Vol 52, No 6 (2017)

Results from a determination of the saturated vapor pressures (SVPs) of 5-85 wt.% EtOH blends with various individual hydrocarbons are reported. A mathematical model for calculating the SVP of E30 bioethanol fuel is developed based on these results. Only the fuel hydrocarbon composition determined by chromatography can be used to calculate the SVP of bioethanol fuel by this model.

A highly effective alkylphenolate additive, V-7140, with an alkali level of 400 mg KOH/g was synthesized in order to improve the performance properties of motor oils. It was shown that the functional and some physicochemical properties of V-7140 additive were superior to a domestic commercial alkylphenolate and its foreign analog ADX410. The excellent functional properties of the additive stemmed from its high alkalinity and colloidal stability in addition to a higher content of active ingredient.

The activity and selectivity of bimetallic Ni—Mo sulfide catalysts based on mesoporous aluminosilicate (Al-HMS) with a Si/Al ratio of 5 in shale oil hydrocracking were investigated in a fixed-bed catalytic reactor. The temperature dependences of the activity and selectivity of NiS—MoS₂/Al-HMS (Si/Al = 5) were studied. It was shown that this catalyst in the temperature range 330-400°C at an H₂ pressure of 5 MPa converted the shale oil heavy fraction into fuel fractions with high selectivity for the middle distillate and reduced by 78% the sulfur content in the liquid hydrocracking products.

The process and results of a thermodynamic analysis of C₈ isomer formation upon the alkylation of isobutene by olefins using thermobaric dependence and an information model are presented. The experimental data were used to determine the probability of reaction in the 1-3 MPa pressure range. No significant change in the Gibbs energy was found to occur at pressures above 1 MPa.

The feasibility of producing high-quality acicular coke from heavy Yarega oil is studied. A scheme that involves deasphalting, hydrofining, delayed coking, demetallation, and thermal degradation or gasification is proposed for processing this oil. Also studied are the physicochemical properties and group hydrocarbon composition of the oil and the obtained heavy resid.

A study was carried out on the chemical group composition of oil ceresins along with their thermal and physicochemical properties. The decisive role of their normal hydrocarbon component in determining the mechanical strength of these materials was elucidated. A graph relating melting point with molar mass was constructed for commercial samples of solid paraffin-containing oil products and for isolated hydrocarbons, some of which form complexes with carbamide. The average molar mass and melting point of the oil paraffins and complex-forming hydrocarbons of ceresins and waxes correspond to the largest-molecular, highest-melting, longest-chain n-alkane of their primary fraction.

Biodiesel fuel is attracting interest as an alternative fuel as environmental pollution increases and fossil fuel supplies diminish. Biodiesel is not only cleaner than petro-diesel, but also has high degradability and excellent lubricity. Since biodiesel has very low sulfur content (0.002 wt. %), it is environmentally friendly. The effect of a biodiesel additive in a diesel engine fuel system for reducing pollutant emission and wear characteristics was studied experimentally. Analysis was performed in two steps. First, the injection of biodiesel into the diesel engine channel was simulated. Second, tribological experiments were performed using the ball-on-ring contact method. The wear scar diameters and wear surfaces of the tribopairs were then analyzed. Wear experiments showed that a small addition of biodiesel to pure petrodiesel reduced friction and wear under boundary lubrication considerably.

Dry hot rock (DHR) is a kind of rock without water or steam lying 2-6 km underground with a temperature of 150-650°C. Domestic DHR at 3.5-7.5 km depth had a temperature of 150-250°C with a total energy of 6.3· 10²⁴J, which was 1320 times the total energy consumption of China in 2010 assuming 2% of available exploration volume. Mixing of H₂S, H₂SO₃, etc. in the steam and hot water of a DHR well can easily corrode the pipe materials and the well-stabilization slurry. A high-temperature sulfur-corrosion-resistant slurry system containing HTR2000 (retarder) (density 1.86 g/cm³, initial consistency 12 Bc, consistency time 252 min, water loss 23 mL in 30 min (API), bleeding rate 1.20%, 1-d strength 34.4 MPa, 28-d strength 25.6 MPa) that met all DHR well-stabilization requirements was developed.

The results of studies of the effect of group and hydrocarbon composition of oils on their physicochemical properties and capacity to form cross-linked oil disperse systems (ODS) are reported. Pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method was used to determine the molecular mobility of the components of the dispersion medium and the disperse phase and to establish a correlation between the structural-dynamic, physicochemical, and rheological properties of the ODS. The degree of effect of surfactants on the change in mobility of the phases of the ODS and their rheological behavior is determined. It is shown that the processes of breakdown of associates of complex structural units of ODS in the presence of a surfactant occur in all oils and water-oil emulsions and their effect on the mobility of ODS increases with increase of initial degree of cross-linking of the ODS. The mechanism of the action of polyalkylbenzene resin (PABR) in the oil medium stems from the peculiarities of its structure, and addition of PABR enhances molecular mobility of the ODS components and alters their solvation, structural-mechanical, and adsorptive properties.

The mechanisms of conversion of high-viscosity oil in supercritical water in the presence of finely dispersed coal and magnetite are clarified. The experiments were conducted in a closed reactor under conditions that ensure transition of the aqueous phase to a supercritical fluid. The general mechanisms of change in component and group compositions are explained, and the rheological properties of the original and transformed oil are studied. Degradation of the high-molecular part of the feedstock with formation of light hydrocarbons that were absent in the original oil is confirmed, and the significant decrease in viscosity of the transformed oil relative to the original is proved.

We present the results of pilot-scale testing of the thermal polymerization inhibitor Dewaxol 3002 under elevated operating temperature conditions. The reagent, synthesized based on heterocyclic compounds and an aromatic amine, was utilized in the unit for separating heavy fractions from pyrolysis gas for an EP-60 ethylene plant. It was established that the inhibitor is high-performance and the runtime between repairs was lengthened for boilers damaged by clogging due to polymerization of heavy unsaturated components of the pyrolysis gas.

One problem in the modern oil refining industry is associated with involvement of unconventional oil stock in the processing: heavy high-viscosity crude oils and native bitumens. Flexibility in processing heavy oil stock, an increase in the yield of light distillates, and an improvement in their quality is achieved by the combined use of thermal and catalytic processes. Gasification of oil residues is a promising process that makes it possible to obtain syngas suitable for producing synthetic oil, hydrogen, petrochemicals, electric power, or steam. In this paper, we analyze the advantages of the gasification process. We consider existing technologies for gasification of heavy oil stock and the major types of gasifiers.

A model proposed for the typical regenerator of a commercial fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) incorporates a fluid-dynamics model for a fluidized bed that takes into account three phases, namely, emulsion, wake-cloud, and bubbles, and is combined with a kinetic coke combustion model. The latter is complemented with a model for the afterburning that may occur in the freeboard. The overall model computes the extent to which coke deposited on the catalyst is burnt, the diameter and rate of ascent of bubbles, the composition and temperature of the combustion gases (O₂, CO₂, CO, and H₂O) at different heights of the fluidized bed and freeboard in the generator, and the temperature of the cyclones. The regenerator model was written in Visual Basic in order to simulate an actual regenerator unit.