Comparative pyrolysis kinetics of heavy oil and its SARA fractions using distributed activation energy model

The pyrolysis behaviors of Qingdao vacuum residue(QD-VR)and its SARA(saturates,aromatics,reins,and asphaltenes)fractions were evaluated by thermo-gravimetric with mass spectrometer(TG-MS).The pyrolysis kinetics were determined by Friedman,one-parallel and four-parallel distributed activation energy model(DAEM),respectively.The results indicated that the pyrolysis behavior of QD-VR was similar to that of aromatics.For saturates,the release of H_(2),CH_(4),CO,and CO_(2) occurred in 80-400℃,while the temperature range for QD-VR and other fractions is 200-800℃.The average activation energy(Ea)via Friedman method was 179.72 kJ/mol and increased with the conversion ratio.One-parallel Gaussian DAEM was more suitable to describe the pyrolysis process of the single SARA fractions,while four-parallel Gaussian DAEM was more suitable to describe the pyrolysis process of heavy oil.Furthermore,comparing the weighted E_(a) from one-parallel(227.64 kJ/mol)and four-parallel Gaussian DAEM(204.63 kJ/mol),the results suggested that during pyrolysis process of heavy oil,there was an interaction between the SARA fractions,which could reduce the E_(a) of heavy oil pyrolysis.Specifically,during heavy oil pyrolysis,resins and asphaltenes could increase the E_(a) of saturates and aromatics,while saturates and aromatics could decrease the E_(a) of resins and asphaltenes.

Effects of Ultrasonic Treatment on Residue Properties

The changes in properties and structural parameters of four vacuum residue samples before and after ultrasonic treatment were analyzed. Ultrasonic treatment could increase the carbon residue value, decrease the average molecular weight and viscosity, which can barely inlfuence the density of vacuum residue. Meanwhile the constitution of residue can be varied including the decrease in the content of saturates, aromatics and asphaltenes, while the increase in the content of resins can lead to an increase in the total content of asphaltenes and resins. Among the four kinds of residue samples, there is a common trend that the more the content of asphaltenes in feedstock is, the more the increase in the content of resins, the more signiifcant decrease in the aromatic content and the less decrease in the saturates content after ultrasonic treatment of residue would be. Changes in the structure and content of asphaltenes caused by ultrasonic treatment have a signiifcant impact on the changes in residue properties. Ultrasonic treatment has changed the structural parameters of residue such as decrease in the total carbon number of average molecule （CTotal）, the total number of rings （RT）, the aromatic carbon number （CA）,the aromatic rings number （RA） and the naphthenic rings number （RN） , and increase of characterization factor （KH）. The study has indicated that ultrasonic treatment of vacuum residue can change the average structure of residue, and the changes in the content and structure of asphaltenes are the main cause leading to property changes. The results of residue hydrotreat-ing revealed that coke yield decreased, whereas the gas and light oil yield and conversion increased after ultrasonic treat-ment of vacuum residue.

Selection of Extraction Solvents for Bitumen from Indonesian Oil Sands through Solubility Parameters

Indonesian oil sands were systematically separated to investigate their basic composition.The extraction effects of the solvents with different Hilderbrand solubility parameters(HSPs)on the bitumen of Indonesian oil sands were compared.Furthermore,the Hansen solubility combination parameter(HSCP)and Teas triangle were used to explore rules in the separation of oil sands bitumen via solvent extraction.Finally,the saturates,aromatics,resins,and asphaltenes(SARA)fractions of the bitumen from Indonesian oil sands were analyzed.The results showed that the Indonesian oil sands were oil-wet with a bitumen content of 24.93%.The solvent extraction for bitumen could be accurately and conveniently selected based on the solubility parameter.When the HSPs of the extraction solvent were around 18–19 and the HSCPs were closer to a certain range(δ_(d)=17.5–18.0,δ_(p)=1–3.5,and δ_(h)=2–6),the extraction effect of bitumen from Indonesian oil sands improved,and the primary component affecting the extraction rate of bitumen were asphaltenes.