Experimental Considerations for Proper Development of Aquathermolysis Tests in Batch Reactor Systems

Steam-based technologies are promising procedures with great potential for the recovery of heavy oil reserves. Particularly, catalytic aquathermolysis has been identified as a relevant technology for the permanent upgrading of heavy crude oil to increase the recovery factor. This technology requires appropriate experimentation for evaluation of the effect of operational conditions on product yield and quality and catalyst performance, and to determine reaction kinetics and mechanisms. Consequently, the procedures used to generate, interpret, and analyze the experimental data required for optimizing the aquathermolysis process need to be properly defined and applied. This work reports an exhaustive review of experimental results reported in the literature on diverse upgraded oil samples. The effect of operating reaction parameters, such as temperature, oil/water ratio, time, and catalyst dosage, was discussed in detail. Based on experimental results, some behaviors in gas production and viscosity reduction are highlighted and explained for the development of future studies. It was concluded that the upgrading of crude oil is mainly influenced by the reactivity of the chemical compounds involved, and a detailed analysis of the reaction system is required for the experimental development and scale-up