Neftyanaya Provintsiya
electronic peer-reviewed scholarly publication
Neftyanaya provintsiya No. 1(45), 2026

In-situ transformation of transformation of high-viscosity oil in the presence of metal tallates under hydrothermal conditions

I.I. Mukhamatdinov, R.E. Mukhamatdinova, A.V. Vakhin
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25689/NP.2026.1.263-283

Abstract


This paper examines the composition and structure of high-viscosity oil formed in situ from an oil-soluble iron- and cobalt-based precursor under hydrothermal conditions. It was found that resins and asphaltenes are destroyed by transition metal catalysts. Experiments were conducted using oil-soluble iron and cobalt carboxylates in the presence of a hydrogen donor. The use of catalyst precursors was found to affect the gas composition of the aquathermolysis products, their rheological properties, and their component composition. Thermal catalytic action with the addition of cobalt tallate resulted in a 2.5-fold decrease in viscosity at 150°C and a 1.5-fold decrease at 200°C. A similar 1.5-fold decrease was also observed with an iron-based catalyst precursor.

Key words:

heavy oil, catalyst precursor, metal tallates, resin-asphaltene substances, catalytic activity, hydrothermal conditions, component composition

References

1. Desouky S., Sabagh A. A., Betiha M. A., Badawi A., Ghanem A., Khalil S. Catalytic Aquathermolysis of Egyptian Heavy Crude Oil // International Journal of Chemical and Molecular Engineering. 2013. Vol. 7. P. 638-643.

2. Premuzic E.T., Lin M.S. Induced biochemical conversions of heavy crude oils // Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering. 1999. Vol. 22. P. 171-180.

3. Xia T.X., Greaves M. Upgrading Athabasca Tar Sand Using Toe-to-Heel Air Injection // SPE/CIM International Conference on Horizontal Well Technology. 2000.

4. Pineda-Perez L.A., Carbognani L., Spencer R.J., Maini B., Pereira-Almao P. Hydrocarbon Depletion of Athabasca Core at Near Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) Conditions // Energy & fuels. 2010. Vol. 24. P. 5947–5954.

5. Shokrlu Y.H., Maham Y., Tan X., Babadagli T., Gray M. Enhancement of the efficiency of in situ combustion technique for heavy-oil recovery by application of nickel ions // Fuel. 2013. Vol. 105. P. 397-407.

6. Maity S.K., Ancheyta J., Marroquín G. Catalytic Aquathermolysis Used for Viscosity Reduction of Heavy Crude Oils: A Review // Energy&Fuels. 2010. Vol. 24. P. 2809–2816.

7. Malaniy S.Ya., Slavkina O.V., Ryazanov A.A., Sennikov N.Yu., Akhmetov A.A., Tsvetkov S.V., Mukhamtdinov I.I., Vakhin A.V., Ivanova A.A. Primeneniye tekhnologii kataliticheskogo akvatermoliza na Ctrelovskom mestorozhdenii Samarskoy oblasti [Field test of catalytic aquathermolysis technology at Strelovskoye oil field in the Samara region] // Neftyanoye khozyaystvo. 2022. №12. С. 118-121. (in Russian)

8. Mukhamatdinov, I.I., Salih, I.S.S., Rakhmatullin, I.Z., Sviridenko, N.N., Pevneva, G.S., Sharma, R.K., Vakhin, A.V. Transformation of Resinous Components of the Ashalcha Field Oil during Catalytic Aquathermolysis in the Presence of a Cobalt-Containing Catalyst Precursor // Catalysts 2021. Vol. 11 (6).

9. Mukhamatdinov I.I., Salih I.Sh.S., Ismael M., Aliev F.A., Davletshin R.R., Vakhin A.V. Influence of Naphthenic Hydrocarbons and Polar Solvents on the Composition and Structure of Heavy-Oil Aquathermolysis Products // Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2021. Vol. 60. P. 13191-13203.

10. Mukhamatdinov I.I., Giniyatullina E.E., Mukhamatdinova R.E., Slavkina O.V., Shchekoldin K.A., Vakhin A.V. Influence of Naphthenic Hydrocarbons and Polar Solvents on the Composition and Structure of Heavy-Oil Aquathermolysis Products // SOCAR Proceedings. 2021. Vol. 2. P. 90-96.

11. Mukhamatdinov I.I., Khaidarova A.R., Mukhamatdinova R.E., Affane B., Vakhin A.V. Development of a catalyst based on mixed iron oxides for intensification the production of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks // Fuel. 2022. Vol. 312.

12. Vakhin A.V., Mukhamatdinov I.I., Sitnov S.A., Mukhamatdinova R.E., Simakov I.O., Nikitina E.A., Solovev A.V., Sansiev G.V., Dubrovin K.A., Sharifullin A.V., Nurgaliev D.K. Kataliticheskaya aktivnost' sul'fidov nikelya i zheleza pri destruktsii smolisto-asfal'tenovykh veshchestv vysokovyazkoy nefti v prisutstvii karbonatnoy porody v gidrotermal'nykh usloviyakh [Catalytic activity of nickel and iron sulfides in the degradation of resins and asphaltenes of high-viscosity oil in the presence of carbonate rock under hydrotermal conditions] // Kinetics and Catalysis. 2022. Т. 63. № 5. С. 569-576. (in Russian)

13. Chen Y., Wang Y., Wu C., Xia F. Laboratory Experiments and Field Tests of an Amphiphilic Metallic Chelate for Catalytic Aquathermolysis of Heavy Oil // Energy&Fuels. 2008. Vol. 22. P. 1502–1508.

14. Nalgieva Kh.V., Kopytov M.A., Cheshkova T.V., Krivtsov E.B., Mamontov G.V. Preobrazovanie asphaltenov vydelennyh iz tyagheloy syroi nefti pri kataliticheskom I nekataliticheskom aquatermolize [Conversion of Asphaltenes Recovered from Heavy Crude Oil During Catalytic and Non-Catalytic Aqua-Thermolysis] // Neft. Gaz. Novacii. 2021. № 6(247). С. 13-18. (in Russian)

15. Gang Chen, Weihua Yuan, Ya Wu, Zhang Jie, Song Hua, Jeje Ayodeji, Song Shaofu, Qu Chengtun. Kataliticheskiy akvatermoliz tyazheloy nefti koordinatsionnymi kompleksami perekhodnykh metallov pri ponizhennoy temperature [Catalytic aquathermolysis of heavy oil by transition metal coordination complexes at reduced temperatures] // Neftekhimiya. 2017. Т. 57. № 5. С. 558-561.

16. Petrov S.M., Ibragimova D.A., Abdelsalam Y.I.I., Kayukova G.P. Vliyaniye porodoobrazuyushchikh i kataliticheskikh dobavok na preobrazovaniye tyazheloy vysokovyazkoy nefti [Influence of rock-forming and catalytic additives on the conversion of heavy, high-viscosity oil] // Neftekhimiya. 2016. Т. 56. № 1. С. 24. (in Russian)

17. Dessouky S.M., Al-Sabagh A.M., Betiha Mohamed A., Badawi A., Ghanem A., Khalil S. Catalytic Aquathermolysis of Egyptian Heavy Crude Oil // Int J Chem, Nucl, Mater Metall Eng. 2013. Vol. 7. №8. P. 286-291.

18. Zhou Z., Slaný M., Kuzielová E., Zhang W., Ma L., Dong S., Zhang J., Chen G. Influence of reservoir minerals and ethanol on catalytic aquathermolysis of heavy oil. // Fuel. 2022. Vol. 307. P. 121871.

Authors

I.I. Mukhamatdinov, PhD in Engineering, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University
18 Kremlevskaya St., Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation
E-mail: iimuhamatdinov@gmail.com

R.E. Mukhamatdinova, PhD in Chemistry, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University
18 Kremlevskaya St., Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation
E-mail: Lkm.rm@mail.ru

A.V. Vakhin, PhD in Engineering, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Geology and Oil and Gas Technologies of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University
18 Kremlevskaya St., Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation
E-mail: vahin-a_v@mail.ru

For citation:

I.I. Mukhamatdinov, R.E. Mukhamatdinova, A.V. Vakhin Vnutriplastovoe preobrazovanie vysokovyazkoi nefti v prisutstvii tallatov metallov v gidrotermalnyh usloviyah [In-situ transformation of transformation of high-viscosity oil in the presence of metal tallates under hydrothermal conditions]. Neftyanaya Provintsiya, No. 1(45), 2026. pp. 263-283. DOI https://doi.org/10.25689/NP.2026.1.263-283. EDN AYIACC (in Russian)

© Non-governmental organization Volga-Kama Regional Division of the Russian Academy of Natural Science, 2015-2026 All the materials of the journal are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)