The study of thermal developments of heavy oil feedstock, vacuum residue in particular, is a relevant factor for the development of technologies for the processing and production of petroleum products. This paper investigates the process of thermal decomposition of the vacuum residue in the manufacturing of catalyst and polymer material using thermal analysis methods, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in isothermal and dynamic modes. Particular attention is paid to the measurement of kinetic parameters of thermolysis using model and non-model methods, which allows us to assess the output power and other kinetic characteristics of decomposition. The results obtained can be used for the development of new oil refining technologies for significantly increasing the efficiency and safety of processes. During the course of this study, experimental and theoretical activation energy values were obtained for the vacuum residue without a catalyst (experimentally: 91.54 kJ mol⁻¹/theoretically: 91.35 kJ mol⁻¹) and a sample with the presence of a catalyst (experimentally: 89.68 kJ mol⁻¹/theoretically: 90.87 kJ mol⁻¹). The reduction in activation energy in the presence of the catalyst confirms its catalytic activity and potential for processing heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.

This paper presents the results of a study of the catalytic hydrogenation of phenanthrene using catalysts based on chrysotile modified with nickel and titanium (chrysotile/NiTi), as well as coal shale. Complex characterization of catalysts in terms of acid, texture and morphological properties was carried out. Pre-reduction in the catalysts has been found to increase the yield of partially and fully hydrogenated products, including tetrahydronaphthalene, trans-decalin and dihydrophenanthrene. Particular attention is paid to the role of coal shale as a donor source of hydrogen in thermolysis conditions. The results of hydrogenation revealed complex mechanisms of phenanthrene transformations, including partial saturation of aromatic rings, desulfurization and the formation of alkyl-substituted compounds. The obtained data emphasize the prospects of using the studied catalysts in the processes of processing heavy and solid hydrocarbon raw materials, which opens up opportunities for creating new technologies for the production of liquid fuel.

In this work, the kinetics of the redistribution of oils, resins, and asphaltenes in high-viscosity oil from the Karazhanbas field (Republic of Kazakhstan) were investigated. This was achieved with an ultrasonic treatment (22 kHz, 50 W) in the presence of a zeolite catalyst (1.0 wt%). The parameters of the technological process were established as a temperature range from 30 to 70 °C and an exposure time of 3 to 11 min. This allowed us to increase the oil content by 14.8% and decrease the concentration of resins by 12.2% and asphaltenes by 2.6%. Conversion schemes (“oils ↔ resins” and “resins ↔ asphaltenes”) were developed, which made it possible to determine the main direction of the reaction processes. The most rapid process is the conversion of resins to oils (k₂ = 0.1148–0.1860 min⁻¹). The process of the cracking of asphaltenes with the formation of resins (k₄ = 0.1023–0.1413 min⁻¹) ranks second in rates. Condensation reactions, including the transition of oils to resins (k₁ = 0.0175–0.0252 min⁻¹) and resins to asphaltenes (k₃ = 0.0139–0.0194 min⁻¹), occur significantly more slowly. The calculated activation energies (7.0–10.4 kJ/mol) show that the cavitation treatment of high-viscosity oil in the presence of a catalyst effectuates the processing of heavy oil with minimal energy consumption. A group composition analysis of the light and middle oil fractions demonstrated an increase in paraffinic, naphthenic, benzenic, and olefinic hydrocarbons, with a simultaneous decrease in naphthalenes and heteroatomic compounds. The results obtained confirm the effectiveness of ultrasonic–catalytic treatment for the structural cracking of high-viscosity oil and the formation of lighter hydrocarbon fractions.

The paper presents the results of an investigation into the kinetics of catalytic hydrogenation of vacuum residue at temperatures of 380, 400 and 420 °C and different durations, ranging from 30 to 70 min, using a nanocatalyst containing the active metals nickel and titanium supported on chrysotile. It was found that the yield of oils from 30 to 50 wt.% and tars from 12 to 18 wt.% increased with increasing temperatures and reaction times. A slight increase in the proportion of solids in the range of 2.0 to 6.0 wt.% is explained by the activity of the nanocatalyst used. In the study of the kinetics of vacuum residue hydrogenation, using the nanocatalyst developed by the authors, we were able to achieve a low yield of solids with a short contact time as well as a high yield of low-molecular-weight compounds such as oils and tars. To determine the kinetic parameters (rate constants and activation energies), Simpson’s integral method and a random search engine optimization method were used. High values of rate constants are characteristic of reactions in the formation of oils k₁, tars k₂ and asphaltenes k₃ in the temperature range of 380–420 °C. The high values of the rate constants k₁, k₂ and k₃ in the catalytic hydrogenation of the vacuum residue indicate the high reaction rate and activity of the nanocatalyst used. With an increase in temperature from 380 to 420 °C, the rate constant of the formation of gas products from vacuum residue and the conversion of asphaltenes into oils significantly increase, which indicates the accumulation of low-molecular-weight compounds in oils. The activation energy for reactions leading to the formation of oils, tars, asphaltenes, gas and solid products was 75.7, 124.8, 40.7, 205.4 and 57.2 kJ/mol, respectively. These data indicate that the processes of vacuum residue hydrogenation with the formation of oils and asphaltenes require the lowest energy inputs. Reducing the process temperature to increase the selectivity of the vacuum residue hydrogenation process when using the prepared nanocatalyst is recommended. The formation of oils at the initial stage plays a key role in the technology of the heavy hydrocarbon feedstock (HHF) hydrogenation process. Perhaps the resulting oils can serve as an additional solvent for high-molecular-weight products such as asphaltenes, as evidenced by the low activation energy of the process.

The study investigates the kinetics of redistribution of oils, resins, and asphaltenes in high-viscosity oil from the Karazhanbas field during ultrasonic treatment (22 kHz, 50 W) in the presence of a zeolite catalyst (1.0% by mass). The parameters of the technological process - temperature range from 30 to 70°C, exposure time from 3 to 11 min - were established, which lead to an increase in oil content (by 14.8%), and a decrease in the concentration of resins (by 12.2%) and asphaltenes (by 2.6%). An increase in the conversion rate between oil components is observed until the 7th minute of treatment. Group analysis of light and medium oil fractions showed an increase in the content of paraffinic, naphthenic, benzene and olefinic hydrocarbons while reducing the proportion of naphthalenes and heteroatom compounds. The results obtained confirm the effectiveness of ultrasonic-catalytic treatment for the structural destruction of high-viscosity oil and the formation of lighter hydrocarbon fractions.

Fe-cat and Ti-cat catalytic additives synthesized from converter slags of Qarmet JSC using acid activation followed by ex situ sulfidation were studied. By full-profile X-ray analysis, it was found that Fe-cat is mainly a sulphide system (FeS troilite + keilite, 52.8 wt% in total), while Ti-cat is mainly oxide (Mg(Ti₂O₅), 70.8 wt%). In model experiments for the hydrogenation of a mixture of phenanthrene and benzothiophene in the presence of polyethylene as a hydrogen donor, the catalytic additive Ti-cat provides preferential hydrogenation of aromatic structures (conversion of phenanthrene 47.2%), while Fe-cat is characterized by complete conversion of benzothiophene and high yield of cleavage products. During hydroconversion of the heavy fraction of primary coal tar, the yield of liquid products was 64.0% by weight, mainly in the form of a middle distillate fraction of 200–300 °C. The hydrogen balance showed that molecular hydrogen was in excess; an increase in the hydrogen content in liquid products (from 8.0 to 9.64 wt%) indicates the transfer of hydrogen from donors to the liquid phase. The optimum content of polyethylene is 1.0–1.5 wt%, providing maximum enrichment of liquid products with hydrogen (H/C = 1.53).