Catalytic heavy crude oil upgrading using natural gas

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Hydrocracking is conventionally employed as the process to upgrade heavy crude oil for reducing its viscosity, increasing its H/C ratio, and removing associated impurities. Such process is costly and energy inefficient due to the involvements of expensive hydrogen generated from a separate unit through natural gas steam reforming and high operation pressure. The proposed collaborative research with the industrial partner, Imperial Oil, aims to effectively upgrade heavy crude oil including extra heavy oil and bitumen extracted from oil sands to synthetic crude oil with acceptable specifications (i.e. API of 30 ~ 34o and sulfur content of 0.1 ~ 0.2%) and increased productivity at much lower pressure (<3 MPa) through directly using natural gas as reducing agent. Under the facilitation of the specially developed catalyst, methane as the main component of natural gas can be activated and thereafter crack down and saturate the long carbon chain using a synergetic effect occurring between methane and co-existing higher hydrocarbons and remove heteroatoms contained in the heavy crude oil, while itself being converted to produce extra synthetic crude oil. The proposed concept has been indirectly validated through experimental data collected from low rank coal and biomass methane upgrading and syngas liquefaction performed at near atmospheric pressure. The successful achievement of the promised objectives will lead to significant cost reduction of the heavy crude oil upgrading process and make it more economically attractive and environmentally friendly. More specifically, the project deliverables will potentially make greater profit margin to Imperial Oil's downstream refining business sector and eventually benefit its upstream oil production division if the developed technique can be successfully implemented for heavy oil in-situ upgrading. Moreover, the outcomes obtained from the proposed research will create a novel way of methane activation and liquefaction, leading to the breakthrough in the field of catalysis and its application in clean energy conversion.