Anthracene Aquacracking Using NiMo/SiO2 Catalysts in Supercritical Water Conditions

The current status of world oil reserves is a contentious matter, but it is widely accepted that conventional resources are dwindling and their reserves are less easily accessible [1]. Therefore, the production of heavy crude oil (HCO), which is the remnant of conventional oil has become more relevant and will remain so in the foreseeable future [2]. In this sense, there is a need for more efficient refining processes to transform HCO into lighter fuels. Conventional processes for increasing the value of heavy oil fractions aim to increase the H/C ratio of fuel, generating lighter fractions. However, this implies either rejecting a large amount of the carbon in the feed as in thermal and catalytic cracking processes, or using high pressure hydrogen, an expensive gas, in hydrocracking processes [3]