Riyadh, 19 Rabi'I,1438 AH, 18 December,2016 , SPA -- A Saudi and British research team from Excellence Center of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and British University of Oxford for joint petrochemicals research has discovered a new, safe and quick method to convert heavy petroleum hydrocarbons to hydrogen gas in large quantities and at high speed through a catalytic chemical reaction by using a developed microwave reactor. The City said in a press statement today that scientific Nature Magazine highlighted in its current edition this new discovery which comes as part of the initiatives of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and is considered as a new scientific scoop that opens the door to take advantage of heavy oil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Petroleum wax resulted from petrochemical processes for hydrogen production and its use in fuel cells of vehicles and other applications, and it can also be a way for marketing oil as a source of green energy. The statement noted that the Center of Excellence includes researchers from King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and British Universities of Oxford Cambridge and Cardiff, and it began its work in 2010 which resulted in registration of numerous global invention patents in addition to researches published in most prestigious international magazines. -- SPA 14:15 LOCAL TIME 11:15 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w292888