Definition of reaction pathways for catalytic aquathermolysis of Liaohe heavy crude oil

Abstract

A set of kinetic parameters capable of predicting the distribution of SARA fractions of oil and gas production for the catalytic aquathermolysis of Liaohe extra-heavy crude oil was optimized with literature experimental data. The estimation of reaction rate coefficients was performed through an algorithm based on statistical techniques and sensitivity analysis using the average absolute error (AAE) as objective function. The kinetic model with the estimated parameters was superior to the literature parameters and presented a good fit with experimental data. The highest AAE for liquid composition was 4.15%, while for gases it was 5.91%. According to the kinetic parameter obtained, the resins fraction is mainly converted into aromatic compounds, while saturates and gases are predominantly produced from the asphaltenes fraction. Through the results of the kinetic model and information reported in the literature, the reaction pathways that take place during the catalytic aquathermolysis were analyzed for a better understanding of the reaction mechanism. From the analysis of different literature kinetic models for aquathermolysis reaction, it is recognized that oil feed properties, operating conditions, and catalyst type influence the selectivity towards different reaction products, thus requiring different reaction schemes.