Kinetic Modeling of Bitumen Hydroprocessing at In-Reservoir Conditions Employing Ultradispersed Catalysts

Energy Fuels, 2011, 25 (4), pp 1364–1372

Kinetic Modeling of Bitumen Hydroprocessing at In-Reservoir Conditions Employing Ultradispersed Catalysts

Herbert Loria*, Gustavo Trujillo-Ferrer, Clementina Sosa-Stull, and Pedro Pereira-Almao

hjloriam@ucalgary.ca

Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4

Abstract

Heavy oil and bitumen’s low American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity and high viscosity make the economics of their industrialization difficult.  New recovery techniques are needed to enhance these materials.  One proposed method is the use of ultradispersed catalytic hydroprocessing of heavy oil and bitumen.  It has been tested in laboratories and pilot plants. In this work, a kinetic model for ultradispersed catalytic hydroprocessing of bitumen is proposed.

Kinetic parameters were estimated from experimental results obtained in a tubular pilot plant reactor. The predicted products composition was in good agreement with experimental values.  In addition, experimental liquid products viscosity and residue conversions followed an exponential correlation. This correlation, in combination with the results from the kinetic modeling, was used to create a computational program that calculates products distribution from bitumen hydroprocessing and provides reaction conditions to achieve a specific liquid products viscosity.

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