Reduction and phenol acid depolymerization of Western US oil shale kerogen

Conference · Tue Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6288860

Solash, J; Cronauer, D C; Kobylinski, T P

The chemical structure of U.S. Western oil shale kerogen is not known with certainty. Many structure studies employed strong oxidants to degrade kerogen. Acidic products are isolated and analyzed. In most cases, relatively small amounts of material are analyzed. Structural inferences from analysis of small quantities (generally less than 20% of kerogen) of degraded material are apt to be misleading. The literature is in conflict regarding even basic structural features of kerogen. Yen and coworkers have used X-ray analysis to deduce that kerogens contain very little aromatic material. However, /sup 13/C CP/MAS nmr measurements show that Western kerogens are 20-30% aromatic. The structure of nitrogen containing moieties is also in doubt. It has been suggested (8) that tetrapyrroles in kerogen pyrolyze to yield pyridines, quinolines, and other classes of nitrogeneous compounds found in shale oil. No quantitative data were given. Pyrolysis of simple pyrroles was found to give low yields of pyridines. Pyridines and quinolines are the major nitrogen-containing species in distillate shale oils. The authors' approach is to attempt to degrade Western U.S. oil shale kerogen under mild conditions. There has been a report of reducing kerogen using dissolving metals. Jones and Dickert reported that treating Colorado oil shale kerogen with lithium aluminum hydride, Hl, or lithium in ethylene diamine were all ineffective in increasing kerogen solubility. Interestingly, HI has been reported to convert kukersite to 100% ether and benzene solubles. No data were reported on the possible extent of reduction with lithium in ethylene diamine. The authors report results of treating kerogen with several well-known reagents.

• Research Organization: Gulf Research and Development Co., Pittsburgh, PA
• OSTI ID: 6288860
• Report Number(s): CONF-830303-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Journal Volume: 28:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040500* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Properties & Composition
ALKYLATING AGENTS
ALKYLATION
AMIDES
AROMATICS
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEAVAGE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DECOMPOSITION
DEPOLYMERIZATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
KEROGEN
MATERIALS
MATERIALS TESTING
MICROSTRUCTURE
OIL SHALES
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MATTER
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PHENOLS
REDUCTION
SOLUBILITY
SULFONIC ACIDS
TESTING