Vol 52, No 5 (2016)

Test trials of a plant were conducted to study the process of gasification of heavy oil resids blended with carbonaceous shales. The possibility of steady operation of the plant in gasification mode with production of synthesis gas is shown. The process efficiency was about 80% and the yield of dry synthesis gas was 5.9 m3/kg of the feedstock.

The process of mathematical modeling of mass transfer in a random packed bed under conditions of turbulent gas motion and countercurrent laminar wavy flow of a liquid film is studied. The packed bed is depicted as a set of equivalent channels with a correction for sinuosity. P. Kapitsa’s idea of depicting waves on a mesophase film surface upon interaction with a gas stream as elements of roughness is used. The component concentration profiles are found by solving differential mass transfer equations for a cylindrical channel with a volume mass source. The results of solution of the equations system are presented and compared with experimental chemisorption data.

The feasibility of incorporating synthetic oil produced by the Fischer—Tropsch process from synthesis gas of a wood-biomass gasification process into the production of class K5 alternative low-pour-point fuels by processing in a blend with straight-run diesel distillate employing a two-stage scheme (first stage, hydrofining in the presence of conventional hydrofining catalyst Co-Mo/Al₂O₃; second, hydroisodewaxing) is investigated. It is shown that a nickel-molybdenum-containing hydroisodewaxing catalyst based on a binary mixture of zeolites (high-silica low-alkali zeolite TsVN of pentasil structure and mordenite) enables the production of diesel fuel for Arctic conditions (limit filterability temperature –45°C) and aviation kerosene with an initial crystallization temperature of –63°C. A mixture of boron and lanthanum oxides was used as the promoter; a mixture of amorphous aluminum silicate and γ-alumina, as the binder.

The effects of additives based on carbon nanotubes, which are a versatile nanomaterial for producing substances having fundamentally new or significantly altered physicomechanical and physicochemical properties, are studied in order to improve the quality of heavy fuel oil having a large proportion of residuals. Results from studies of the rheological properties of furnace fuel oil and water—oil emulsions mixed with suspensions of domestic carbon nanotubes in surfactant dispersions are presented. The mechanisms of action of carbon nanotubes on the dynamic viscosity of the fuel oil are studied. It is shown that energy-saving and resource management problems can be solved by incorporating carbon nanotubes into the boiler fuel in order to reduce the cost of meeting the needs of plants and boiler houses.

The effect of the nature of calix[n]arenes [n = 4, 6, 8] added to a plastic lubricant on the oxidation resistance of the lubricant at high temperatures is studied. Such characteristics as the number of phenolic fragments in the calixarene structure, the presence of tert-butyl groups on the upper rim of the calix[n]arene, and presence of an O-alkyl substituent in the lower rim are examined. It is shown that calix[8]arenes are capable of inhibiting high-temperature oxidation of plastic lubricants, regardless of the presence of a tert-butyl substituent on the upper rim and an alkyl substituent on the lower rim.

The thermodynamic parameters for the oligomerization of a butane-butylene fraction are calculated using thermobaric dependences and an informative model, which can be used further for mathematical evaluation and prediction of the possible occurrence of a reaction. Equilibrium constants and Gibbs free energy are plotted as functions of the process temperature.

The group chemical composition of oil fractions refined at Kinef Ltd. is shown to change with time. The oxidation rate and penetration index of asphalt obtained from heavy residual increase as the penetration increases. The extensibility of road asphalt decreases markedly as the paraffin content increases. Road asphalt meeting PNST 1-2012 specifications was produced by compounding asphalts oxidized to different degrees.

The effectiveness of various clay-shale swelling inhibitors was evaluated, and the hydration mechanism was studied using information on the contents of adsorbed water in clay–polymer–water systems. Quantitative analysis was performed by UV-photodetection and thermogravimetric analysis. The evaluation of the degree of shale hydration could provide new ideas for well designs, and information regarding the most effective and ecologically friendly swelling inhibitors.

We briefly review methods for determining minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). We propose a modified multiple mixing cell method for determining the minimum miscibility pressure, based on the variation in the tie-lines at different pressures. First using the conventional multiple mixing cell method, we calculated the tie-line length, studied the tie-line pattern, and found the pressure-dependent critical points. Then we proposed some steps to improve the existing algorithm. The results obtained using the modified method are compared with the results of other methods. We have established that our algorithm can solve the problem of the complexity of searching for key tie lines, as is done in the calculation by the conventional mixing cell method, and thus our algorithm ensures that we find an accurate value of the MMP.

The effect of modifying complex additives on the physicochemical properties of asphalt is studied. It is shown that complex additives based on cellulose fibers with surfactants adsorbed on their surfaces possess a cross-linking effect and improve the heat and frost resistance of the asphalt binder and its adhesive and cohesive strength.

Structural and thermal properties of petroleum asphalt and paraffinic hydrocarbon fractions were analyzed by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry. Macrocrystalline waxes were shown to play the key role in forming the dispersed colloidal phase, which creates the dispersed structure of asphalt.

The structural group composition of samples of asphalt-resin-wax deposits (ARWD) has been studied. These samples were found to be of the wax-rich type. The effectiveness of disulfide oil as an ARWD solvent was studied. Pure disulfide oil was found ineffective for removing the most difficult to degrade wax-rich deposits. The addition of 0.1-0.5 wt. % nonionogenic surfactants and more than 40 wt.% aromatic hydrocarbons (liquid pyrolysis products, Bentol) markedly enhances the effectiveness of disulfide oil (up to 80-90 wt. % at 20-50°C), which justifies its commercial use as an ARWD solvent.

Systematized information about standardizable parameters and methods of monitoring mechanical impurity contents in lubricant coolants, industrial and motor oils, and gasoline is provided. Considering that in most cases metallic impurities possess ferromagnetic properties, magnetic methods are preferred for monitoring iron-containing impurities. The basic aspects of the relatively new experimental-computational method approved for a number of fuels and lubricants, which, contrary especially to the experimental method, allow more accurate monitoring of ferroimpurity content, are expounded. The suitability of the model of exponential ferroimpurity absorbing screen for this monitoring method is confirmed with reference to gasoline, diesel fuel, and industrial and motor fuels. Based on the results of the proposed magnetic monitoring method, a notable demerit of one of the most popular variants of magnetic monitoring used for ferrography is pointed out.

The components of rocket kerosene were determined by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCЧGC/TOFMS) under pre-defined analytical conditions. Qualitative analysis was performed by identification of the various groups of the compound on a structured chromatogram. Quantitative analysis was performed by estimating the areas of the respective characteristic peaks. It was found that the kerosene contained paraffins, monocyclic, bicyclic, and tricyclic alkanes, alkenes, and aromatic and oxygen-containing compounds. It was demonstrated that GCЧGC/TOFMS has obvious advantages over traditional methods for determining the components of rocket kerosene.