Известия Томского политехнического университета: Инжиниринг георесурсов (Dec 2022)

OBTAINING CARBON GRAPHITE-LIKE NANOMATERIALS IN ASPHALTENE-BASED WASTE RECYCLING

  • Alexander Ya. Pak,
  • Pavel V. Povalyaev,
  • Evgeniya V. Franzina,
  • Andrey A. Grinko,
  • Yuliya Yu. Petrova,
  • Valentina V. Arkachenkova

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2022/12/3804
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 333, no. 12
pp. 25 – 36

Abstract

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The relevance of the study is caused by the increasing consumption of petroleum products and increasing amount of oil waste, which contains asphaltenes, the heaviest components of oil. Asphaltenes are poorly biodegradable. In many countries landfill is traditionally the method of oily waste disposal, but this method of disposal is undesirable as it requires the use of new land and may ultimately be harmful to the environment. The need has therefore arisen to find a new way of disposing oil waste, with the possibility of obtaining valuable products from it that can be used in various industrial and economic activities, which will ultimately increase the depth of oil processing. The main aim of the research is to synthesize carbon graphite-like nanomaterials by plasma recycling of asphaltenes to produce a potentially useful gas mixture containing hydrogen and methane. Objects: high molecular weight fraction of asphaltenes isolated by hot acetone extraction from natural asphaltite. Methods: plasma recycling, X-ray phase analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy. Results. This paper presents the results of experimental studies on plasma recycling of asphaltenes (the main components of heavy and residual oils, most oil wastes) combined with obtaining carbon graphite-like micro- and nanostructures. In the course of plasma processing, carbon material with graphite structure is formed. Based on the data of transmission electron microscopy, three main nanoscale morphological types are identified in the synthesis products: carbon nanotubes, polyhedral graphite and onion-like structures. In this way, the work contributes to the development of decarbonization technologies in the life cycle of hydrocarbon wastes and technologies for the production of carbon nanomaterials.

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