Exxon Research and Engineering of New Jersey has filed two European patent applications (435 590 and 435 591) on a method of using microwave radiation to convert low-value hydrocarbons into high grade oils, or gases such as acetylene or ethylene.
One patent tells how low grade crude oil from shale or tar sand, for example, is put in contact with either pure hydrogen or a hydrogen compound, such as water or hydrogen sulphide, which donates hydrogen.
The oil is put in contact with a bundle of wires and is then bombarded with microwave energy at a frequency of around 2.45 gigahertz. The wires cause electrical discharges which ionise the gases above the oil. This upgrades the crude oil.
To prove the claim, Exxon used deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. With the new technique, the hydrogen/deuterium ratio in oil increases. With microwaves but no wires there is no change in the ...
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