Analysis of reactions during the residue desulfurization of heavy oil based on a data-driven method

As global oil production continues to increase, the quality of crude oil has deteriorated and the oil has become heavier. Therefore, it is necessary to develop improved refinery processes. The concept of petroleomics based on data acquired with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrome-try has been applied to this effort. The present work evaluated the characteristics of reactions occurring during the residue desulfurization of crude oil samples using petroleomics and data regarding molecular structures. The effects of molecular structures, especially those consisting of rings in cores, on desulfu-rization and denitrification during this process were identified. Desulfurization and denitrification have different behaviors on a molecular structure basis. In addition, the effects of reaction temperature were examined. The resulting data and analysis methods are expected to allow future improvements in not only desulfurization and denitrification but also other reactor designs including catalyst development.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

As global oil production increases, the quality of crude oil deteriorates and becomes heavier. It is necessary to develop improved refinery processes. This study evaluated the characteristics of residue desulfurization reactions in crude oil samples using petroleomics and molecular structure data, and identified the effects of molecular structures on desulfurization and denitrification processes.