Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Asphaltene Adsorption and Oxidation

This study investigates the adsorption and oxidation of asphaltenes onto nanoparticles. Six different metal oxide nanoparticles were employed, namely, Fe3O4, Co3O4, TiO2, MgO, CaO, and NiO. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out at different initial asphaltene concentrations. Asphaltene adsorption was evaluated by measuring the asphaltene concentration using thermogravimetric analysis, and adsorption kinetics and isotherms were obtained. For all the six nanoparticles, the isotherm data fitted well to the Langmuir model. Results showed that asphaltene adsorption is metal-oxide-specific and the adsorption capacities of asphaltenes onto the oxides followed the order CaO > Co3O4 > Fe3O4 > MgO > NiO > TiO2. Furthermore, oxidation of asphaltene was investigated after adsorption onto NiO nanoparticles. The oxidation temperature of asphaltene decreased by ∼140 °C in the presence of nanoparticles, showing their catalytic effect. The activation energies calculated by the Coats−Redfern method for asphaltene oxidation processes in the absence and presence of NiO nanoparticles were found to be approximately 100 and 57 kJ/mol, respectively. This study is a first step in showing the feasibility of using nanoparticles for asphaltene adsorption, followed by catalytic oxidation for heavy oil upgrading.