Structured alkali catalysts for the conversion of naphthenic acids in petroleum feedstocks

对加拿大来说，油砂是一种巨大的资源，拥有超过1.7万亿桶的石油储量。加上露天开采和原地生产的现有技术，可采石油估计为3,150亿桶，比沙特的总储量还多。2003年，沥青和合成原油的日产量达到100万桶，预计到2015年将增加到每天180万至240万桶。虽然目前的生产和升级方法是有利可图的，但如果要充分开发这种资源的潜力，这些方法是不可持续的。由于设备故障的可能性和金属盐的下游影响，软酸(特别是环烷酸)引起的腐蚀是沥青加工和改质过程中的一个重要问题。当含有环烷酸的未经处理的馏分被提供给下游炼油厂时，提炼过程中同样的问题会影响其可取性和价格。因此，这些问题已经成为油砂行业的重要安全、可靠性和营销问题。这项研究建议通过开发新的材料和技术来分解酸来解决未经处理的沥青的腐蚀性问题。在温和条件下开发结构化环烷酸转化催化剂，无疑将有助于提高高酸含量重油和石油渣油的利用率。

The oilsands are an enormous resource for Canada, with over 1.7 trillion barrels of oil in place. With available technology for open-pit mining and in-situ production, the recoverable oil is estimated to be 315 billion barrels, larger than the total reserves of Saudi Arabia. The production of bitumen and synthetic crude reached 1 million barrels per day in 2003, and is expected to increase to between 1.8 and 2.4 million barrels per day by 2015. While current production and upgrading methods are profitable, they are not sustainable if this resource is to be developed to its full potential. Corrosion due to mild acids, specifically naphthenic acids, is a significant concern in bitumen processing and upgrading due to the possibility of equipment failures and the downstream effects of metal salts. When untreated distillates that contain naphthenic acids are offered to downstream refineries, the desirability and price are affected by the same problems during refining. These issues have, therefore, become important safety, reliability and marketing issues for the oilsands industry. This research proposal addresses the issue of untreated bitumen corrosovity by developing new materials and technologies to decompose the acids. The development of structured catalysts for naphthenic acid conversion under mild conditions will undoubtedly support the increased utilization of high acid content heavy oils and petroleum residues.