Effect of different clay concentrations on crude oil combustion kinetics by thermogravimetry

The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of different clay composition and concentrations on the thermal behaviour and kinetics of heavy crude oil in limestone matrix by thermogravimetry (TG/DTG). In TG/DTG experiments, three distinct reaction regions were identified in all of the crude oil + limestone mixture known as low temperature oxidation (LTO), fuel deposition (FD) and high temperature oxidation (HTO) respectively. Addition of clay to porous matrix significantly affected the reaction regions. Significant reduction of activation energy due to addition of clay to crude oil indicates the catalytic effect of clay on crude oil combustion.