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Use of micropyrolysis and TG to study the thermal catalytic conversion of onshore crude oil using the zeolite catalysts type Y and ferrierite

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Abstract

The thermal mass conversion of crude oil from the Carmópolis field (19.53 oAPI) was studied by thermal analysis and with an off-line micropyrolysis system. The products of the micropyrolysis experiments were characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The effects of the zeolite catalysts ferrierite and type Y on the TG curves for the crude oil were investigated applying different percentages of catalyst [10, 30 and 50 % (w/w)]. The influence of the heating rate (5, 10 and 20 °C min−1) on the decomposition profile was also evaluated. The thermal analysis showed that, in general, lower heating rates lead to a better mass conversion. Based on the TG curves obtained at 400 °C, the presence of the catalysts resulted in a reduction in the initial pyrolysis temperature and a gain of 10 % in the mass conversion. A detailed analysis of the hydrocarbons showed that the catalysts are not selective, acting similarly on the decomposition over the entire range of hydrocarbons. Also, the n-alkanes fingerprint shows a bimodal distribution, indicating that this onshore oil is associated with terrigenous higher-plant waxes. From the analysis of the isoprenoids, phytane was present in a higher percentage than pristane which, according to the literature, indicates that the oil was generated in an anoxic environment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to PETROBRAS/UO-SEAL/ENGP/LABF for the crude oil sample, to National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq for fellowships, to LABCAT—Laboratory of Catalysis/UFS for the catalysts, to the Postgraduate Program in Chemistry/PPGQ-UFS for the use of their analytical infrastructure and sincerely thank the two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Engineering Department, Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), São Cristóvão, SE, 49100 000, Brazil

    Samia Tássia Andrade Maciel & Marcelo José Barros de Souza

  2. Chemistry Department, Research Group in Petroleum and Energy from Biomass (PEB), Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), São Cristóvão, SE, 49100 000, Brazil

    Alberto Wisniewski Jr.

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  1. Samia Tássia Andrade Maciel
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  2. Alberto Wisniewski Jr.
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  3. Marcelo José Barros de Souza
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Maciel, S.T.A., Wisniewski, A. & de Souza, M.J.B. Use of micropyrolysis and TG to study the thermal catalytic conversion of onshore crude oil using the zeolite catalysts type Y and ferrierite. J Therm Anal Calorim 122, 369–377 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4679-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-015-4679-9

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