Abstract
Oxidative cracking of bitumen, waxy fuel oil, and used transformer oils were carried out individually in an autoclave with 0.6 wt% of hydroquinone as a catalyst. The cracking process is conducted at 410°C in an atmosphere of oxygen gas of 0.15 MPa, for 30 min. The identification and quantitative determination of both the liquids and gases obtained during the cracking process are achieved using packed and capillary gas chromatography (GC) connected with suitable detectors. It was found that the degraded liquid products obtained have a higher percentage of lower hydrocarbons compared to the original feed stocks. Several analytical parameters including API gravity, calorific value, viscosity, density, pour point, etc., were used to evaluate the liquid product obtained. Also, the calorific values of the liberated gases were calculated and compared with that of natural gas. The cracked oil products were distilled and compared to their corresponding petroleum fractions. The cracked fractions have the same characteristics as their corresponding petroleum fractions with the exception of some properties that depend on the aromatic, naphthenic, and waxy nature of the virgin oil.