In Situ Prepared Nanoparticles in Support of Oilsands Industry Meeting Future Environmental Challenges
Figure 3: Photographs of Asphaltene Adsorption onto Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Different Times9
Initial concentration 2 minutes 30 minutes 2 hours 21 hours
surface properties. Adsorption isotherms were also NP specific. For some metal oxides, the adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model, suggesting monolayer coverage.11,12
metal and metal oxides, adsorption decreased at high concentrations due to changes in the colloidal state of asphaltenes at high concentration, i.e. association and further formation of hemimicelles and micelles.9,10,21
Asphaltene Combustion/Gasification on Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
contribute to the increased viscosity of heavy oils and make them difficult to recover and process. Removal of asphaltenes from crude oil is considered a significant upgrading target. Nassar and co-workers studied the in situ upgrading of heavy oil by the removal of asphaltenes with different metal and metal oxide NPs including:9–12,21
• nickel • nickel oxide • iron oxides • aluminium oxides • magnesium oxide • cobalt oxide • titanium oxide • calcium oxide
The authors reported fast asphaltene adsorption kinetics (see Figure 3 as an example) with approximately 95 % of the equilibrium adsorption achieved within the first 30 minutes. Among the particles tested, calcium oxide had the highest adsorption capacity. The differences in adsorption capacities were attributed to the effect of particle size distribution, surface area, morphology and
1. The Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy AICISE Fact Sheet, 2010. (Available at:
http://wcmprod2.ucalgary.ca/aicise/ system/files/AICISE+Fact+Sheet+May+26+Final.pdf, accessed 30.9.10.)
2. Nassar NN, Husein MM, Pereira-Almao P, Ultradispersed particles in heavy oil: Part II, sorption of H2S(g), Fuel Processing Technology, 2010;91(2):169–74.
3. Hum F, Tsang P, Harding T, et al., Review of produced water recycle and beneficial reuse, Paper No. 19 of the Alberta Energy Futures Project. 2006.
http://www.iseee.ca/files/iseee/ABEnergyFutures-19.pdf.
4. Press Release: ERBC approves Fort Hills and Syncrude Tailings Pond Plans with Conditions, Engergy Resources Conservation Board, 23 April 2010.
5. Nassar NN, Husein MM, In-situ capturing of H2S(g) associated with SAGD operations. Paper presented at: the IASTED International Conference on Environmental Management and Engineering (EME 2009), Banff, Canada, 6–8, July 2009.
6. Environmental Management of Alberta’s Oilsands, Government of Alberta Canada, September 2009. (Available at:
http://environment.gov.ab.ca/ info/library/8042.pdf, accessed 30.9.10.)
7. Husein MM, Patruyo L, Pereira-Almao P, et al., Scavenging H2S(g) from oil phases by means of ultradispersed sorbents, J Colloid Interface Sci, 2010;342(2):253–60.
8. Patruyo L, Removal of H2S(g) Using Ultradispersed Iron Oxide Nanoparticles, MSc Thesis, Calgary, Department of
48
Current investigations being carried out by the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy group are devoted to evaluating the combustion and/or gasification of the adsorbed asphaltene.11,12,22 It is believed that important advantages will be obtained by integrating heavy oil deasphalting and gasification, including reduction in capital cost, increased energy efficiency and enhanced process performance. Preliminary investigations have shown that asphaltene oxidation temperature decreased by approximately 150°C in the presence of NPs, confirming their catalytic effect.22
Conclusions
Direct application of the theory of microemulsion-prepared NPs for forming ultra-dispersed metal oxide particles in a heavy oil matrix was successfully accomplished and reported. The application of ultra-dispersed colloidal NPs as absorbents for the removal
of gaseous H2S was demonstrated. NPs were successfully employed for asphaltene adsorption, oxidation and gasification. Overall, more research must be conducted on the engineering and environmental aspects of NPs in order for their application to have an impact as an alternative technique for the Alberta oilsands industry and effective heavy oil exploitation worldwide. n
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy (AICISE) for the financial support.
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, 2008.
9. Al-Jabari ME, Nassar NN, Husein MM, Separation of asphaltenes from heavy oil model-solutions by adsorption on colloidal magnetite nanoparticles, Paper presented at: International Congress of Chemistry & Environment (ICCE 2007), Kuwait, Kuwait, November 2007.
10. Nassar NN, Al-Jabari ME, Husein MM, Removal of asphaltenes from heavy oil by nickel nano and micro particle adsorbents, Paper presented at: the IASTED International Conference: Nanotechnology and Applications (NANA 2008), Crete, Greece, 29 September–1 October 2008.
11. Nassar NN, Hassan A, Pereira-Almao P, Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Asphaltene Adsorption and Oxidation. Energy & Fuels, 2011, (in press).
12. Nassar NN, Asphaltene Adsorption onto Alumina Nanoparticles: Kinetics and Thermodynamic Studies, Energy & Fuels, 2010;24(8):4116–22.
13. Galarraga CE, Pereira-Almao P, Hydrocracking of athabasca bitumen using submicronic multimetallic catalysts at near in- reservoir conditions, Energy & Fuels, 2010;24(4):2383–9.
14. Sosa-Stull C, Trujillo-Ferrer G, Lopez-Linares F, et al., Athabasca bitumen upgrading using different species of the same ultra dispersed catalyst formulation, Paper presented at: American Chemical Society, San Francisco, California, USA, 27 April 2010.
15. Nassar NN, Husein MM, Study and modeling of iron hydroxide nanoparticle uptake by AOT (w/o) microemulsions,
Langmuir, 2007;23(26):13093–103.
16. Nassar NN, Husein MM, Effect of microemulsion variables on copper oxide nanoparticle uptake by AOT microemulsions, J Colloid Interface Sci, 2007;316(2):442–50.
17. Nassar NN, Husein MM, Maximizing the uptake of nickel oxide nanoparticles in AOT (w/o) microemulsions, In: Paul PK, ed., Recent Trends in Surface and Colloid Science, Singapore, World Scientific Publishing, 2009.
18. Husein MM, Nassar NN, Nanoparticle uptake by (w/o) microemulsions, In: Fanun M, ed., Microemulsions: Properties and Applications, Vol 144, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2009:465–79.
19. Nassar NN, Husein MM, Ultradispersed particles in heavy oil: Part I, preparation and stabilization of iron oxide/hydroxide, Fuel Processing Technology, 2010;91(2):164–8.
20. Nassar NN, Pereira-Almao P, Capturing H2S(g) by In Situ-Prepared Ultradispersed Metal Oxide Particles in an Oilsand-Packed Bed Column, Energy & Fuels, 2010;24(11):5903–6.
21. Nassar NN, Al-Jabari ME, Husein MM, Investigation on asphaltene deposition onto different surfaces of ultradispersed catalysts, Paper presented at: 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering (WCCE8), Montreal, QC, Canada, 23–27 August 2009.
22. Nassar NN, Hassan A, Pereira-Almao P, Nanoparticles for asphaltenes adsorption and gasification, Paper presented at: 93rd Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition (CSC 2010), Toronto, Canada, 29 May– 2June 2010.
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION – VOLUME 9 ISSUE 2
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