Fe3O4 NANOFLUID SYNTHESIS AS CATALYST IN AQUATHERMOLYSIS PROCESS

• Main Author: ASBAHRI (NIM : 10210013); Pembimbing : Dr. Eng. Ferry Iskandar, ALFAJRI
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/14793
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Fe3O4 nanofluids as a catalyst in aquathermolysis process has been successfully synthesized by using a two-step method. The two-step method started with synthesis Fe3O4 nanoparticles using coprecipitation method and then continued by dispersion of the obtained Fe3O4 nanoparticles into a mixture of water and ethylene glycol (EG) with the help of ultrasonic bath for 2 hours. In this study, the <br /> <br /> <br /> additional volume of water and EG was varied base on the total of based fluid to determine the stability of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in nanofluids. The results obtained were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). From XRD results showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles was formed with the crystal size is 11.8 nm. The best stability of Fe3O4 nanofluid obtained when ratio <br /> <br /> <br /> of water and EG is 80% : 20% on the total of based fluid volume, while the particle size distribution in nanofluids is 309 nm. The catalyst test were carried out in laboratory scale by simulating the aquathermolysis process by mixing <br /> <br /> <br /> heavy oil, water, and Fe3O4 nanofluids in an autoclave and heated at temperature 200 oC for 6 hours. The result proved that under the use of nanofluids, viscosity of heavy oil decrease up to 71.3%, better than one without catalyst which decrease by only 40.2%.