Aromatic nitrogen compounds in fossil fuels: a potential hazard
The nitrogen content either of shale oil (1 to 2%) or coal derived oil (1 to 1.5%) is far higher than that in petroleum (average N-content in petroleum is 0.05 to 0.1%). This means enormous amounts of nitrogen containing species will be produced and found in crude synfuels, and this could lead to significant health or environmental impact. Clearly, a thorough characterization of nitrogen compounds in synfuels is an important pursuit. Aromatic nitrogen compounds such as basic aza-arenes, neutral aza-arenes, and aromatic amines are considered environmentally important and several members of these classes of compounds possess biological activity. For example, dibenz(a,h)acridine, 7 H-dibenzo(c,g)carbazole, and 2-naphthylamine, are well known as carcinogens. In this paper, the methods used to isolate the basic aromatic nitrogen compounds and neutral aza-arenes from one shale oil and one coal-derived oil are discussed. The mutagenic activities of these fractions, based on the Ames Salmonella typhimurium test is compared. The acetone subfracion of shale/oil was about half as mutagenic as benzo(a)-pyrene while the coal-derived oil subfraction was about four times more active. GC/MS data indicate multi-ring aza-arenes comprised a large portion of the acetone subfraction, e.g. aza-benzoperylene, aza-indenopyrene, and aza-coronene have been identified. The presence of aromatic amines in the active subfraction from both oil samples was first suggested from their IR spectra. This finding may mean that the primary aromatic amines as well as multi-ring aza-arenes are producing the mutagenic activities of the acetone subfractions. A logical extension of this work is to further separate the acetone subfraction into primary amines and multi-ring aza-arenes. This should lead to some important conclusions regarding the mutagenic effects of these classes of compounds.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
- OSTI ID:
- 6120555
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-790415-P2
- Journal Information:
- Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Vol. 24:1; Conference: 177. national meeting of the American Chemical Society, Honolulu, HI, USA, 1 Apr 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
COAL LIQUIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
MUTAGENESIS
NATURAL OCCURRENCE
SHALE OIL
ACRIDINES
AMINES
AROMATICS
CARBAZOLES
CARCINOGENS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MUTAGEN SCREENING
QUANTITY RATIO
SEPARATION PROCESSES
AZINES
AZOLES
CHROMATOGRAPHY
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HAZARDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
MINERAL OILS
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PYRIDINES
SCREENING
SPECTROSCOPY
SYNTHETIC FUELS
SYNTHETIC PETROLEUM
010405* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
040500 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Properties & Composition