Co-processing of a vacuum tower bottom from the Athabasca oil sand bitumen (VR) and a low-grade iron ore, limonite, was proposed to produce both light oil and a raw material for iron making called �iron ore/carbon composite (IOC)�.  When the mixture of VR and limonite was heated up to around 300 �C, VR filled up the nano-sized and layered pore space formed by the dehydration of limonite to realize intimate contact between VR and Fe2O3 surface formed. When the mixture was heated over 400 �C, the VR in the pore space was catalytically cracked to produce light oil in high yield.  The Fe2O3 particles containing high molecular-weight compounds, coke, in the pore space were successfully used as a high quality raw material for iron making. This co-processing is expected to resolve several drawbacks encountered in the upgrading of VR in oil industry and effective utilization of limonite in steel industry.

Co-processing of resid and low-grade iron ore to produce light oil and an iron ore/carbon composite for iron making

244th National Meeting (2012)

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