Chemical Characterization of Humic and Fulvic Acid Analogs Obtained from Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) at Different Severities
| dc.contributor.advisor | Pereira-Almao, Pedro R. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ahmed, Farouq | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Moore, Robert Gordon | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Mehta, Sudarshan A. Raj | |
| dc.date | 2018-06 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-04-19T19:16:57Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-04-19T19:16:57Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018-04-13 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Due to depletion of conventional oil resources and the increasing energy demand, the role of heavy oils is significantly increasing. The heaviest portions of heavy oils are asphaltenes, which create tremendous problems in transportation and upgrading processes. Removal of asphaltenes from heavy oil improves the quality of oil and makes it easier to process. The oil industry is challenged to explore new alternatives that allow converting asphaltenes into valuable products by economical feasible routes. Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) is one proposed alternative, being herein examined together with fundamental aspects on hydrocarbon oxidation for its proper framing. The solubilization of asphaltenes in water has recently received attention due to the ease of mobilization and high level of dispersion. The WAO of asphaltenes rapidly produces both water-soluble and water insoluble oxygen rich species. The intermediate product of asphaltenes oxy-cracking reaction is Water Soluble Asphaltenes (WSA), and the final product is CO2. At low severities WSA had characteristics similar to humic analogs whereas at high severities, products aromaticity increased and lower molecular weight components (fulvic analogs) were formed. Processed asphaltenes were found to have oxygen functionalties like carboxylic acids and their salts, ketones, sulphoxides and sulphones, responsible for their aqueous solubilization. The effect of pH (base) on oxidation of asphaltene was determined using different experimental conditions. It was found that the concentration of chemical base used as acidic corrosion prevention and as catalysts are the most influential parameter for the solubilization of asphaltene, to achieve high conversion at low temperature. The humic/fulvic acids field of knowledge was identified as key for proper understanding of HC oxidation and other feasible industrial applications, like in agriculture. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Ahmed, F. (2018). Chemical Characterization of Humic and Fulvic Acid Analogs Obtained from Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) at Different Severities (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31802 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/31802 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106515 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Schulich School of Engineering | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en |
| dc.publisher.place | Calgary | en |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | Asphaltenes | |
| dc.subject | oxy-cracking | |
| dc.subject | Wet Air Oxidation | |
| dc.subject.classification | Engineering--Agricultural | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Engineering--Chemical | en_US |
| dc.subject.classification | Engineering--Petroleum | en_US |
| dc.title | Chemical Characterization of Humic and Fulvic Acid Analogs Obtained from Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) at Different Severities | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Chemical and Petroleum Engineering | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Engineering (MEng) | |
| ucalgary.item.requestcopy | true | |
| ucalgary.thesis.checklist | I confirm that I have submitted all of the required forms to Faculty of Graduate Studies. | en_US |