STUDIES ON THE UPGRADING OF BITUMINOUS OILS WITH WATER AND TRANSITION-METAL CATALYSTS

The objectives of this study were to examine the ability of water and water-based metal salt additive systems to upgrade bitumen and determi ne the chemical mechanisms of observed reactions. These experiments we re conducted on Peace River and Cold Lake bitumens and consisted of th ermal treatments (375-415 degrees C) with and without water and with a queous solutions of iron or ruthenium chlorides in the same temperatur e range. Little reaction was observed when either bitumen was heated d ry or with water at 375 degrees C but significant conversion to insolu ble products was observed at higher temperatures. Water had only a min imal effect in preventing formation of insolubles from Peace River bit umen but did result in reduction of the amount of insolubles produced in similar treatments of Cold Lake bitumen. The ruthenium/water additi ve produced oils with significantly lower sulfur content from both bit umens but at the expense of formation of high-sulfur-content insoluble products. However, addition of molecular hydrogen to experiments util izing the ruthenium/water additive reduced the amount of insoluble pro ducts. The iron/water additive inhibited formation of insoluble produc ts in comparison to experiments with or without water. Liquid products recovered from all experiment types except ones using molecular hydro gen contained more asphaltene than the unreacted bitumen but had much lower viscosities. In most cases, viscosities were low enough such tha t the bitumen would be suitable for direct pipeline transportation. GP C measurements indicated that the viscosity reductions were likely a c onsequence of reduction in asphaltene molecular size.