Not much is known about the integration of synthetic oil from feed-to-liquids (XTL) processes with that of heavy oil to serve as combined refinery feed. Visbreaking (mild thermal cracking) of bitumen and bitumen mixed with 20% of hydrotreated Fischer-Tropsch wax was investigated at 400 and 450 °C. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analyses were used to study the thermal behavior during heating and cooling. DSC analyses show that the thermal behavior of the bitumen does not change much when it is reacted by itself. The glass transition temperature remains in the range –8 to –5 °C. When 20% of Fischer-Tropsch wax is mixed with bitumen, the glass transition temperature of the mixture is around –12 °C, but this temperature is not much affected by the extent of wax conversion. The melting enthalpy and melting point temperature of the wax could be used as indirect measures of wax conversion. Little wax conversion took place at 400 °C compared to 450 °C. The present observations, although preliminary, suggests that there is little interaction between the bitumen and the wax during visbreaking.

Visbreaking of Fischer-Tropsch wax mixed with bitumen: Analysis of thermal behavior

249th National Meeting (2015)

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