Development of catalysts and adsorbents derived from petroleum coke and applied to oil sands upgrading

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The Canadian oil sands are of immense strategic importance to Canada with the current production of 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil equivalent expected to reach 3 million bpd by 2020. The Canadian oil sands contain about 10 wt % bitumen, which, after separation from the sand and water, is upgraded into a synthetic crude oil. Upgrading by coking yields gas, liquid and solid oil sands coke. Presently, much of the coke production associated with the Alberta oil sands (6 million tonnes per year) is added to a 68 million tonne stockpile, representing a significant loss in the value of products derived from the bitumen. Generating valuable products from oil sands coke is critical for the continued growth of the Canadian oil sands but difficult because of the sulphur and metal contaminants (particularly nickel and vanadium) within the coke.