Alexey Vakhin

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University · Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies

The article is dedicated to the development of a new method for the sulphur-containing compound impurities analysis in mixtures of liquid hydrocarbons and corresponding oil fractions, based on the quenching of CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots photoluminescence effect. The control of quantitative content of such impurities in oil samples is very important...

The article provides an overview of ion-modified waterflooding technology, also known as low salinity, controlled salinity, or Smart water. This technology is currently considered one of the most promising approaches in the development of oil deposits in carbonate reservoirs due to its economic efficiency and environmental safety. The article discu...

Currently, a global attention has been paid to the development and exploitation of shallow depth heavy oil reservoirs. Such oilfields are rationally developed via a network of horizontal wells. However, the weakly cemented reservoir rock beds lead to the high sand production during well flow. Removing mechanical impurities is still challenging even...

The application of ultrasonic waves in the processing of hydrocarbons is a new promising technology that has developed rapidly in recent years. However, the acoustic-induced cavitation erosion phenomenon is poorly studied. In this paper, a comparison study of cavitation erosion was carried out in water and oils with different viscosities produced f...

Aquathermolysis is a promising process for improving the quality of heavy oil under reservoir conditions. However, the application of catalysts during the process can significantly promote the transformation of the heavy fragments and heteroatom-containing compounds of crude oil mixtures into low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons. This research paper c...

The catalytic activity of metal oxides in the processes of low- and high-temperature oxidation (LTO and HTO, respectively) of oil was studied on model systems consisting of oil-saturated quartz sand with additives of Al2O3, Cr2O3 and MgO using thermal analysis methods. The used additives were shown to shift the LTO and HTO processes to the low-temp...

The purpose of this study is to enhance the quality of heavy oil through refinement using aquathermolysis with the simultaneous injection of steam and thermally stable nonionic surfactants (NS). To achieve this, the NS R-PPG of the nonionic type was synthesized, and the optimal product structures were characterized using infrared (IR) methods. Furt...

Catalytic aquathermolysis is one of the key and cost-effective chemical method for recovering heavy oil. This process transforms the asphaltene and resin compounds of the oil into lighter fractions. Oil-soluble transition metal-based catalysts have been reported as efficient catalysts that improve the viscosity reduction efficiency of the aquatherm...

Aquathermolysis is a promising method to upgrade heavy oil in reservoir conditions. However, application of catalysts can significantly promote transformation of the heavy fragments (resins and asphaltenes) and heteroatom-containing compounds of crude oil mixture into low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons. In this paper, the comparison study of the cat...

This paper examines the transformation of heavy oil composition in porous media of carbonate reservoir rocks under hydrothermal processes in the presence of transition metal sulfides, which form in-situ from the organic-soluble precursors. It was revealed that catalysts significantly promoted the destruction of asphaltenes. Its content was reduced...

Steam-based thermal enhanced oil recovery techniques are widely applied methods to unlock heavy oil and natural bitumen resources. In this paper, two oil-soluble surfactants, as a subset of chemical additives, are introduced to favor the in situ catalytic hydrothermal upgrading of heavy oil. The solubility, salt tolerance, and thermal stability of...

Aquathermolysis is one of the crucial processes being considered to successfully upgrade and irreversibly reduce the high viscosity of heavy crude oil during steam enhanced oil recovery technologies. The aquathermolysis of heavy oil can be promoted by transition metal-based catalysts. In this study, the catalytic performance of two water-soluble ca...

Ultrasound technologies are well-known for their ability to intensify the heat and mass transfer processes. Hence, ultrasonic treatment processes are widely applied for the separation of oil–water emulsions, optimization of oil pumping processes, cleaning the bottomhole zone, etc. However, the main phenomenon under the positive influence of ultraso...

State-of-the-art in the field of recovering high-molecular-mass hydrocarbon components of bituminous and shale rocks by intrastratum transformation into readily recoverable forms using sub- and supercritical water is analyzed. The phase composition of water and its properties in the critical state and the transformations of a number of substances i...

The present review paper discusses the different aspects related to the chemical transformation of oil components through ultrasound assistance. Ultrasound intensifies heat and mass transfer processes in oil production and treatment, which is used to separate water–oil emulsions, optimize pumping, clean the bottomhole zone, and more. The main reaso...

A comparative study of changes in the microelemental composition and distribution in resins, asphaltenes, and kerogens from Tatarstan Domanik rocks, occurring under the action of supercritical water (SCW) at 374°С and a pressure of 22–24 MPa, was made. The samples studied belong to different lithological types; they were taken from carbonate–silice...

In this study, for the first time we investigated the in situ upgrading performance of Na metal nanoparticles, which were obtained by dispersing small pieces of sodium in liquid paraffin up to certain dispersity. In situ aquathermolytic reactions were modeled in a high pressure–high temperature reactor coupled with a Gas Chromatography (GC) system...

The high viscosity of heavy oil is the main challenge hindering its production. Catalytic thermolysis can be an effective solution for the upgrading of heavy oil in reservoir conditions that leads to the viscosity reduction of native oil and increases the yield of light fractions. In this study, the thermolysis of heavy oil produced from Ashalchins...

Catalytic thermolysis is considered to be an effective process for viscosity reduction, the conversion of high-molecular components of oil (resins and asphaltenes) into light hydrocarbons, and the desulfurization of hydrocarbons. In this paper, we conducted non-catalytic and catalytic thermolysis of a heavy oil sample isolated from the Ashalcha oil...

Heavy and extra-heavy oil are generating considerable interest in terms of replacing light oil role in the next few years. Nowadays, various enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are under development for an effective exploration and oil refining of unconventional oil sources. Electrical methods are among the most commonly discussed types of EOR tech...

In order to evaluate the efficiency of the catalytic aquathermolysis process, physical modeling was carried out on bituminous sediments of Paleocene–Miocene carbonate rocks, characterized by the presence of open and closed fractures. In this context, three filtration experiments were performed on an unextracted reservoir model with extra-viscous oi...

In-situ conversion of carbon dioxide into value-added products is an essential process in terms of heavy oil upgrading and utilization of the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas. In this paper, we discuss a synthesis of sodium-coated magnetite (Fe3O4) particles for in-reservoir hydrogenation of CO2. The performance of the obtained catalyst was tested...

Until now, fossil fuels have played an important role in the daily life of human beings and civilization [...]

It is common knowledge that the world’s economic growth is mainly based on hydrocarbon exploitation and processing, regardless of the political efforts towards developing renewable energy [...]

In this paper the effect of supercritical water (SCW) at 374 °C and 22.4–24.6 MPa on the conversion of resins, asphaltenes, and kerogens in rocks of different lithofacies of Domanic deposits of Romashkino, Tavely and Bavly oilfields of Tatarstan was discussed. A feature of the rocks is the different content of organic carbon (7.07, 1.90 and 0.33 %,...

Heavy oil and natural bitumen resources in carbonate formations are huge and considered as the promising alternative energy resource to the conventional crude oils. However, the production of such resources is challenging due to the low permeability, high viscosity and significant content of resins and asphaltenes in the composition of heavy oil an...

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing since immediately after the boom of industrialization. Novel technologies are required for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, storage, and its chemical conversion into value-added products. In this study, we present a novel in situ CO2 utilization method via a hydrogenation proces...

The past decade has seen a renewed importance in developing heavy oil reserves due to the rapid raise in energy resources’ demand. The next decade is likely to witness a considerable rise in extracting these resources by thermally enhanced oil recovery methods. However, many hypotheses regarding the influence of reservoir mineral components on aqua...

The most widely applied methods to unlock heavy oil and natural bitumen resources in the world are still based on steam injection techniques. Improving the efficiency of hydrothermal processes poses a great challenge. The co-injection of various additives is practiced to lower the steam-to-oil ratio (SOR), viscosity alteration and to improve heavy...

In-situ combustion has received much attention in the last few decades for enhanced heavy oil recovery processes. Although a wide part of research efforts has only focused on the application of different oil soluble catalysts to improve the combustion flame stabilization, the effect of ligand structure and metal-ligand interactions on the performan...

One of the main topics that generate the interest of experts nowadays involves the processes of organic matter chemical transformation during heavy and shale oil reservoirs’ development via thermally enhanced oil recovery. It is common knowledge that the host rock has a catalytic effect on the ongoing processes. In addition, oil transformation is m...

In this paper, we propose the synthesis of green amphiphilic catalysts based on two metals: Ni and Al. The amphiphilic characteristics of the obtained catalyst were provided by alkylbenzenesulfonic acid (ABSA). The end product was thoroughly characterized by the FTIR analysis method. The efficiency of both catalysts was tested by modeling the catal...

Peat has attracted considerable interest as a potential source of alternative fuel in terms of improving hydrocarbons production and satisfying market demand. The next decade is likely to witness a raise in its exploitation. Nevertheless, the characteristics of peat pyrolysis process, via which many experts expect a considerable generation of hydro...

Our knowledge of electromagnetic heating’s effect on heavy oil upgrading is largely based on very limited data. The aim of the present research was thus to study in detail the effect of microwave exposure in the absence and presence of nanosized magnetite on the composition of heavy oil. The obtained data reveal that the use of nanosized magnetite...

There is still considerable controversy surrounding the mechanisms, thermodynamics, and kinetics of heavy oil aquathermolysis and pyrolysis processes. The present paper aims to widen our knowledge about the effect of iron tallates on pyrolysis and aquathermolysis of Cuban heavy oil. The obtained SARA (S: saturates, A: aromatics, R: resins, A: aspha...

In this work, physical modeling of thermal steam treatment of high viscosity oil without and with the addition of a suspended catalyst to the system was performed. The aim of the magnetite effect for the in- situ upgrading in the production of high viscosity oils was to reduce the content of asphalt-resinous compounds and their molecular weight, wh...

The composition of hydrocarbons (HCs) generated in the course of transformation of the organic matter (OM) of domanik rocks from high-carbon siliceous–carbonate–clay deposits of the Romashkino (Соrg 7.07%) and Taveli (Соrg 1.90%) fields and from low-carbon carbonate deposits of the Bavly field (Соrg 0.33%) in supercritical water (SCW) at 374°С and...

The effect of 1-propanol on the transformation of the organic matter (OM) of the domanik rock of the Romashkino field with the Соrg content of 7.26% in supercritical water (SCW) at 374°С was studied. The OM undergoes essential changes in the course of these experiments. According to the Rock-Eval data, addition of 1-propanol to the SCW reaction med...

The article examines the aquathermolysis process of high viscosity oil from Strelovskoe field developed by RITEK LLC using steam injection. Laboratory modeling of non-catalytic and catalytic aquathermolysis in a high-pressure reactor was performed. Laboratory tests have demonstrated the high efficiency of the iron-based oil-soluble catalyst develop...

Nowadays, it is especially important and relevant to improve the efficiency of existing methods of enhanced oil recovery, in particular, thermal methods using water steam. The use of catalysis at the stage of development of unconventional hydrocarbon fields, namely super-viscous and bituminous oils, will allow solving this problem. This work is dev...

The present paper reports experiments on microwave heating of a carbonate oil-containing rock sample in the presence and absence of an iron-magnetite-based nanocatalyst. It has been shown that the used catalyst improves the processes of destructive hydrogenation of resins and asphaltenes compounds in the oil. The chemical reactions analysis demonst...

Peat is a resource used for heat and energy, particularly in countries where peat is abundant and conventional fuels are not available. Some countries have made extensive use of peat resources to produce electricity and heat in addition to light hydrocarbons. By doing so, they were able to reduce the cost of importing fossil fuels. To the best of o...

This present paper investigates the conversion of organic matter in carbonate rocks of the Semiluksko-Mendymsky horizon Volga-Ural Basin under hydrothermal conditions with excess water in subcritical conditions at 613–653 K and 170–200 Bar. It has been found that the content of hydrocarbon extracts increases (relatively) which indicates the oil-gen...

Increasing the efficiency of thermal recovery methods is an important and relevant task. This study is devoted to reducing heavy components (resins and asphaltenes) and quality improvement of heavy oil by catalytic hydrothermal treatment. The object of this study is a bituminous sandstone sample from the Ashal’cha reservoir. The catalytic (iron tal...

Aluminum oxides and hydroxides are widely applied because of the great variety of their modifications. In particular, aluminum oxides and hydroxides are used in petrochemistry and oil refining. However, amorphous aluminum compounds have not been sufficiently studied due to the complexity of their synthesis and the problems encountered during their...

A nickel-based catalyst precursor has been synthesized for in-situ upgrading of heavy crude oil that is capable of increasing the efficiency of steam stimulation techniques. The precursor activation occurs due to the decomposition of nickel tallate under hydrothermal conditions. The aim of this study is to analyze the efficiency of in-situ catalyti...

The hydrocarbon compositions of shale oils, generated from two different lithological–facial Domanic deposits of the Tatarstan Republic (Russia), were studied under hydrothermal impact with 30% of water addition in a 350 °С and CO2 environment. The samples were extracted from carbonate–siliceous rocks of the Semiluky–Mendym deposits of the Berezovs...

Hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, HAp) doped with various transition metals has generated great interest in view of its potential application in a wide variety of fields, including in catalysis as a support with a series of attractive properties. Despite a large number of experimental works devoted to the synthesis and application of iron-substitute...

For the sub-THz range, a method for studying the electrodynamic characteristics of organic materials - caustobiolithes - is developed on the basis of a resonator spectrometer. In the frequency range 110 ÷ 260 GHz, the dielectric parameters (refractive index n and tanδ) of peat powders after its microwave processing in the process of «soft» pyrolysi...

The aim of this work was to study the fractional composition of super-viscous oil resins from the Ashalcha field, as well as the catalytic aquathermolysis product in the presence of a cobalt-containing catalyst precursor and a hydrogen donor. The study was conducted at various durations of thermal steam exposure. In this regard, the work enabled th...

The active form of an iron-containing catalyst, an Fe(II, III) mixed oxide, was studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy in order to identify the mechanism of formation of catalysts used for upgrading of heavy oil from Ashalchinsk field. The iron-oxide phase participates in the formation process by breaking carbon–heteroatom bonds in high-molecular-mass c...

Electromagnetic impact on oil reservoir manifests itself in various physical and chemical phenomena and attracts a significant scientific and technological interest. Microwave (MW) radiation heating can be more efficient for the oil recovery than heat transfer by convection or by thermal conduction. MW influence can also lead to significant changes...

In the present work, we studied the catalytic performance of an oil-soluble nickel-based catalyst during aquathermolysis of oil-saturated crushed cores from Boca de Jaruco extra-heavy oil field. The decomposition of nickel tallate and some aspects of in-situ transformation of the given catalyst precursor under the steam injection conditions were in...

A study on the catalytic oxidation of heavy residual oil (HRO) was carried out. The thermodynamic parameters of components of HRO oxidation products were studied by pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A method for the quantitative assessment of thermodynamic parameters of HRO components and oxidized bitumen using pulsed NMR is presented. The r...

In this study, the specific features of Ashal'cha heavy oil conversion were revealed. The hydrothermal catalytic experiments were carried out in a CO2 environment and in the presence of oil-soluble carboxylate metals such as Fe, Co, and Cu at the temperature of 300 °C. The results have shown that the catalyst and minerals of reservoir rocks have si...

The aquathermolysis process is widely considered to be one of the most promising approaches of in-situ upgrading of heavy oil. It is well known that introduction of metal ions speeds up the aquathermolysis reactions. There are several types of catalysts such as dispersed (heterogeneous), water-soluble and oil soluble catalysts, among which oil-solu...

Studies on the conversion of organic matter of high-carbon Domanik (siliceous-clay carbonate) rock of the Romashkinskoye deposit with a mineral content C org of 7.07% in sub- and supercritical water have been carried out. It was shown that subcritical water at a temperature of 320°С and 17.0 MPa leads to a partial decomposition of the kerogenic str...

This work presents the results of physical modeling of the process of steam stimulation together with solvent and catalyst injection on a bulk core model to increase the recovery factor (RF) of high-viscosity oil from the May-orovskoye heavy oil field. A series of filtration experiments was carried out to select the optimal injection modes and cond...

The article reviewed the catalysts used for upgrading high-viscosity oil in the reservoir. It is concluded that the most widespread and effective catalysts are oil-soluble complexes based on transition metals.