Preparation of disk-like α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and their catalytic effect on extra heavy crude oil upgrading

In this paper, disk-like α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by one-step via an n-octyl alcohol-mediated self-assembly process and were subsequently used as the catalyst for the updating of heavy crude oil. The characterization results show that the diameter of the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 disks is in the range of 150–200 nm and the nanoparticles have a hematite structure with [1 1 0] preferred orientation. The catalyst strongly acts on the asphaltene and causes its lower S content and N content, lower aromaticity and aromatic condensation, and higher branchiness index. Adding tetralin causes the increment of aromatics content, the decrease of resin, and more molecules containing aromatic moieties bearing 2 and 3 rings. The viscosity of the Shengli extra heavy oil reduced substantially from 161180 mPa∙s to 45882 mPa∙s (50 °C) through the combination of the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and tetralin (a hydrogen donor).