Heterogenous catalysts based on Fe-pillared clays for catalytic aquathermolysis processes of heavy oil

Aquathermolysis process is one of the key technologies of reducing the viscosity and exploitation of huge deposits of heavy crude oil. That process combines thermal and catalytical effects in the presence of water. There are a lot of types of catalysts used in aquathermolysis process, such as water and oil soluble, heterogeneous catalysts and minerals. One of the type of heterogeneous catalysts are pillared clays that used in catalytic, sorption and separation processes. Pillared clays (PILC) are the class of two-dimensional micro-mesoporous materials that have a high specific surface area, constant porosity, developed texture and active compaunds in the structure, i.e. combine both the carrier and the catalyst. In this study the physico-chemical properties of Fe-pillared clays and its application in the "reconnaissance" heavy oil catalytic aquathermolysis experiments of has been investigated.