Methane Assisted Catalytic Upgrading of Extra Heavy Crudes under Moderate Conditions

随着常规石油资源的日益枯竭和能源需求的不断增长，如何更好地利用劣质石油资源对可持续发展越来越重要。减压渣油（VR）是现代炼油厂中占很大比例的原油重质组分，其利用途径普遍存在效率低、能耗高的问题，对经济和环境都不利。类似地，从蒸汽辅助重力泄油（SAGD）工艺回收的沥青经历高粘度和密度以及高含量的杂质，并且因此通常需要稀释剂用于其运输，具有额外的成本和环境问题。含有石脑油馏分的稀释剂回收的SAGD原油和VR两者都被认为是超重原油，其需要在最终使用之前显著地进一步加工。本项目的目标是开发一种具有成本效益的升级技术，以大大提高超重原油的质量，用于生产清洁的轻质燃料和高附加值的石化产品。这将使用一种基于在温和的温度和压力下将甲烷作为天然气的主要成分直接催化掺入超重原油中的技术来完成，因为与氢气相比，天然气价格在经济上更具优势，从而提高生产率并降低生产成本，从而提高盈利能力。此外，在油砂开采过程中将伴生天然气直接纳入可运输的石油产品，将最大限度地减少开采和升级过程中的温室气体排放，使其更加环保。此外，从拟议的研究中获得的结果将创造一种新的甲烷活化和增值方式，导致催化领域的突破及其在清洁能源转化中的应用。该项目取得的成果将进一步确定加拿大在世界能源市场上的领先地位，更有效和更清洁地利用加拿大天然丰富的重质原油和天然气。

The better utilization of low-quality oil resources is becoming more and more crucial for sustainable development due to the depletion of conventional petroleum resources and continuously increasing energy demand. Vacuum residue (VR) is the heaviest part of crude oil accounting for a large proportion in modern refineries, while its utilization routes are generally of low efficiency and high energy intensity, and thus economically and environmentally unfavorable. Similarly, bitumen recovered from Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process experiences high viscosity and density as well as high content of impurities and thus diluent is often needed for its transportation with additional cost and environmental concerns. Both the diluent containing naphtha fraction recovered SAGD crude and VR are considered as extra heavy crude which are required to be significantly further processed before end use. The goal of the current project is to develop a cost-effective upgrading technology to greatly enhance the quality of extra heavy crudes for the productions of clean light fuel and high-value added petrochemicals. This will be done using a technology based on the directly catalytic incorporation of methane as the main component of natural gas into the extra heavy crude at mild temperatures and pressures as natural gas prices are far more economically advantageous compared to hydrogen, leading to enhanced productivity and reduced production cost and thus improved profitability. Furthermore, the direct incorporation of associated natural gas during oil sands exploitation into the transportable oil product will minimize greenhouse gas emissions from mining and upgrading processes, making it more environmentally friendly. Moreover, the outcomes obtained from the proposed research will create a novel way of methane activation and valorization, leading to the breakthrough in the field of catalysis and its application in clean energy conversion. The achievement made from this project will further ascertain the leading position of Canada in the world's energy market through more efficient and cleaner utilization of heavy crude oil and natural gas which are naturally abundant in Canada.