Committee Members Information

• Ph.D. Advisor: Professor Mani Sarathy
• External Examiner: Professor M.D Kibria, Associate professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. University of Calgary
• Committee Chair: Professor Gilles Lubineau
• 4th Committee Member: Professor Sanjay Rastogi

Abstract

The decreasing demand for fuels, as result of the incursion of  renewable energy sources, the adoption of electric vehicles, and stringent policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions,  represents a paradigm shift for the oil industry. Refineries are increasingly focusing their efforts on petrochemical production through initiatives such as Crude Oil to Chemicals (COTC), which aim to enhance petrochemical yields and offset the economic impact of declining fuel demand.

In this work, we explore an innovative use for heavy residues, which typically pose a challenge for refineries due to their high concentration of large and stable molecules. Rather than pursuing a conventional cracking approach, we leverage these complex structures as building blocks for carbon materials. The study is structured around three main components: (i) detailed characterization of residual oils through pyrolysis reactions, (ii) the development of a new surrogate formulation tool based on high-resolution mass spectrometry, and (iii) the demonstration of residual oils as precursors for graphene quantum dots (GQDs) and carbon fibers.

Together, these studies provide a comprehensive framework for the chemical transformation of residual oils into functional and structural carbon materials, highlighting their potential as sustainable precursors for next generation energy and materials applications