Online Technology Exchange Workshop

Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals

Abstracts
February 8, 2021 - Link for Registration: https://lnkd.in/ghUjwqZ
Speaker/Title of Presentation

Dr. Masato Morimoto, National Institute of Adv. Industrial Sc. Technology (AIST)
Modeling of Asphaltene Molecular Aggregation

Dr. Hiroshi Shintaku, Japan Petroleum Energy Center (JPEC)

RDS Catalyst Design Using Petroleomics Technology

Dr. Mohammad Mozahar Hossain, KFUPM

Kinetics of the Promotional Effects of Oil Soluble Dispersed Metal Catalysts on
Slurry Phase Hydrocracking of VGO

Dr. Toshiaki Taniike, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST)
Machine-learning-aided Structure Determination of Catalyst Nanostructures

Dr. Omer Refa Koseoglu, Saudi Aramco

Refining R&D activities in Saudi Aramco

Dr. Ziyauddin Qureshi, KFUPM, Dr. Yaming Jin, Saudi Aramco

Aromatization of Light Naphtha over Metal-Modified ZSM-5 Catalysts

Dr. Atsushi Ishihara, Mie University

Effects of a Matrix on Formation of Aromatic Compounds by Dehydrocyclization
of n-Pentane Using ZnZSM-5–Al2O3 Composite Catalysts
Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Modeling of Asphaltene Molecular Aggregation

Masato Morimoto
Energy Process Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science
and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan

Crude oil contains asphaltene, which is defined as a component that is insoluble in

heptane or hexane and soluble in toluene. Past studies have shown that asphaltene consists
of tens of thousands of heavy hydrocarbons with atoms such as nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen,
and some metals such as nickel and vanadium. Asphaltene exists as a molecular aggregate,
causing serious precipitation/deposition problems in petroleum processes such as oil-well
plugging in crude-oil production, fouling in pipelines, and catalyst deactivation in refineries.
Therefore, it is important to know their aggregation behaviors under different conditions.
Asphaltene molecules and their aggregation behaviors are modeled by ultra-high
resolution mass spectrometry with column separation methods, Rayleigh scattering
measurements, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurement, and Hansen solubility
parameter (HSP) analysis. The model enables us to determine the phase distribution of each
molecule and the degree of aggregation of their molecules under various conditions, which
is very helpful for engineering and improving the crude oil processes.

This research was supported by the Japan Petroleum Energy Center (JPEC) as a
technological development project entrusted by Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

Speaker Name Masato Morimoto

Present Position Leader, Group

Organization National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Education 3/2008: Ph.D. (Engineering), Kyoto University

4/2008-3/2010: AIST Postdoctoral Researcher,
AIST 4/2010-9/2012: Researcher, AIST
10/2012-3/2019: Senior Researcher,
AIST 4/2019-Current: Leader, Group,
Experience
AIST

Asphaltene aggregation analysis, molecular structure analysis, Hansen

solubility parameter analysis, light/X-ray scattering analysis, molecular
dynamic simulation, and organic synthesis of model compounds.

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Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

RDS Catalyst Design Using Petroleomics Technology

Hiroshi Shintaku
JPEC
Residue desulfurization (RDS) is one of the key processes to produce higher value products
from heavy fractions and effective to improve profitability of the refinery. Japan Petroleum
Energy Center (JPEC) has been developing “Petroleomics” since 2011, which enables us to
evaluate detailed chemical structures of heavy oils with FT-ICR MS. As one of application
targets for Petroleomics, we are challenging to design sophisticated RDS catalysts based on
big data from heavy oil components.
A series of Mo/Alumina based catalysts with different characteristics (pore diameter,
amount and types of additives, and Nickel/Cobalt ratio) were prepared and evaluated by
using 16-fold high throughput reactors. Properties of product oils were analyzed by FT-ICR
MS and correlated with catalyst characteristics by means of support vector machine (SVM).
Petroleomics analysis revealed reaction characteristics of prepared catalysts in molecular
level, e.g., Nickel/Cobalt ratio and the amount of support additive affected the selectivity of
hydrogenation for aromatic species in residue. The obtained results give new insights for
the catalyst design strategy to reduce polyaromatic compounds, which will lead to effective
reduction of Conradson carbon residue (CCR).
The application of response surface method for the rapid optimization of RDS catalyst
properties will also be presented.

Speaker Name Hiroshi Shintaku

Present Position Associate Senior Researcher

Japan Petroleum Energy Center (JPEC)
Organization
JGC Catalysts and Chemicals Ltd.
Doctor of Engineering
Education
(03/2015, Tokyo Institute of Technology)
04/2015-present. Researcher, JGC Catalysts and Chemicals Ltd.
Experience 04/2018-present. Associate Senior Researcher, Japan Petroleum Energy
Center (JPEC)

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Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Kinetics of the Promotional Effects of Oil Soluble Dispersed

Metal Catalysts on Slurry Phase Hydrocracking of VGO
Mohammad Mozahar Hossain
Chemical Engineering Department, KFUPM

The present research aims at investigating the promotional effects that can be attained
with dual water-soluble precursors and a bimetallic oil-soluble precursor for vacuum gas
oil (VGO) hydrocracking in a slurry-phase reactor. The synergistic effects of NiLTM were
investigated by employing it as a cocatalyst with a commercial hydrocracking catalyst.1 The
products analysis indicated that Ni-LTM significantly decreased the coke deposition on the
supported catalyst as noticed by the SEM images. The dispersed catalyst provides high
hydrogenation activity because of their small sizes that are similar to reactant molecules
which reduces the formation of coke and minimizes the fouling of equipment. The high
surface area-to-volume ratio of the dispersed catalysts reduced the mass transfer
limitations by minimizing the gradients of concentration and facilitating the reactants
diffusion inside the catalyst particles.2
A five-lump discrete reaction scheme was found suitable for the kinetic modeling of VGO
hydrocracking over the cocatalytic system. The estimated kinetic parameters show that
VGO has a higher probability of being converted to naphtha than distillate, which explains
the high selectivity of naphtha compared to the other pseudoproducts. The catalyst decay
constant decreased with the process severity indicating an enhancement of hydrogenation
by the dispersed catalysts.1,2

References
1. Bdwi E., Ali S., Quddus, M.R., Al-Bogami S., Razzak S.A., Hossain M.M., Kinetics of the
Promotional Effects of Oil Soluble Dispersed Metal (Mo, Co and Fe) Catalysts on Slurry
Phase Hydrocracking of VGO, Energy & Fuels 31 (3) (2017), 3132-3142.
2. Al-Rashidy A.H., Al-Attas, T., Ali, S.A., Al-Bogami S., Razzak S.A., Hossain M.M. (2019)
Hydrocracking of LVGO using dispersed catalysts derived from soluble precursors:
Performance evaluation and kinetics, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 58 (32)
(2019) 14709-14718.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Deanship of Scientific
Research (DSR) at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals through Project No. DF181018.

Speaker Name M. Mozahar Hossain

Present Position Professor, Chemical Engineering
Organization King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Education Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Western University
08/2009-Current: Professor (Asst. - 2009; Assoc.-2014), Chemical Eng., KFUPM
09/2008-08/2009: Sr. Research Engineer, Headwaters Tech. Innovation, NJ, USA
08/2007-08/2008: Research Engineer, CREC-UWO, Canada
Experience
Oxidative dehydrogenation of HC to olefins, Chemical-looping, CO2 capture and
utilization, Gasification of heavy oil/biomass, Hydrotreating of heavy oil.

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Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Machine-learning-aided Structure Determination of Catalyst Nanostructures

Toshiaki Taniike,a,b Gentoku Takasaoa, Toru Wadaa,b
a Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan
b Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), P.O. Box 902, 5600 AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands

In spite of their importance, nanostructures of practical heterogeneous catalysts are

hardly elucidated by experimental means. Recent developments in computers and DFT
calculations have enabled realistic simulation of complicated systems. However, the
bottleneck of the computational chemistry is at the fact that computational chemistry
requires a molecular model of materials as an initial structure: For complex materials like
heterogeneous catalysts, the construction of molecular models relies on physicochemical
inference or limited experimental clues, and inaccurate molecular models fall in wrong local
minima as a result of usual geometry optimization. A method for non-empirical structure
determination has been desired in this respect.
Recently, we have developed a non-empirical structure determination program, which
combines a genetic algorithm for global exploration and DFT calculations for local geometry
optimization. The program was successfully applied to the nanostructure of TiCl4/MgCl2 as
an olefin polymerization catalyst. The structure determination clarified that the adsorption
of TiCl4 as a catalytically active component accompanies a reconstruction of MgCl2
nanoplates, and this also causes structural diversification of the system. The latter fact is
plausibly related to the distribution of polyolefins produced by Ziegler-Natta catalysts.
The work of Toshiaki Taniike and Toru Wada forms a part of the research programme of
DPI, project no. 802.

Speaker Name Toshiaki Taniike

Present Position Professor
Organization Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST)
Education 3/2003: Ph.D (Science), University of Tokyo
1/2013-9/2020: Associate Professor,
JAIST 10/2020-Current: Full Professor,
Experience
JAIST
4/2020-Current: Director of International Excellent Core for Materials
Informatics

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Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Refining R&D activities in Saudi Aramco

Dr. Omer Refa Koseoglu

Introduction to the Refining R&D Activities in Saudi Aramco

Speaker Name Omer Refa Koseoglu

Present Position Principal Scientist
Organization R&DC, Saudi Aramco
Education Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1988
July 2014 - July 2016: Sr. Research Science Consultant
July 2001 - July 2016: Research Science Consultant, Science Specialist
July 2000 - January 2001: Staff Research Engineer, Conoco
Experience September 1995 - September 1999: Technology Specialist, IFP North America
May 1991 - September 1995: Technology Specialist, HRI Inc
March 1988 – May 1991: Research Engineer, Shell Canada Limited
Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Light Paraffinic Naphtha to BTX Aromatics over Metal-Modified Pt/ZSM-5

Ziyauddin S. Qureshi,a A. M. Aitani a, M.N. Akhtar a, H. Alasiri a, O. Koseoglub, Yaming Jinb

a Center for Refining & Petrochemicals, KUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
b R&D Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia

The main utilization of C5-C6 paraffinic naphtha has been as a feedstock for steam cracking
(60%) plants for ethylene production and as an isomerate for gasoline blending (30%).
However, currently light naphtha components find less use as gasoline blending because of
their high vapor pressure and low-octane number.1 The aromatization of light naphtha into
benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) aromatics has attracted interest from industry and
academia because benzene and para-xylene are very important basic petrochemicals used
in the production of several economic value chemicals and polymers.
The conversion of light paraffinic naphtha into BTX aromatics was conducted using 1.0 wt%
Pt-M/ZSM-5 (modifier M = 1 wt% Zn, 2 wt% of Fe, La, Ga) prepared using wet-impregnation
method. Our findings reveal dramatic differences in catalyst performance over the modified
Pt-Ga/ZSM-5 catalyst, with aromatic selectivities enhanced by ~2-fold compared to H-ZSM-
5. Collectively, this work provides new insights into the design of modified Pt-M/ZSM-5-
containing zeolite catalysts for light naphtha upgrading.2

References
1. A. Aitani, M.N. Akhtar, S. Al-Khattaf, Y. Jin, O. Koseoglu, Catalytic upgrading of light naphtha to
gasoline blending components: A mini review. Energy Fuels 33 (2019) 3828-3843.
2. M. Ellouh, Z.S. Qureshi, A. Aitani, M.N. Akhtar, Y. Jinc, O. Koseoglu, H. Alasiri, Light paraffinic naphtha
to BTX aromatics over metal modified Pt/ZSM-5. Chemistry Select 5 (2020) 13807–13813.

Speaker Name Ziyauddin S. Qureshi

Present Position Research Scientist
Organization Center for Refining & Petrochemicals, Research Institute, King Fahd University
of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM)
Education 01/2012: PhD (Science), Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, INDIA
Experience 03/2012-03/2013: Research Associate, NUS, Singapore
04/2013-04/2016: Postdoc Fellow, KAUST, Saudi
Arabia
04/2017-Current: Research Scientist, Center for Refining & Petrochemicals, KFUPM,
Saudi Arabia

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Abstracts Online Workshop
Innovative Refining & Petrochemicals
February 8, 2021

Effects of a Matrix on Formation of Aromatic Compounds by

Dehydrocyclization of n-Pentane Using ZnZSM-5–Al2O3 Composite Catalysts

Atsushi Ishihara,* Kentarou Takai, Tadanori Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Nasu

Mie University, Japan

Mesoporous alumina and Zn-exchanged ZSM-5 were combined and its effect on the activity
and selectivity of aromatic compounds were investigated in dehydrocyclization of n-
pentane. A conventional kneading method was used to prepare the composite catalysts with
the weight ratios of ZnZSM-5, Al2O3 and a binder of 85:0:15, 75:10:15 and 65:20:15.
Dehydrocyclization of n-pentane was performed using a fixed-bed reactor under the
conditions, H2 atmosphere and temperature range 450-550oC. ZnZSM/0A (85wt% ZnZSM-
5, 0wt% Al2O3, 15wt% binder) exhibited the highest conversion. The selectivity for toluene
and benzene increased with increasing temperature while it decreased in the order
ZnZSM/10A> ZnZSM/0A> ZnZSM/20A. The result indicated that the use of mesoporous
Al2O3 as a matrix would be very effective for this reaction and draw the maximum catalytic
functions. When the reaction route was estimated from the amounts of methane, C2 and C3
fractions formed, it was proposed that active Zn species would catalyze the aromatization
of olefins where benzene is formed from ethene and butene, toluene from propene and
butene, and xylene from 2 molecules of butane.

Speaker Name Atsushi Ishihara

Present Position Professor
Organization Mie University (2006-present time)
Education PhD (1989, Kyoto University)
Assistant Professor (1989-1994) and Associate Professor (1994-2006) in
Experience
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

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