Enhanced aquathermolysis of extra-heavy oil by application of transition metal oxides submicro-particles in relation to steam injection processes

In order to investigate the catalytic effects of transition metal oxides submicro-particles on aquathermolysis of Liaohe extra-heavy crude oil, the catalysts NiO, alpha center dot Fe2O3 and Co3O4 are used and evaluated during the experiments. The optimum mass fraction of the catalyst and water was determined to be 5.0 wt% and 30 wt%, respectively. The optimum reaction time for aquathermolysis was 24 h, and the optimum reaction temperature was 240 degrees C. The analysis results showed the heavy oil was upgraded dramatically by addition of the catalysts based upon viscosity reduction, saturate/aromatics/resins/asphaltenes analyses, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography. All results show the heavy oil is in situ updated dramatically by catalytic aquathermolysis under the optimum operating conditions. A five-lump model is proposed for estimating kinetic parameters of aquathermolysis and agrees well with the experimental data.

Automated summary

The addition of transition metal oxide submicro-particles as catalysts in aquathermolysis significantly upgrades the quality of heavy oil and achieves in situ upgrading. Furthermore, a five-lump model is proposed to estimate the kinetic parameters of aquathermolysis effectively and is well-matched with the experimental data.