Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis of Fuel Oil for Hydrocarbons Upgrading

By-product upgrading is crucial in hydrocarbon processing industries as it can increase the competitiveness of the business. This research investigated opportunity to upgrade fuel oil by-product obtained from olefins production by using microwave pyrolysis. A lab-scale quartz reactor filled with placed inside a 1,200 watts household microwave oven was used for the experiments. Coconut-based activated carbon was used as a microwave receptor. Microwave powers were varied at 600 W, 840 W and 1,200 W to adjust cracking temperature between 800°C and 900°C. The effect of residence time was investigated by adjusting flow rate of N2 carrier gas. The chemical compositions and product yields were analyzed by using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). It was revealed that hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon gaseous product (alkanes, naphthenics and alkenes) were produced as the main products. For liquid products, the main compositions were cycloalkenes and polycyclic aromatic groups.