7^th World Congress on Chemical Engineering and Catalysis July 22-23, 2020 Florence, Italy

Biography:

Dr Oscar Kelly completed his PhD in the thermoreversible gelation of aqueous cellulose ethers from the University of Sheffield. He then worked for three years as a research scientist at FUJIFILM (Manchester, UK) developing polymeric dispersants for pigments. Since he has been working at BYK Additives Ltd. (Widnes, UK), firstly as a development chemist in the R&D department overseeing projects to produce new synthetic inorganic additives and acid activated montmorillonite clay catalysts. More recently he has been working as the End Use Clay Catalyst Lab Manager appluication testing clay catalysts in different reactions and developing new business.
 

Abstract:

As the World shifts to a greener more sustainable future, processes and reagents the chemical industry have depended upon for years are increasingly under greater scrutiny. One approach to the challenge of finding better ways of producing the same quality is to look to past catalyst technologies that have fallen out of favor in recent years. Clay, more specifically montmorillonite, based catalysts have been used for many years as clean, cost effective solid Lewis or Brønsted acid catalysts. At low moisture contents, the ionising effect of the charged calcium montmorillonite surfaces can generate Hammett acidities of -3. Acid activation can push the Hammett acidities to as low as -8 as well as open up potent Al³⁺ and Fe³⁺ Lewis acid sites. Said acidified montmorillonites have been reported as being excellent catalysts for a range of reactions, including but not limited to: Friedel-Crafts alkylation, esterification, dehydration, siloxane equilibration and Diels-Alder cyclo-addition. In addition to their inherent catalytic properties smectitic clays have the potential to be used as supports for reactive ionic or crystalline metal centres through such preparative techniques as intercalation, pillaring or reductive seeding of metal nano-particles.

In this presentation we will firstly detail the perfromance of FULCAT^® acid activated clay catalysts in Friedel-Crafts nonylation of diphenylamine (DPA), polymerisation of cyclic siloxanes and esterification reactions. These reactions were chosen due to their commercial importance. In the final part of the poster we briefly explore the opportunities for synthetic clays as scaffolds for metal nano-particles.

Biography:

Dr. María del Mar Mesa graduated in Chemistry and completed her doctorate in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cádiz (Spain) in 1998. She then applied for a posdoctoral position at the University of Geneva. Having lectured in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Food Technologies at the University of Cádiz for several years, Dr. Mesa took the position of assistant professor in 2004. Her research activity has primarily focused on bioprocess engineering, and is currently working on the design and preparation of polymeric scaffolds with potential applications in tissue engineering using sol-gel techniques.

Abstract:

Cellulose-silica aerogels are fascinating materials featuring high porosity, low density and biocompatible properties that can be useful in many biomedical applications. However, their lack of sufficient mechanical stability makes them inappropriate for some purposes. In our effort to produce more durable and stronger aerogels and to improve their absorption capacity, hydrolysed collagen was used as a reinforcing agent. Collagen and cellulose were integrated into silica networks by means of the sol-gel process and then dried in supercritical conditions using CO2. Different amounts of cellulose and collagen were employed, and Ca(NO3)2ꞏ4H2O and KH2PO4 were added to induce the production of hydroxyapatite. Structural characterization tests (uniaxial compression, BET method, TGA curves, FTIR analyses, and SEM) conducted on the collagen-cellulose-silica aerogels showed that their compressive properties greatly exceed those of plain cellulose aerogels, and that, unlike the latter, the former exhibited elastomeric behaviour. Their absorption capacity properties were also measured by immersing them in simulated body fluid (SBF). Results proved that the stable structure and effective swelling of cellulose aerogels improved significantly by the use of collagen (swelling ratio from 80 to 96 %). Finally, the bioactivity of scaffolds was evaluated by examining the formation of a biologically active carbonate apatite layer on its surface after immersion in SBF. These promising results led us to carry out cell adhesion/attachment tests, which revealed the presence of osteoblast cells on the scaffolds’ surface. We can conclude that the prepared cellulose/silica aerogels may be used as tissue engineering scaffolds. Biography

Biography:

Nora  Andrea Guerrero Gómez. Chemical Engineer graduated from the Industrial University of Santander. Specialist in instrumental chemical analysis of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Master's student in Hydrocarbons Engineering of the Industrial University of Santander, belonging to the improved recovery research group of the same university

Abstract:

The addition of solvent to cyclic steam stimulation is done to reduce the SOR (vapor oil ratio). Generally, in the middle or late stages once a certain pressure drop occurs in the process, this ratio can increase significantly.

Naphtha, which is generally used to transport heavy oil, is the solvent used in this investigation. The study of the use of naphtha in addition to the cyclic steam stimulation has been mainly oriented to the effect it achieves on the incremental recovery compared to the application of steam only. However, the effect of naphtha on the reactivity of crude oil components under conditions of cyclic steam stimulation or if its effect is the only dilution has not yet been considered. The present study aims to evaluate and analyze the effect of naphtha in conditions of cyclic steam stimulation, on the permanent composition of the improved oil, as well as the rheological behavior of crude oil, after varying the steam - naphtha ratio. Tests were carried out with the system solvent (naphtha) – oil (12.5 ° API, 4216 cP @ 40° C) - steam, in a batch micro-reactor, under conditions of cyclic steam stimulation (240 - 300 °C, 700-1400 psi). The characterization of the samples obtained was carried out by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry) and NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) techniques. The results indicate that there is a rearrangement of the microstructure of asphaltenes, resulting in a decrease in these and an increase in lighter components such as resins.

Biography:

Paola Leon is a Petroleum engineer and Master of science in hydrocarbons engineering with experience in reservoir engineering, EOR, numerical reservoir simulation, laboratory equipment operation and research. She has been involved in the Recobro Mejorado research group from the Universidad Industrial de Santander for more than six years. She has  worked in topics like the effect of catalytic aquathermolysis on the enhanced recovery of heavy oils during steamflooding processes, economic evaluation of enhanced oil recovery projects, steamflooding in medium and light oil fields, the effect of the viscosity variation of heavy oil on the injection rate in steam injection processs, and the use of analytical characterization techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance

Abstract:

The enhanced oil recovery by steam injection was considered a process that only generated physical recovery mechanisms. However, there is evidence of the occurrence of a series of chemical reactions which are called aquathermolysis. These reactions can be favored by the addition of a catalyst during steam injection, in this way it is possible to generate the original oil in situ upgrading through the production increase of molecules of lower molecular weight. Therefore, this research has focused on the experimental evaluation of the catalytic aquathermolysis on a Colombian heavy oil The effect of three different catalyst, reaction time and temperature were evaluated. The changes on the Colombian heavy oil were quantified through nuclear magnetic resonance 1H-NMR. The average number of aliphatic carbons in alkyl chains, the number of substituted rings and the aromaticity factor were established as average structural parameters in order to simplify the samples compositional analysis. Firstly, each catalyst develops a different reaction mechanism. The aromaticity factor has an increasing order from the used salts in the order Mo > Fe > Ni. However, the upgraded oil obtained with iron naphthenate tends to form a higher content of mono-aromatic In the other hand, the results obtained from the second experimentation phase suggest that the upgraded oils have a smaller difference in the length of alkyl chains in the range of 240 to 270 ° C. This parameter has lower values at 300 ° C, which indicates that the cleavage reactions of alkyl chains govern at higher reaction temperatures. The presence of condensation reactions is supported by the behavior of the aromaticity factor and the bridge carbons production between aromatic rings (RCH₂).

Biography:

Sofía Mecón is a member of the Recobro Mejorado research group from the Universidad Industrial de Santander working on thermal recovery processes research line as steam injection with catalytic projects and development a research with emphasis on the mineralogy effect of aquathermolysis catalytic and the use and analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance.

Abstract:

During Steam Injection, the viscosity reduction and light oil fraction distillation are the most evident physical modifications. Nevertheless, once steam is injected, the occurrence of chemical reactions between organic petroleum compounds, injected steam and formation minerals called aquathermolysis have also been evidenced. Under controlled conditions, like the addition of a catalyst, these reactions generate changes in the molecular structure of the oil, producing an in situ upgrading. Therefore, this research was focused on the analysis and assessment of the in situ upgrading of a Colombian heavy oil under different mineralogical conditions. The influence of two lithologies in the presence of iron naphthenate as a catalyst at 270 ° C and 800 psi into a batch microreactor was studied. The oil physical variations were quantified through density and viscosity measurements, the elucidation of the oil molecular structure, molecular weight and modifications on aromatic and saturated fractions were quantified based on nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H -NMR). The results showed that clay minerals such as kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite act as catalytic agents in steam injection processes, reducing oil viscosity up to 80%. This effect is associated with the presence of metals and metalloids as iron, aluminum and silicon in the minerals. The changes in the properties of the oil are directly associated with modifications of the chemical structure, due to dealkylation, hydrogenation and condensation reactions, related to the variation of average molecular parameters as the aromaticity factor and the number of substituted rings.