product_Distribution/2029053
Thermal
cracking of Athabasca bitumen was carried out in an oilsand
packed-bed column, in the presence and absence of <i>in situ</i> prepared trimetallic nanocatalysts at a pressure of 3.5 MPa, residence
time of 36 h, and temperatures of 320 and 340 °C. In this part
of the study, the effects of reaction severity (time and temperature)
as well as the presence of nanocatalysts in packed media on solid
and gaseous products were investigated. Results showed that the presence
of trimetallic nanocatalysts enhanced the hydrogenation reactions
and, consequently, led to significant reduction of coke formation
(51.3%) and CO<sub>2</sub> emission reduction. Further, the analysis
of the gaseous products and deposited solids confirmed the previous
findings reported in part 1 (10.1021/ef401716h) of this study. The accumulative volume of coke precursor gases,
such as ethylene and propylene, increased with the reaction severity.
However, reaction severity has no significant effect on the atomic
metallic ratios (metal/total metal) of the employed trimetallic nanocatalysts,
which clearly demonstrates the stability of injected ultradispersed
(UD) nanocatalysts (metal/total metal: Mo, 0.6267; Ni, 0.1808; and
W, 0.1924) in the porous media at high pressure and temperature. Nonetheless,
aggregation of nanocatalysts inside the porous media was observed
and graphically demonstrated by environmental scanning electron microscopy
(ESEM) images. Overall, the presence of trimetallic nanocatalysts
in porous media not just enhanced bitumen upgrading but also improved
the produced liquid quality and reduced the coke content as well as
CO<sub>2</sub> emission by 50%.
2015-12-17 00:42:03
scanning electron microscopy
CO 2 emission reduction
Multimetallic Ultradispersed Nanocatalysts
trimetallic nanocatalysts
reaction severity
coke precursor gases
Gaseous Product DistributionThermal
presence
CO 2 emission
media
UD
ESEM