Upgradation of Heavy Crude Oil Via Hydrodynamic Cavitation Through Variations in Asphaltenes

In this work, Saudi heavy crude oil (SHCO) was upgraded by the hydrodynamic cavitation technique. The collapse of cavitation bubbles instantly produces extreme conditions such as high temperature, pressure, and jet flow and strong shear forces, which can play a significant role in the upgradation process. The results revealed that the viscosity and Conradson carbon residue of SHCO decreased from 13.61 to 7.22 mm(2)/s and from 7.16% to 6.48%, respectively. True boiling point distillation findings showed that the vacuum residue (VR) decreased by 1%. Atmospheric-pressure photoionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were employed to characterize the molecular composition, crystalline structure, asphaltene aggregate particle size distribution, functional groups, and morphology, respectively, to understand the effects of hydrodynamic cavitation on asphaltenes. The obtained results demonstrate that hydrodynamic cavitation upgradation reduced the interaction forces between the asphaltene molecules, weakening the crystalline structure of the asphaltene aggregates, reducing the degree of association of the aromatic compounds in SHCO and asphaltenes, and decreasing the average particle size. The delayed coking properties of the VR were further investigated, and the cavitation treatment was found to decrease the coke yield by 1.85% and increase the liquid and gas yields by 1.52% and 0.33%, respectively. Hence, hydrodynamic cavitation can effectively enhance the processing performance of crude oil by improving the properties and structural characteristics of asphaltenes.