Petroleum waste as raw materials for production of electricity by Photogalvanic solar cell

Petroleum industry produces a bulky rate of harmful environmental wastes. Recycling of these wastes to produce added value products is of prim importance. In this work, Synthesis of sodium 4-dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) anionic surfactant from petroleum waste was done through two steps method. The composition of the produced anionic surfactant was investigated by using FTIR, (HNMR)-H-1, and 13CNMR spectra techniques. Anionic surfactant was applied in photogalvanic cell (PGC) for production of electricity. PGC can be described as an electrochemical cell where the change in both voltage and current arises from the generated photochemical changes in the reactants during the oxidation-reduction reaction in the cell. the recorded electrical cell performance are; maximum power (P-PP) 39.8 mu W, short circuit current (i(SC))145.2 mu A, open circuit potential (V-OC) 490 mV, fill factor (FF) 0.65, conversion efficiency (eta) 0.77%, and storage capacity t(0.5)65 min for system containing Tris (2,2'-bipyrdyl) Ruthenium (II) chloride hexahydrate (TBRC) as photosensitize, Oxalic acid (OX) as reductant, and (SDBS) as anionic surfactant under artificial illumination. The cell performance is optimized and the preliminary mechanism for the solar energy conversion in PGC is also proposed. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Recycling of harmful environmental wastes from the petroleum industry is crucial. This study successfully synthesized SDBS anionic surfactant from petroleum waste and applied it in a photogalvanic cell to produce electricity. The cell performance was optimized under artificial illumination, proposing a preliminary mechanism for solar energy conversion.