Supercritical Water Process - Finding a Way to Accomodate into Petroleum Industry

Supercritical fluid is not new to petroleum industry. Solvent extraction process utilizes supercritical fluid for enhancing selectivity and yield. However, supercritical water has not been applied in industrial scale due to its harsh condition. With progress of material and process technologies, supercritical water has been studied and evaluated in various areas to resolve technical challenges of conventional technologies. Recent research activities on heavy oil upgrading by supercritical water resulted in serious consideration of accommodating such a nonconventional way in petroleum industry. This presentation will introduce potential application areas of supercritical water technology as well as its implication in petroleum industry.