PYROLYSIS ANALYSIS AND KINETICS OF CRUDE OILS

This research presents the results of an experimental study on the det ermination of pyrolysis behaviour and kinetics of six crude oils by di fferential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG/DTG). C rude oil pyrolysis indicated two main temperature ranges where loss of mass was observed. The first region between ambient to 400 degrees C was distillation. The second region between 400 and 600 degrees C was visbreaking and thermal cracking. Arrhenius-type kinetic model is used to determine the kinetic parameters of crude oils studied. It was obs erved that as crude oils gets heavier (degrees API decreases) cracking activation energy increases. Activation energy of cracking also show a general trend with asphaltene content.