Effect of Zeolite-Y Modification on Crude-Oil Direct Hydrocracking.

To study the role of modified zeolite-Y-based hydrocracking catalyst in crude-oil hydroconversion, various hydrocracking catalysts were synthesized with various zeolites. The zeolites and catalysts were characterized with nitrogen adsorption (N-adsorption), small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, and the ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH-TPD). Their reaction performance was evaluated with crude oil under commercial hydrocracker operating conditions in a pilot plant unit.

Lab Case Study of Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion and Rietveld Quantitative Phase Analysis of X-ray Powder Diffraction Data of Deposits from a Refinery.

This paper reports a laboratory-based case study for the characterization of deposits from a crude cooler and reboilers in a Saudi Aramco refinery by microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) using microbial, metallurgic, and special analyses and correlates the Rietveld quantitative phase analysis of high-resolution X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) data of scale deposits with microbe compositions. Therefore, rapid in-field microbiological assays could be carried out to assess the potential of MIC. Based on the results, it can be highlighted that the MIC investigation showed that total bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were detected in all sampling locations.