Research Projects

Objective: The main aim of the proposed work is to perform the pyrolysis of hazardous oily petroleum sludge (OPS) for recovery of oil followed by characterization of char for the purpose of developing a high quality energy storage device from waste OPS. This can also minimize both resource (oil) wastage and energy storage problems of petroleum refineries across the world. The specific objectives of the proposed work are: · Pyrolysis of OPS in fixed bed reactor. o Effect of temperature, heating rate, and retention time during pyrolysis o Characteristics of pyrolytic products from pyrolysis · Physicochemical properties of pyrolytic oil · Composition of gaseous products using gas chromatography · Application of pyrolytic char produced from pyrolysis of OPS in preparation of energy storage material. o Surface morphology and chemical characteristics of char (SEM-EDX, FTIR, XRD, BET-Surface area, ICP-MS analysis, and XPS analysis) o Required modification in morphology and chemical properties of char: Physical and Chemical modification o Characteristics of char for redox and electrochemical performance · Preparation of electrode for energy storage device o Characteristics of electrode for redox and electrochemical performance Significance: The proposed work has two fold importance (1) recovery of oil from OPS, (2) application of solid residue (char) obtained from pyrolysis of OPS for synthesis of electrode as energy storage material. Pyrolysis of OPS can be advantageous in the following ways: · Plenty of OPS are generated every year; raw material for pyrolysis of OPS is easily available. · Reuse of OPS can mitigate the contamination of hazardous waste with the environment as a result of careless handling and disposal. · Pyrolytic oil obtained can reduce the extra pressure on demand and supply of petrol and diesel because it has matching properties to that of petroleum distillate (low grade), that can be directly used as fuel in burners, engines and boilers. · Synthesis of electrode material from OPS char will facilitate the energy storage systems for future energy applications. Evaluation and Dissemination: The proposed work is intended to utilize and minimize the OPS in the most effective way. Based on the extensive literature survey, it has been found that pyrolysis process can yield maximum recovered oil from OPS. In addition pyrolysis of OPS can produce three different types of products such as pyrolytic oil, pyrolytic gases and solid residue (char) that can be utilized to solve the economic perspective of pyrolysis process. With this hypothesis, the goal of this project is considered. The global annual production of OPS is around 1 billion tons. With such a huge generation of OPS all around the world, this work might open a path for both oil recovery and synthesis of energy storage material from OPS. This work will be helpful in mitigating the challenges associated with OPS all around the world.