ARBOK-GC: Graphene Cracking. Cold Separation of Oil Fractions on Rotating Rollers of Thermally Expanded Graphite

The cost of motor fuel is set to a large extent by the energy spent on refining. Thermal and catalytic cracking operate above 400–500°C, thermal cracking at pressures of up to 70 bar, in order to break heavy molecules, and a refinery consumes up to 10% of its feedstock for its own needs. Yet the light fractions are already present in crude oil and do not have to be created. We describe ARBOK-GC (Graphene Cracking), a cold separation of oil fractions that relies on selective adsorption and evaporation under reduced pressure instead of bond scission. Rotating rollers made of TEGA, thermally expanded graphite Arbok, stand in a vessel with crude oil or an oil product. Under a moderate vacuum, below the saturated vapour pressure of the light fractions, the gasoline and kerosene fractions travel through the graphite by capillary transport, reach the roller surface and evaporate. Asphaltenes, resins and fuel-oil residue adsorb on the carbon surface and remain in the interlayer space. The vapour is condensed in a neighbouring vessel, and the heat of condensation is returned to the incoming oil through a heat exchanger. The process uses no furnace, no high pressure and no hydrogen, and no carbon–carbon bond is broken. The technology is at TRL 7. Keywords: oil refining, fraction separation, thermally expanded graphite, exfoliated graphite, graphene, vacuum evaporation, capillary transport, asphaltenes, energy efficiency