DETERMINATION OF IRON, NICKEL AND VANADIUM IN PETROLEUM HEAVY OIL AND RESIDUE SAMPLES: COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT PREPARATION METHODS AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

摘要

It is well known that the world energy consumption has been increasing over the last two decades, and petroleum and its derivatives provide the most available energy.1 Among them, heavy oil and bitumen reserves are the most available energy source worldwide, and their uses are expected to increase in the future. Typically, heavy hydrocarbons such as bitumen and heavy oil comprise more than 50% (w/w) of a distillation residue (500 °C+), which becomes the feedstock for further upgrading processes that lead to more yield of high valuable distillables.1 Therefore, these feeds need to be characterized through bulk properties measurements such as boiling point distribution, API gravity, and viscosity; these properties correlate well with certain composition characteristics. That information helps decision makers in the refinery making fast and inexpensive business decisions. Especially for atmospheric and vacuum residues, density and viscosity are the dominant measurements, however, the ability to measure carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and metals are becoming critical.