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Asphaltenes

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Comparative Oxidation of Adsorbed Asphaltenes onto Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

Mon, 2014-05-19 12:46 — Nashaat N. Nassar
Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects Volume 384, Issues 1–3, Pages 145–149
Year of Publication: 
2011
Link: 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927775711002238
Authors: 
Nashaat N. Nassar
Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Current Affiliation: 
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
[email protected]
Azfar Hassan
Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Pedro Pereira-Almao
Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Preferred Abstract (Original): 

In this study asphaltenes – waste hydrocarbons and problematic constituent present in heavy oil – have been investigated for its oxidation onto different types of nanoparticles, namely NiO, Co3O4 and Fe3O4. All nanoparticles tested showed high adsorption affinity and catalytic activity for asphaltene adsorption and oxidation in the following order NiO > Co3O4 > Fe3O4. The oxidation temperature of asphaltenes decreased by 140, 136 and 100 °C with respect to non-catalytic oxidation in the presence of NiO, Co3O4, and Fe3O4nanoparticles, respectively. A correlation appears to exist between the adsorption affinity and the catalytic activity, the higher the affinity the greater the catalytic activity.

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Effect of Surface Acidity and Basicity of Aluminas on ‎Asphaltene Adsorption and Oxidation

Mon, 2014-05-19 11:55 — Nashaat N. Nassar
Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
J Colloid Interface Sci., 360(1):233-8
Year of Publication: 
2011
Link: 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021979711004863
Authors: 
Nashaat N. Nassar
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Current Affiliation: 
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
[email protected]
Azfar Hassan
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Pedro Pereira-Almao
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In-Situ Energy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Preferred Abstract (Original): 

This study investigates the effect of surface acidity and basicity of aluminas on asphaltene adsorption followed by air oxidation. Equilibrium batch adsorption experiments were conducted at 25 °C with solutions of asphaltenes in toluene at concentrations ranging from 100 to 3000 g/L using three conventional alumina adsorbents with different surface acidity. Data were found to better fit to the Freundlich isotherm model showing a multilayer adsorption. Results showed that asphaltene adsorption is strongly affected by the surface acidity, and the adsorption capacities of asphaltenes onto the three aluminas followed the order acidic > basic and neutral. Asphaltenes adsorbed over aluminas were subjected to oxidation in air up to 600 °C in a thermogravimetric analyzer to study the catalytic effect of aluminas with different surface acidity. A correlation was found between Freundlich affinity constant (1/n) and the catalytic activity. Basic alumina that has the lowest 1/n value, depicting strongest interactions, has the highest catalytic activity, followed by neutral and acidic aluminas, respectively.

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Thermogravimetric Studies on Catalytic ‎Effect of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles on ‎Asphaltene Pyrolysis Under Inert ‎Conditions

Mon, 2014-05-19 10:36 — Nashaat N. Nassar
Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, Volume 110, Issue 3, pp 1327-133
Year of Publication: 
2012
Link: 
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10973-011-2045-0
Authors: 
Nashaat N. Nassar
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
Current Affiliation: 
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
[email protected]
Azfar Hassan
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
Pedro Pereira-Almao
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
Preferred Abstract (Original): 

This study investigated the catalytic effect of NiO, Co3O4 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles toward asphaltene thermal decomposition (pyrolysis) under inert conditions. Asphaltene adsorbed onto the selected nanoparticles were subjected to thermal decomposition up to 800 °C in a thermogravimetric analyzer. The presence of nanoparticles caused a significant decrease in the asphaltene decomposition temperature and activation energy. Activation energies for the process were calculated using the Ozawa–Flynn–Wall method. All the selected metal oxide nanoparticles showed high catalytic activity toward asphaltene decomposition in the following order NiO > Co3O4 > Fe3O4. This study confirms that metal oxide nanoparticles can significantly enhance the thermal decomposition of heavy hydrocarbons, like asphaltenes.

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Kinetics of the Catalytic Thermo-Oxidation of Asphaltenes at ‎Isothermal Conditions on Different Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Surfaces

Thu, 2014-05-15 13:57 — Nashaat N. Nassar
Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
Catalysis Today
Year of Publication: 
2012
Link: 
http://www.citeulike.org/article/10764399
Authors: 
Nashaat N. Nassar
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
Current Affiliation: 
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
[email protected]
Azfar Hassan
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
German Luna
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
Pedro Pereira-Almao
Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
Preferred Abstract (Original): 

Thermogravimetry analyses have been employed to study the catalytic effect of different metal oxide nanoparticles on the thermo-oxidative decomposition of asphaltenes at isothermal conditions. Three metal oxide nanoparticles were considered in this study, namely: NiO, Co3O4 and Fe3O4. Results showed that the presence of nanoparticles decreased the activation energy of asphaltenes oxidation and enhanced the reaction rate. It appears that the thermo-oxidative reaction is metal oxide specific. The obtained kinetic data showed that NiO has the highest reaction rate followed by Co3O4 and then Fe3O4, which suggests a change in the reaction mechanism. Isothermal conversion for thermal oxidation of asphaltenes at 360 °C without nanoparticles and at 300 °C in the presence of nanoparticles. View high quality image (142K) ⺠Metal oxide nanoparticles enhanced the reaction rate of asphaltene thermo-oxidation. ⺠The thermo-oxidative reaction is metal oxide specific. ⺠NiO nanoparticles have the highest reaction rate. ⺠Differences in activation energy for different nanoparticles suggest different reaction mechanisms.

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