Studies of coupled chemical and catalytic coal conversion methods. Eleventh quarterly report, April--June 1990
The objective of our work is coal liquefaction under relatively mild conditions. Our attempts were to depolymerize the coal macromolecule to smaller fragments which could be more easily solubilized in conventional organic solvents. During the last few months we have been working on nonreductive C-alkylation procedures. The effectiveness of the newly introduced alkyl groups for the disruption of intemolecular hydrogen bonds and pi-pi interactions between the aromatic sheets in the coal mdcromolecule had been recognized. During the present quarter, a new approach for the depolymerization of the coal macromolecule was tried. This was aimed towards carbon-carbon bond cleavage in the presence of strong bases. Such bond cleavage reactions are well known with the alkali metals. Electron transfer reactions take place from the metals to the aromatic nuclei resulting in the formation of anion radicals (or dianions) which subsequently undergo carbon-carbon bond cleavage. In our work, instead of using the alkali metals, we have used bases to cleave the carbon-carbon bonds by base catalyzed hydrocarbon elimination reactions.Such anionic fragmentation reactions involving strong bases are not very well established. The only discrete evidence of carbon-carbon bond cleavage with bases were obtained from some earlier works of Grovenstein.
- Research Organization:
- Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC22-87PC79938
- OSTI ID:
- 10174638
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/PC/79938-T13; ON: DE92040286
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1990]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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