Carbon deposition and oxidation using the waste red mud: A route to store, transport and use offshore gas lost in petroleum exploration

• Published in: Fuel (Guildford) 2014-05, Vol.124, p.7-13
• Main Authors: Teixeira, Ivo F., Medeiros, Tayline P.V., Freitas, Patrícia E., Rosmaninho, Marcelo G., Ardisson, José D., Lago, Rochel Montero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Carbon; Carbon deposition; Catalysts; Crude oil; Deposition; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fuels; Natural gas; Offshore drilling rigs; Offshore natural gas; Red mud; Steam oxidation; Stores; Syngas; Wastes
• ISSN: 0016-2361; 1873-7153
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fuel.2014.01.088

[Display omitted] •RM is an excellent base catalyst for the conversion and transport of ANG.•RM has dispersed Fe oxides very active to decompose CH4.•RM efficiently decomposes CH4 to carbon and H2.•The carbon deposited can be easily stored and safely transported to shore.•The carbon deposit can be oxidized by H2O to produce H2/CO. In this work, the waste red mud (RM) was investigated as catalyst in a new two steps process designed to store, transport and use the associated petroleum gas (APG) lost in petroleum exploration in offshore platforms. In this process the APG is catalytically converted into carbon which can be stored, transported and then converted to syngas by oxidation with H2O. TPCVD and W-TPO experiments combined with Mössabuer, XRD, Raman, SEM, TEM, TG showed that the Fe oxides highly dispersed in the RM waste are reduced and decomposes CH4 decomposition to produce H2 fuel and 27wt% of carbon deposits. The carbon in the composite can be safely stored, transported and then oxidized to produce H2/CO mixtures leading to the regeneration of the Fe oxides which allows the reuse of the catalyst for a new cycle.