Visbreaking of heavy petroleum oil catalyzed by SO42-/ZrO2 solid super-acid doped with Ni2+ or Sn2+

SO₄²⁻/ZrO₂ solid super-acid catalysts (SZ) doped with Ni²⁺ or Sn²⁺ (Ni²⁺/SZ, Sn²⁺/SZ) were prepared for catalytic visbreaking of heavy petroleum oil from Shengli oil field. The visbreaking reactions were carried out at 240°C and 3–4 MPa for 24 h using a heavy petroleum oil to catalyst mass ratio of 100 : 0.05. The effect of water content on viscosity of heavy petroleum oil was also investigated. Both catalysts can promote thermolysis of heavy petroleum oil and the viscosity was reduced from 0.319 Pa·s to 0.135 Pa·s for Ni²⁺/SZ and 0.163 Pa·s for (Sn²⁺/SZ) with visbreaking rates of 57.7% and 48.9%, respectively. After visbreaking, the saturated hydrocarbon content increased while aromatics, resin, asphaltene, sulfur and nitrogen content decreased. The presence of water was disadvantageous to visbreaking of heavy petroleum oil. __________ Translated from Petrochemical Technology, 2007, 36(3): 237–241 译自: 石油化工]