Improvement of physical characteristics of petroleum waxes by using nano-structured materials

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of synthetic two-dimensional nano-structured anionic clays whose structure can be described as nano-layered ordered material. This study aims to use nano-layered materials as a host for organic guests having required functional groups such as azo-compounds to alter LDH surface properties from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and increase sorption capacity for sulfur and aromatic compounds through constructing nano-hybrid material. A large anionic pigment (phenyl azobenzoic sodium salt) has been intercalated into Zn-Al LDH and a complex system of supra-molecular host-guest interactions was formed.We have examined the unusual bi-functionality effects caused by hybridization for removing sulfur and aromatic compounds from petroleum waxes. Results clearly indicated that nano-layered material decreased sulfur content and mono-aromatic compounds of heavy slack wax. In the same run, it completely removed di-aromatic compounds. In the same trend, the nano-hybrid material showed high efficiency for removing aromatic and sulfur compounds from crude petrolatum. This leads to an improvement for the physical properties of heavy slack wax and crude petrolatum.