Abstract
In this work, γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, and Mossbauer spectroscopy techniques. By co-precipitation method, ultrafine γ-Fe2O3 quasi-spherical individual nanoparticles with the average diameter of 9.1 nra and the surface free of capping ligands were successfully synthesized. The catalytic effect of the synthesized γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles upon the combustion performance and kinetic of heavy oil combustion was studied by porous medium thermo-effect cell (PMTEC) together with isoconversional kinetic analysis using Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method. The results show that the combustion performance of heavy oil was substantially increased by y-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The reaction intervals of low temperature oxidation (LTO) and high temperature oxidation (HTO) were shifted to lower temperature with an obvious increase in temperature caused the exothermic oxidation reactions. In addition, the fingerprint of the dependence of effective activation energy on conversion degree shows that the effective activation energy was reduced by about 20-35 kj/mol during the whole combustion process. These observed improvements make γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticle a promising catalyst for catalyzing heavy oil combustion.
NSTL