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. The present proposal is focused on utilizing the oil sands coke to produce value-added products for applications where the sulphur, nickel and vanadium present in the coke are beneficial rather than detrimental. More specifically, we propose to synthesize low cost mesoporous activated carbon from oil sands coke, using both thermo-catalytic and thermo-chemical methods and to convert these activated carbons into catalysts and gas adsorbents that can be used in processes converting bitumen to synthetic crude oil. The catalysts can be used for hydrotreating and hydroconversion reactions, while the adsorbents can be used to capture carbon dioxide and methane from process emissions. The physical and chemical properties as well as the performance of the catalysts and adsorbents will be measured so that the optimal preparation methods can be determined. The development of new methods to selectively modify oil sands coke to generate a valuable product that itself can be used in bitumen upgrading processes, will improve the overall economics and environmental impact of the oil sands operations. This project takes advantage of the expertise and capabilities between two research groups at the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary with support from Shell Canada, who has a strong interest in ensuring the production from the Canadian oil sands is sustainable.