Wax: A benign hydrogen-storage material that rapidly releases H2-rich gases through microwave-assisted catalytic decomposition

Hydrogen is often described as the fuel of the future, especially for application in hydrogen powered fuel-cell vehicles (HFCV’s). However, its widespread implementation in this role has been thwarted by the lack of a lightweight, safe, on-board hydrogen storage material. Here we show that benign, readily-available hydrocarbon wax is capable of rapidly releasing large amounts of hydrogen through microwave-assisted catalytic decomposition. This discovery offers a new material and system for safe and efficient hydrogen storage and could facilitate its application in a HFCV. Importantly, hydrogen storage materials made of wax can be manufactured through completely sustainable processes utilizing biomass or other renewable feedstocks

Advances in Natural Gas Emerging Technologies

Natural gas has become the world's primary supply of energy in the last decades. It is naturally occurring from the decomposition of organic materials, over the past 150 million years ago, into hydrocarbons. It is considered one of the most useful energy sources and the fastest growing energy source in the world. This book presents state-of-the-art advances in natural gas emerging technologies. It contains ten chapters divided into three sections that cover natural gas technology, utilization, and alternative

Hydrogen bonds between methanol and the light liquid olefins 1-pentene and 1-hexene: From novel application to fundamental science

We have recently developed a new extraction process for significantly reducing the olefin content in commercial FCC gasoline. To gain insights into the origins of this process , we have investigated the dissolution of the light liquid olefins 1-pentene and 1-hexene in methanol through computer modelling together with NMR spectroscopy. We find two important hydrogen bonding modes for methanol olefin interactions – namely, O-H···π and C-H···O

Enhancing the production of light olefins from heavy crude oils: Turning challenges into opportunities

The large reserves of heavy crude oils and the significant demand of light olefins, particularly propylene, have created new opportunities for developing advanced catalyst and process technologies that efficiently upgrade asphaltenes-enriched crudes to high values chemicals. Indeed, many petrochemicals are produced during crude oil refining as side streams, because the primary goal of the crude oil refinery is the production of transportation fuel. This paper attempts to briefly review the properties of heavy crude oils, the major process technologies for the production of light olefins such as steam cracking and fluid catalytic cracking and finally the catalyst technology mainly focused on ZSM-5 and HY zeolites. We include not only the current understanding of the olefin production technologies, but also the challenges involved in the upgrading of unconventional crudes and residue with high content of heteroatoms and unsaturated poly-aggregate asphaltenes. A strategy for processing unconventional oil that involves the utilization of steam (catalytic) cracking process, in a FCC-type configuration, and enhanced cracking catalyst with high hydrothermal stability is also analyzed

Enhancing the production of light olefins from heavy crude oils: Turning challenges into opportunities

The large reserves of heavy crude oils and the significant demand of light olefins, particularly propylene, have created new opportunities for developing advanced catalyst and process technologies that efficiently upgrade asphaltenes-enriched crudes to high values chemicals. Indeed, many petrochemicals are produced during crude oil refining as side streams, because the primary goal of the crude oil refinery is the production of transportation fuel. This paper attempts to briefly review the properties of heavy crude oils, the major process technologies for the production of light olefins such as steam cracking and fluid catalytic cracking and finally the catalyst technology mainly focused on ZSM-5 and HY zeolites. We include not only the current understanding of the olefin production technologies, but also the challenges involved in the upgrading of unconventional crudes and residue with high content of heteroatoms and unsaturated poly-aggregate asphaltenes. A strategy for processing unconventional oil that involves the utilization of steam (catalytic) cracking process, in a FCC-type configuration, and enhanced cracking catalyst with high hydrothermal stability is also analyzed