Studies of coupled chemical and catalytic coal conversion methods. Twelfth quarterly report, July--September 1990
During the previous quarter, a new approach for the deploymerization of the coal macromolecule was tried. This was aimed towards carbon-carbon bond cleavage in 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 ofanion-radicals (or dianions) which subsequently undergo carbon-carbon bond cleavage. In our work instead of using the alkali metals, we have used strong bases to cleave the carbon-carbon bonds in hydrocarbons, and have suggested that hydrocarbon elimination reactions occur. Such anionic fragmentation reactions involving strong bases are not very well established. However, we have obtained circumstantial evidence that such bond cleavage reactions do take place in some coal systems. For example, when the high rank Lower Kittaming coal, PSOC 1197, was treated with Lochmann`s base (equimolar mixture of n-butyllithiun and potassium tert-butoxide) in refluxing heptane and quenched with ammonium chloride and reethanol, the pyridine solubility of the product increased from 5% (raw coal) to 39%. A similar increase in solubility due to base treatment was also observed in a separate study for another high rank coal, Pocahontas No. 3 from the Argonne National Laboratory Premium Sample Program. The solubility of the coal increased frcm 5% to 32% after the base treatment. These results, together with the absence of literature studies on base promoted fragmentation reactions prompted us to perfom reactions on some pure compounds to assess this concept in more detail.
- Research Organization:
- Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC22-87PC79938
- OSTI ID:
- 10174687
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/PC/79938-T14; ON: DE92040287
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1990]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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