Aerobic Oxidation of a Naphtene–Paraffin Concentrate in the Presence of Reduced Graphene Oxide

Abstract

The aerobic oxidation of a naphthene–paraffin concentrate extracted from a mixture of Azerbaijan oils is studied. The reduced graphene oxide (powdered, pelletized) is used as the reaction catalyst. It is shown that reduced graphene oxide exhibits a fairly high catalytic activity in the liquid-phase oxidation of the naphthene–paraffin concentrate to petroleum acids. It is assumed that the catalytic activity of reduced graphene oxide can be attributed to the structural defects and specific electronic structure of this material. The liquid naphthene–paraffin concentrate with graphene as a catalyst is a dispersion with microparticles, the “hydrodynamic diameter” of which varies in the range of 1–3 µm and significantly changes after oxidation.