SONOCHEMICAL TREATMENT OF FOSSIL-FUELS

A new method has been developed to recover upgraded lighter-hydrocarbo n liquid oil from an asphaltene-containing oil material (tar sand, asp halt, heavy oil, shale oil, coal liquids, etc.). The process describes dispersing particles of the carbonaceous material in an aqueous solut ion containing an inorganic base (NaOH, Na2SiO3, etc.) and/or surfacta nt at ambient temperatures and pressures. With the aid of sonication e nergy, the inorganic base and/or surfactant will combine with the pola r components of the fuel to speed the recovery of upgraded oil materia l. The reaction process essentially removes and/or converts the asphal tene fraction in the bituminous material to lighter fractions. The pro cess is highly efficient, and the reaction time in minutes for the sam ples is examined. The reaction mechanisms are related to principles of sonochemistry as well as membrane mimetic chemistry.