Energy & Fuels, Vol.32, No.1, 55-59, 2018
Experimental Study and Economic Analysis of Heavy Oil Partial Upgrading by Solvent Deasphalting-Hydrotreating
Technical and economical evaluations were carried out for upgrading of heavy crude oil by a combined scheme of deasphalting and hydrotreating. Deasphalted oil was obtained at 60 degrees C temperature, 25 kgf/cm(2) pressure, 5:1 solvent/oil ratio, and 1 h residence time, using n-heptane as the solvent. The deasphalted oil product was upgraded by means of hydrotreating at low severity reaction conditions: 360 degrees C temperature, 60 kgf/cm(2) pressure, and 4 h reaction time. The technical and economic analyses demonstrated that the upgrading scheme is an appropriate option for producing transportable oil.