DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.20677

Influence of Ni/CeO2 on Pyrolytic Conversion of FOBS to Hydrogen Formation

1Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

2Centre of Education Engineering (CEE), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Received: 2 Mar 2026; Revised: 10 Apr 2026; Accepted: 10 Apr 2026; Available online: 24 Apr 2026; Published: 30 Oct 2026.
Editor(s): Istadi Istadi
Open Access Copyright (c) 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Abstract

Fuel Oil Blended Stock (FOBS) is a residual byproduct from petroleum refineries that is often underutilized and may cause storage and environmental issues. Converting FOBS into hydrogen through catalytic pyrolysis offers a sustainable waste valorisation pathway; however, no studies have focused on Ni/CeO2 catalysts for hydrogen production from FOBS, which establishes the novelty of this work. This study aims to evaluate the performance of a Ni/CeO2 catalyst for hydrogen production from FOBS via catalytic pyrolysis. A 3% Ni/CeO2 catalyst was synthesized using the wet impregnation method and characterized using XRD, FESEM, BET, and FTIR. Catalytic pyrolysis experiments were conducted in a tubular furnace reactor at temperatures between 400-600 °C, nitrogen flow rates of 40-140 mL/min, and catalyst-to-feedstock ratios of 1:5, 1:10, and 1:15. The gaseous products were analyzed using GC-TCD/FID. The results showed that higher temperatures and catalyst-to-feedstock ratios improved FOBS conversion and hydrogen selectivity, with optimal performance achieved at 600 °C, 90 mL/min, and a catalyst-to-feedstock ratio of 1:15, yielding high conversion, gas yield, and hydrogen selectivity. In conclusion, the Ni/CeO2 catalyst shows strong potential for converting FOBS into hydrogen-rich gas, supporting waste valorisation and sustainable hydrogen production. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: fuel oil blended stock; hydrogen; pyrolysis; catalyst
Funding: Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE) under contract FRGS/1/2020/TK0/UTM/02/97); Universiti Teknologi Malaysia under contract Vote 23H01

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Section: 3rd International Symposium of Reaction Engineering, Catalysis and Sustainable Energy 2025 (RECASE 2025)
Language : EN
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