Kinetics of non-catalytic hydrocracking of Athabasca bitumen

Abstract The kinetics of non-catalytic hydrocracking of Athabasca bitumen were studied in a batch reactor at 648–693 K and at an initial hydrogen pressure of 7.2 MPa. The reaction products were separated into coke, asphaltenes, resins, aromatics, saturates and gases. Reaction time versus product yield curves were obtained for the above six product groups. Two simple reaction models were proposed. In the first, bitumen is considered to be a single reactant and the hydrocracking reaction a single irreversible reaction. The activation energy for bitumen consumption was found to be 150 kJ mol −1 . In the second model, coke, asphaltenes, maltenes and gases are treated as components. Activation energies for the reactions were found to be in the range 142–284 kJ mol −1 . Hydrocracking reactions were found to be first order. Activation energies for the hydrocracking reactions are compared with those for thermal cracking reactions.