Large quantities of hydrogen are consumed in the refinery and chemical industries every year. The largest application of hydrogen is for the upgrading of fossil fuels and in the production of ammonia. Hydrogen is also considered the fuel of the future due to the exotermicity of the combustion reaction and carbon-free by-product (i.e., water). Herein, it is proposed the development of a new or unconventional process assisted by microwave-dielectric heating and a developed catalyst (or catalsorber) to efficiently transform the heavy crude oil to high-purity hydrogen and residual carbon. The valorisation of refractory heavy crude oils to high value product (hydrogen), the environmental friendly approach and the high purity product of hydrogen make the new process very competitive with the current hydrogen production technologies.
The aim of this research project is to develop a new petrochemical unconventional technology based on microwave-dielectric heating and rational designed catalyst that efficiently transform the heavy crude oil (e.g. bunker oil) to high-purity hydrogen and residual carbon. The work will develop and optimize this microwave-enhanced technology.