Document Type : Regular Article
Authors
1 Department of Applied Sciences, University of Technology – Iraq
2 Polymer Engineering Department, College of Materials Engineering, University of Babylon – Iraq
Abstract
This work compares two methods of producing carbon nanoparticles from oil waste or by-products that accumulate on the walls of pipes and furnaces and reduce the efficiency and life of the equipment (which can hinder the production process; therefore, it is removed weekly). These wastes or by-products are generated from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon compounds during the crude oil refining process to produce petroleum products. The raw materials were collected from two Al-Dura refinery sites, sieved, burned in a furnace under vacuum and inert atmosphere, crushed with a mortar and washed with solvent, washed with distilled water, dried, and then reduced to nanoparticle size by direct crushing (sonication with a probe) and indirect ultrasonic methods (bath sonication). The samples were analyzed after crushing and firing using the appropriate methods such as EDX and SEM as well as tests. Zeta potential and particle size analysis were two other tests performed on the final products. The results showed that the carbon content increased consecutively from 28.49, 36.30 to 91.59 and 94.47% after firing. In addition, the direct ultrasonic method is superior to the indirect method for producing carbon nanoparticles because it requires less time and can produce nanoparticles with an average grain size of about 37 nm and 86.6 nm for the first and second samples, respectively. The zeta potential data show that the resulting nanocarbon particles are relatively stable.
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