Investigating the process of heavy crude oil steam cracking over disperse catalysts. I: Selection of optimal steam cracking conditions without catalyst

Abstract

The process of heavy crude oil steam cracking using semi-flow (with respect to water) and steadystate regimes at 425°C without catalyst is investigated. It is established that in the case of a semi-flow regime, water acts predominantly as a physical agent facilitating the distillation of hydrocarbon fractions and thus preventing their transformation into petroleum coke. A reduction in coke yield is observed for a steady-state regime in comparison to a semi-flow regime; the introduction of water results in enhanced conversion of the high-boiling fraction and an increased yield of light fractions in the composition of liquid products. Based on the obtained data, it is concluded that water plays a positive role during the conversion of heavy crude oil, and that the steam cracking process is promising for production of lighter synthetic and/or semi-synthetic oils.