Paper Title
Application of Microwave Technology in Asphaltene and Viscosity Reduction of Iranian Vacuum Residue

Abstract
In recent years, there has been growing interest in research on vacuum residue upgrading. There are two types of residues in an oil refinery, atmospheric residue (AR), and vacuum residue (VR). In this article, upgrading vacuum residue of an oil refinery using microwave technology has been performed and the effects of some parameters on asphaltene and viscosity reduction of vacuum residue have been evaluated. The investigated parameters include power level, process time, catalyst, hydrogen donor, and sensitizer amounts. The vacuum residue used in this research is from oil refinery of Tehran, Iran. In the best conditions, viscosity of vacuum residue decreased 87.26 percent and from 16391cSt at 60 C is reached 2281cSt. The asphaltene contents of vacuum residue decreased 46.34 Percent and from 13.3 wt% based on heptane insoluble is reached 7 wt%. Keywords - Vacuum Residue, Microwave, Asphaltene, Viscosity, Upgrading.