Reaction behavior of oil sand in fluidized-bed pyrolysis

The reaction behavior of oil sand from Inner Mongolia (China) were studied in a fluidized-bed pyrolysis process, and a comparative study was conducted on the properties of the liquid products obtained through fluidized-bed pyrolysis of oil sand and the native bitumen obtained by solvent extraction. The results indicated that the fluidized-bed pyrolysis, a feasible carbon rejection process, can be used to upgrade oil sand. The reaction temperature and time were found to be the key operating parameters affecting the product distribution and yields in fluidized-bed pyrolysis of oil sand. The optimal temperature was 490 °C and the most suitable reaction time was 5 min. Under these operation conditions, the maximum yield of liquid product was 80wt%. In addition, the pyrolysis kinetics of oil sand at different heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 30 °C/min was investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA).