Catalytic decarboxylation of crude oil in a fixed-bed pyrolysis reactor
Abstract This study focused on using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a catalyst to decarboxylate crude oil from the Imo oil field in Nigeria. The TiO2 catalyst was characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermog...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Discover Energy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43937-024-00062-4 |
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| Summary: | Abstract This study focused on using titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a catalyst to decarboxylate crude oil from the Imo oil field in Nigeria. The TiO2 catalyst was characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD investigation identified rutile-TiO2 as the primary crystalline phase, with important diffraction peaks matching the ASTM standard for rutile. SEM showed extensive agglomerations of TiO2 particles, whereas FT-IR detected surface functional groups such as hydroxyl, carbonyl, and aromatic. TGA identified three separate weight-loss stages, the biggest of which occurred in the devolatilization region, accounting for around 84%. The catalytic decarboxylation process revealed a considerable decrease in the total acid number (TAN) of the crude oil as the temperature increased, reaching a TAN of 0.28 mg KOH g⁻1 at 300 °C, with 96.35% decarboxylation. The TiO2-catalyzed process outperformed thermal cracking alone, resulting in less oxygenated functional groups and increased oil quality. These findings show that rutile-TiO2 can be an excellent catalyst for decarboxylation in crude oil refining. |
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| ISSN: | 2730-7719 |