Photolytic and partitioning behavior of polynuclear aromatic compounds, aromatic amines, and phenols in aqueous coal oil

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6268318

Picel, K C

Aqueous fractions produced from mixing coal oil with water, simulating a spill, have been shown to be acutely and chronically toxic to several aquatic organisms. Identification of the chemical components of these solutions and studies of their behavior and persistence in aquatic systems are needed. The processes of oil/water partitioning and photodegradation, which are of particular importance to the aquatic fate of coal-oil components, were studied here. Analytical techniques were developed and used for the measurement of coal-oil components in both oil and aqueous phases for the determination of distribution coefficients (K/sub D/s). To study photolytic behavior, aqueous coal-oil solutions were exposed to sunlight for up to 3 hr. The photolysis rate constants in pure water for pyrene (0.82 hr ), benz(a)anthracene (1.0 hr ), and benzo(a)pyrene (1.4 hr ), were reduced 6.9 fold in the aqueous coal-oil matrix as determined using isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Autoxidation was observed for several indoles exposed to sunlight individually. In the aqueous coal-oil matrix it appears that indoles undergo sensitized photolysis. Indoles had very high quantum yields, approaching unity, due possibly to contributions from autoxidation. Products of indole photodegradation isolated from the aqueous coal oil appear to be o-acylamino-ketones. Products were also detected in the acid and base fractions spectophotometrically.

• Research Organization: Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6268318
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AMINES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
AROMATICS
AZAARENES
AZOLES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
DISPERSIONS
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
EFFICIENCY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FUELS
FUNCTIONS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDOLES
INFORMATION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPE DILUTION
KEROSENE
LIQUID FUELS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MIXTURES
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTITION
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHENOLS
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
PHOTOLYSIS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
PYRROLES
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
SPECTROSCOPY
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WATER