Supercritical water (SCW) treatment is an attractive technique for upgrading heavy oil. It has not only been shown to desulfurize it without external hydrogen input; but also to thermally crack the heavy components of oil into more desirable hydrocarbons. In spite of these merits, there has been very limited understanding of the phenomena (kinetics, mechanism, phase behavior etc.) associated with the SCW process. The main purpose of our study is to understand how the molecular-level sulfur distribution in hydrocarbon matrix such as crude oil influences the SCW desulfurization process. In this work, we demonstrate the successful operation of continuously-fed stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system, designed for this study and report the new kinetic data for SCW desulfurization of several sulfides and thiophenic sulfur compounds. Effect of sulfur bearing compounds on hydrocarbon pyrolysis product distribution is also studied. The study provides basis for developing mechanistic understanding and kinetic models for the process.

Supercritical water desulfurization of model sulfur compounds

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.