Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 26 No 1 (2022): 152 - 163

 

 

 

 

CATALYTIC NEUTRALIZATION OF ACIDIC PETROLEUM CRUDE OIL UTILIZING 2-METHYLIMIDAZOLE WITH ADDITION OF Cu/Ce(10:90)/Al₂O₃ CATALYST

 

(Peneutralan Pemangkin Minyak Mentah Petroleum Berasid Menggunakan 2-Metilimidazol dengan Tambahan Mangkin Cu/Ce(10:90)/Al₂O₃)

 

Norshahidatul Akmar Mohd Shohaimi¹*, Noraini Safar Che Harun¹, Hisyam Saufi Tajudin¹, Wan Azelee Wan Abu Bakar², Nurasmat Mohd Shukri³, Nor Hakimin Abdullah⁴, Ahmad Zamani Ab Halim⁵

 

¹Faculty of Applied Sciences,

Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang, Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia

²Faculty of Sciences,

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

³School of Health Sciences,

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan

⁴Advanced Materials Research Centre (AMRC), Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology,

Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 100, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan

⁵Faculty of Industrial Sciences & Technology,

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26300 Gambang, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author:  akmarshohaimi@uitm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 22 December 2021; Accepted: 3 February 2022; Published: 25 February 2022

 

 

Abstract

The presence of naphthenic acid (NA) in crude oil leads to corrosion problems within oil refineries which may increase the maintenance cost and produce lower quality of crude oil. The objective of this study is to reduce the total acid number (TAN) of Petronas Penapisan Melaka (PPM)'s crude oil (TAN = 2.43 mgKOH/g) using 2-methylimidazole with the aid of Cu/Ce (10:90)/Al₂O₃ catalyst through the catalytic neutralization technique. A 10% of 2-methylimidazole in ethanol solution was used as the acid removal agent. Cerium oxide based catalysts with copper as a dopant were supported onto alumina and calcined at different calcination temperatures of 800 ℃, 900 ℃ and 1000 ℃. The potential catalyst was characterized by using TGA-DTG, FTIR and XRD for its physicochemical properties. The results showed TAN was reduced to 0.53 mg KOH/g with 78.2% reduction at catalyst calcination temperature of 900 ℃, 0.5% catalyst loading, reaction temperature of 27 ℃ and 10 minutes reaction time. The small particle size of catalyst calcined at 900 ℃ which was 18.02 nm led to bigger surface areas that enhanced the neutralization process. These structural properties contributed to the excellent catalytic performance which removed the NAs in the PPM's crude oil and concurrently reduced the TAN value below than one.

 

Keywords:  catalyst, catalytic neutralization, crude oil, naphthenic acid

 

 

Abstrak

Kehadiran asid naftenik (NA) dalam minyak mentah membawa kepada masalah kakisan dalam kilang penapisan minyak yang boleh meningkatkan kos penyelenggaraan dan menghasilkan minyak mentah yang berkualiti rendah. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk mengurangkan jumlah asid (TAN) minyak mentah Petronas Penapisan Melaka (PPM) (TAN = 2.43 mgKOH/g) menggunakan 2-metilimidazol dengan bantuan mangkin Cu/Ce (10:90)/ Al₂O₃ melalui teknik peneutralan pemangkin. 10% daripada 2-metilimidazol dalam larutan etanol digunakan sebagai agen penyingkiran asid. Pemangkin berasaskan serium oksida dengan kuprum sebagai dopan disokong pada alumina dan dikalsinkan pada suhu pengkalsinan berbeza 800 ℃, 900 ℃ dan 1000 ℃. Mangkin berpotensi dicirikan dengan menggunakan TGA-DTG, FTIR dan XRD untuk sifat fizikokimianya. Keputusan menunjukkan TAN dikurangkan kepada 0.53 mg KOH/g dengan pengurangan 78.2% pada suhu pengkalsinan mangkin 900 ℃, 0.5% pemuatan mangkin, suhu tindak balas 27 ℃ dan 10 minit masa tindak balas. Saiz zarah kecil pemangkin yang dikalsinkan pada 900 ℃ iaitu 18.02 nm membawa kepada kawasan permukaan yang lebih besar yang meningkatkan proses peneutralan. Ciri-ciri struktur ini menyumbang kepada prestasi pemangkin yang sangat baik yang mengeluarkan NA dalam minyak mentah PPM dan secara serentak mengurangkan nilai TAN di bawah satu.

 

Kata kunci:  mangkin, peneutralan pemangkin, minyak mentah, asid naftenik

 

 

Graphical Abstract

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