Heavy Oil Recovery and Upgrading PDF
Preview Heavy Oil Recovery and Upgrading
Heavy Oil Recovery and Upgrading Heavy Oil Recovery and Upgrading James G. Speight Laramie, WY,United States GulfProfessionalPublishingisanimprintofElsevier 50HampshireStreet,5thFloor,Cambridge,MA02139,UnitedStates TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,Oxford,OX51GB,UnitedKingdom ©2019ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans, electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageand retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Detailsonhowtoseek permission,furtherinformationaboutthePublisher’spermissionspoliciesandourarrangements withorganizationssuchastheCopyrightClearanceCenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency, canbefoundatourwebsite:www.elsevier.com/permissions. Thisbookandtheindividualcontributionscontainedinitareprotectedundercopyrightbythe Publisher(otherthanasmaybenotedherein). Notices Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchand experiencebroadenourunderstanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices, ormedicaltreatmentmaybecomenecessary. Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledgein evaluatingandusinganyinformation,methods,compounds,orexperimentsdescribedherein. Inusingsuchinformationormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafetyandthesafety ofothers,includingpartiesforwhomtheyhaveaprofessionalresponsibility. Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors,contributors,oreditors,assume anyliabilityforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersonsorpropertyasamatterofproductsliability, negligenceorotherwise,orfromanyuseoroperationofanymethods,products,instructions,or ideascontainedinthematerialherein. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN:978-0-12-813025-4 ForinformationonallGulfProfessionalpublicationsvisit ourwebsiteathttps://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals Publisher:BrianRomer SeniorAcquisitionsEditor:KatieHammon EditorialProjectManager:AleksandraPackowska ProductionProjectManager:AnithaSivaraj Designer:VictoriaPearson TypesetbySPiGlobal,India About the Author JamesG.Speight,BSc(chemistry),PhD(chemistry),CChem.Healsoholdsa DSc (geological sciences) anda PhD (petroleum engineering). DrSpeightistheauthorofmorethan80booksinpetroleumscience,petro- leumengineering,andenvironmentalsciences.FormerlytheCEOoftheWest- ernResearchInstitute(nowanindependentconsultant),hehasservedasadjunct professorintheDepartmentofChemicalandFuelsEngineeringattheUniver- sityofUtahandintheDepartmentofChemistryandChemicalandPetroleum EngineeringattheUniversityofWyoming.Inaddition,hehasalsobeenavis- itingprofessorintheDepartmentofChemicalEngineeringatthefollowinguni- versities: the University of Missouri-Columbia, the Technical University of Denmark, andthe University ofTrinidad and Tobago. DrSpeightwasawardedTheDiplomaofHonor,NationalPetroleumEngi- neeringSociety,forOutstandingContributionstothePetroleumIndustry,1993. HewaselectedtotheRussianAcademyofSciencesin1996andawardedthe GoldMedalofHonorthatsameyearforoutstandingcontributionstothefieldof petroleumsciences.HehasalsoreceivedtheScientistswithoutBordersMedal of Honor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2001, the Academy also awardedSpeighttheEinsteinMedalforoutstandingcontributionsandservice inthefieldofgeologicalsciences.In2007,hewasalsoappointedastheMetha- nexDistinguishedProfessor,UniversityofTrinidadandTobagoinRecognition of Excellence inResearch. xiii Preface Inspiteofthereservesofcrudeoilintightformations,conventionalcrudeoilis a declining share of the energy reserves, and interest is turning to other resourcessuchasheavyoil,extraheavyoil,andtarsandbitumen.Aspresented inthisbook,heavyoildiffersfromconventionalcrudeoilbyitshigherviscosity (resistancetoflow)atreservoirtemperatureandtheneedtoapplyenhancedoil recovery methods. Extra heavy oil and tar sand bitumen are neither conven- tional crude oil nor heavy oil (as defined by the United States government) and are immobile in the deposit that requires different methods for recovery. Extraheavyoilhassimilarpropertiestotarsandbitumenbut,becauseofarel- ativelyhighreservoirtemperature,hassomefluidityinthereservoir.Forcon- venience in this book, these feedstocks are collectively referred to as heavy feedstocks. Heavyoilandextraheavyoilhavebeenusedasrefineryfeedstocksforcon- siderable time, usually blending with more conventional feedstocks, but have commanded lowerprices because ofitslowerqualityrelativetoconventional oil. Tar sand bitumen has been the subject of much development in Alberta, Canada. These heavy feedstocks have also been available at lower prices becauseofitslowerqualityrelativetoconventionaloil.Butbothoftheseheavy feedstocksaresourcesofliquidfuelsandotherproductsthatareusedinlarge amount,andbothofthesefeedstocksareusedtosupplementtosuppliesofcon- ventional crude oil torefineries. Thereisanimmenseresourcebase;heavyoil,extraheavyoil,andtarsand bitumen are costlier to produce and transport.The extra production, transpor- tation, and upgrading costs explain why the development and production of extra heavy oil and bitumen are still limited. However, their abundance, geo- graphicdistribution,quality,andcostswillshapetheirroleinthefutureoilsup- ply.Nevertheless,inpreparationforthenearfutureandbeforebiofuelscanbe processedtomeettheimpendingfuelshortage,refineriesmustandindeedare eagertoadapttochangingcircumstancesandareamenabletotryingnewtech- nologies that are radicallydifferent incharacter. Currently,refineriesarealsolookingtoexploitheavy(moreviscous)feed- stocks such as heavy oil, extra heavy oil, and tar sand bitumen provided they havetherefinerytechnologycapableofhandlingsuchfeedstocks.Transform- ing the higher-boiling constituents of these feedstock components into liquid fuelsisbecominganecessity.Itisnolongerasimpleissueofmixingtheheavy xv xvi Preface feedstockwithconventionalpetroleumtomakeupablendedrefineryfeedstock. Incompatibilityissuesarisethatcan,ifnotanticipated,closedownarefineryor, at best, a major section of the refinery. Therefore, handling such feedstocks requires technological change, including more effective and innovative use ofhydrogenwithinthe refinery. Difficult-to-refine feedstocks, such as heavy oil, extra heavy oil, and tar sand bitumen, are characterized by low API gravity (high density) and high viscosity,highinitialboilingpoint,high-carbonresidue,highnitrogencontent, high sulfur content, and high metal content. In addition to these properties, the heavy feedstocks also have an increased molecular weight and reduced hydrogen content with a relatively low content of volatile saturated and aromatic constituents and a relatively high content of asphaltene and resin constituents that is accompanied by a high heteroatom (nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and metals) content. Thus, such feedstocks are not typically subject to distillation unless contained in the refinery feedstock as a blend with other crude oils. Itisnotsurprisingthattherehasbeenagrowinginterestandresearchinthe potential to expand enhanced oil recovery methods to heavy oil reservoirs. In fact, during the past five decades, a variety of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods have been developed and applied to mature and mostly depleted oil reservoirs.Thesemethodsimprovetheefficiencyofoilrecoverycomparedwith primary(pressuredepletion)andsecondary(waterflooding)oilmethods.Over- all,enhanced oilrecovery development has expandedsuccessfully into heavy oilrecovery,andsomeprojectsofferadditionalbenefitssuchassitesfordispos- ing(sequestering) carbondioxideat modest costs oreven full-cycle profit. Finally,itisessentialtorealizethatinthecurrentcontextofrecoveryoper- ations,thereareseveralparametersthatcaninfluencepropertiesandrecovery. Readers will find the issue extremely useful and informative as a means of defining and understanding these parameters, the most prominent of which are (i) the properties of the feedstock, (ii) the properties of the reservoir, and (iii) the production method. The concept of site specificity cannot be over- emphasized and must be given serious attention. These issues are presented inPart Iof the book. The limitations of processing these heavy feedstocks depend to a large extentonthetendencyforcokeformationandthedepositionofmetalsandcoke onthe catalyst die to the higher molecular weight (lowvolatility)and hetero- atomcontent.However,theessentialsteprequiredofrefineriesistheupgrading ofheavyfeedstocks.Infact,theincreasingsupplyofheavycrudeoilsisamatter ofseriousconcernforthepetroleumindustry.Inordertosatisfythechanging patternofproductdemand,significantinvestmentsinrefiningconversionpro- cessesarenecessaryandwillcontinuetobenecessaryinordertoprofitablyuti- lizetheseheavyfeedstocks.Themostefficientandeconomicalsolutiontothis problem will depend to a large extent on individual country and company situations. Preface xvii Buttherearechallengeswhenrefiningheavyfeedstockssuchasthedepo- sitionofsolids(phaseseparation)thatisadirectconsequenceofhighasphaltene andanyinorganicsolids.Oneofthemostnotoriouseffectsofasphaltenecon- stituents is the pronounced tendency to form aggregates in the liquid (oil) medium and also under unfavorable solvent conditions leading to separation form the liquid medium. Inorganic fine solids are generally associated with asphaltene constituents, and as a result, the separated asphaltene constituents often contain high concentration of inorganic fine solids. The separation of organicand/orinorganicsolidsduringprocessingposessevereproblemslead- ingtocokinginthereactorandintherefinerylinesandcatalystdeactivation. This issue is addressed by inclusion of a chapter on instability and incompatibility. Other challenges in heavy feedstock processing can be traced to the high contentofheteroatoms(sulfur,nitrogen,andoxygen)andheavymetals(partic- ularlynickelandvanadium).Althoughtheconcentrationoftheseelementsmay bequitesmall,theirimpactissignificant.Forexample,thepresenceofhetero- atoms may also be responsible for objectionable characteristics in finished products causing environmental concerns, sothe levels ofheteroatomsin fin- ishedproductshavetobereducedfollowingmoreandmorestringentenviron- mentalregulations. Also, the depositionof trace heavy metals (vanadiumand nickel) and chemisorption of nitrogen-containing compounds on the catalysts arethemainreasonsforcatalystpassivationand/orpoisoningincatalyticoper- ationsandthusnecessitatefrequentregenerationofthecatalystoritsreplace- ment.These issues are presented inPart II of the book. Thereadermightalsobesurprisedatthenumberofolderreferencesthatare included.Thepurposeofthisistoremindthereaderthatthereismuchvaluable workcitedintheolderliterature.Asaworkthatisstillofvalueand,eventhough in some cases, there has been similar work performed with advanced equip- ment,theolderworkhasstoodthetestoftime.Thisisparticularlytrueofsome oftheolderconceptsofthechemicalandphysicalstructureofpetroleum.Many oftheideasarestillpertinentandshouldnotbeforgottenintermsofthevalu- ablecontributionstheyhavemadetopetroleumscienceandtechnology.How- ever, many of the older references included in previous versions of this book have been deleted—unavailability of the source for the general scientific researcherandthecurrentlackofsubstantiatedsources(otherthanthefilescol- lected by the author) have been the root cause ofsuch omissions. Itisthepurposeofthisbooktodescribeheavyoil,extraheavyoil,andtar sandbitumenintermsofcompositionandrecoveryfollowedbydescriptionsof the current and future methods of refining. This book also presents viable options to the antiquated definitions of the heavy feedstocks (heavy oil, extra heavy oil, and tar sand bitumen) and an introduction to the various aspects of heavy feedstock refining in order for the reader to place each feedstocks in the correct context of properties, behavior, and refining needs. In addition, thebookalsoincludesdescriptionsoftheenvironmentalimpactofrecovering xviii Preface andrefiningheavyfeedstocksaswellasthefutureoftheindustryandtheeffects ofrefining such feedstocks on the environment. Thebookisdesignedtobesuitableforundergraduatestudents,graduatestu- dents,technicians,professionals,andmanagerswhoareworkingwithheavyoil andtarsandbitumen.Eachchapterincludesalistofreferencesthatwillguide the reader to more detailed information. In addition, a detailed glossary is so included toassist the reader with any unknown ordifficult terminology. James G.Speight Laramie,WY, United States Chapter 1 Heavy Oil, Extra Heavy Oil, and Tar Sand Bitumen 1. Introduction Inanytextrelatedtothepropertiesandbehavior(recoveryorrefining)ofanat- ural resource (i.e., conventional crude oil, heavy oil, extra heavy oil, and tar sandbitumen),itisnecessarytounderstandtheresourcefirstthroughthename orterminologyordefinition.Terminologyisthemeansbywhichvarioussub- jectsarenamedsothatreferencecanbemadeinconversationsandinwritings andsothatthemeaningispassedon.Definitionsarethemeansbywhichsci- entistsandengineerscommunicatethenatureofamaterialtoeachotherandto theworld,througheitherthespokenorthewrittenword.Thus,thedefinitionof amaterialcanbeextremelyimportantandhaveaprofoundinfluenceonhowthe technicalcommunityandthepublicperceivethatmaterial.Thus,partofthetext attemptstoalleviatemuchoftheconfusionthatexists,butitmustberemem- bered that the terminology of crude oil is unfortunately still open to personal choiceand historical use ofthe various names. Recoveryandrefiningtechnologiesweredevelopedforconventionalcrude oil,andtosomeextent,heavyoildoesnotalwaysrelatetotheissuesofproduc- ingandrefiningextraheavyoilandtarsandbitumen—oftencollectivereferred to (along with crude oil residua) as viscous feedstocks in many refineries (Speight, 2013a, 2014a, 2017). While to some observers, viscosity is the key to recovery and refining, there are other aspects of behavior that influence recoveryandrefining.Everynewdevelopmenteventuallyrequiressomeform ofenhancedoil recovery (EOR),which generallymeans steam,solvents, ora combinationofbothormining.Withoutknowledgeintheseareas,therecovery factormightbeaslittleas1%(byvolume,1%v/v)oftheoriginaloilinplace and no more than 10%v/v ofthe total resource. Inthecontextofthisbook,heavyoiltypicallyhasrelativelylowproportionsof volatile compounds with low molecular weights and quite high proportions of high-molecular-weightcompoundsoflowervolatility.Thehigh-molecular-weight HeavyOilRecoveryandUpgrading.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813025-4.00001-5 ©2019ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. 3
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