Investigation of reaction pathways and kinetics of turkish asphaltenes

Abstract

In this study, reaction kinetics of asphaltene fractions of petroleum feedstocks from field in southeastern part of Turkey were investigated. Asphaltene was fractionated from atmospheric residue of petroleum feedstock. Atmospheric petroleum residue was obtained by removing the distillates boiling up to 350 °C using atmospheric distillation. Asphaltenes were subjected to pyrolysis reactions at 350, 375 and 400 °C for holding times ranging from 10 and 120 min. Product fractions were separated as gas, maltene, remaining asphaltene and coke. The time and temperature dependence of product distributions were determined. Four-lump model was proposed to explain the reaction pathways. This kinetic model was described as a system of ordinary differential equations. In order to estimate the rate constants in these ODEs, a Matlab code has been developed. Order of reaction is another important subject for fitting, first-order for all reactions and second-order for all reactions were analyzed. Copyright © 2013, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.