Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 21 No 4 (2017): 830 - 838

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17576/mjas-2017-2104-09

 

 

 

CHARACTERIZATION AND DEACIDIFICATION OF ACIDIC PETROLEUM CRUDE OIL UTILIZING METAL OXIDE CATALYST SUPPORTED ON ALUMINA AND AMMONIATED POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL SOLUTION

 

(Pencirian dan Penyahasidan Minyak Mentah Petroleum Menggunakan Mangkin Logam Oksida Disokong Dengan Alumina dan Larutan Ammonia-Polietilena Glikol)

 

Nurasmat Mohd Shukri, Jafariah Jaafar*, Wan Azelee Wan Abu Bakar, Zaiton Abdul Majid

 

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: jafariah@kimia.fs.utm.my

 

 

Received: 20 September 2016; Accepted: 16 May 2017

 

 

Abstract

The presence of naphthenic acid (NA) in petroleum crude oil may cause serious corrosion problem for refinery processing equipment. In this work, an alternative method to remove NA is investigated based on the catalytic deacidification reaction to achieve the target of lowering the total acid number (TAN) as required by PETRONAS to be less than 1. Ammoniated polyethylene glycol (NH₃-PEG) was formulated as a deacidifying agent with various concentrations ranging from 100 – 1000 mg/L for crude oil. Cerium oxide based catalyst supported on alumina was synthesized via wet impregnation method and characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and thermogravimetry analysis-differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA). Parameters such as amount of basic chemical dosing, type of metal oxides, catalyst calcination temperature and reusability of catalyst on the removal of NA was studied. The results showed the TAN value for crude oil was reduced by 70.6% to a TAN of 0.74 mg KOH/g by using 1000 mg/L of NH₃-PEG dosing aids by Ce/Al₂O₃ catalyst calcined at 1000 ^oC.

 

Keywords:  total acid number, naphthenic acid, metal oxide catalyst, ammoniated polyethylene glycol, alumina

 

Abstrak

Kehadiran asid naftenik (NA) dalam minyak mentah boleh menyebabkan masalah hakisan yang serius kepada peralatan pemprosesan penapisan. Di dalam kajian ini, satu kaedah alternatif untuk menyingkir NA telah disiasat berdasarkan tindak balas penyahasidan pemangkin untuk mencapai sasaran jumlah nombor asid (TAN) kurang daripada 1 seperti yang dikehendaki PETRONAS. Larutan ammonia polietilena glikol (NH₃-PEG) telah diformulakan sebagai ejen penyahasidan dengan pelbagai kepekatan antara 100 – 1000 mg/L. Mangkin serium oksida disokong dengan alumina telah disintesis meggunakan kaedah pengisi tepuan basah dan dicirikan menggunakan spektroskopi pembelauan sinar-X (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) dan analisis termogravimetri – analisis pengkamiran terma (TGA-DTA). Parameter seperti jumlah dos kimia bes, jenis logam oksida, suhu pengkalsinan mangkin dan kebolehgunaan mangkin terhadap penyingkiran NA telah dikaji. Hasil kajian menunjukkan nilai TAN bagi minyak mentah telah dikurangkan sebanyak 70.6% kepada TAN 0.74 mg KOH/g dengan menggunakan 1000 mg/L dos NH₃-PEG dibantu oleh mangkin Ce/Al₂O₃ dikalsinkan pada 1000 ^oC.

 

Kata kunci:  nombor jumlah asid, asid naftenik, mangkin, ammonia polietilena glikol, alumina

 

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