Reference

Hydrous pyrolysis of sediments: Composition and proportions of aromatic hydrocarbons in pyrolysates

Hydrous pyrolysis of sediments: Composition and proportions of aromatic hydrocarbons in pyrolysates. Rowland, S. J.; Aareskjold, K.; Xuemin, Gou; Douglas, A. G. (Dep. Geol., Univ. 2131-38-6 are also occured in this study. Newcastle, Newcastle upon Type NE1 7RU, UK). Org. Geochem., 10(4-6), 1033-40 (English) 1986. CODEN: ORGEDE. ISSN: 0146-6380. DOCUMENT TYPE: Journal CA Section: 51 (Fossil Fuels, Derivatives, and Related Products) Hydrous pyrolysis (closed vessel autoclaving in the presence of excess water) of org.-rich rocks is said to generate oils which closely resemble natural crude oils in their broad characteristics and compn. However there are only a few accounts of the proportions and compns. of hydrocarbons in hydrous pyrolyzates and none of these discuss the arom. hydrocarbon compn. in detail. The present paper presents some data on the latter. Hydrous pyrolysis (3 days) of a dolomitic siltstone (Permian, Marl Slate) at 280, 300, 320, 340, or 360° produced significant amts. of oils in which the arom. hydrocarbons were 1.5-2 times as abundant as the satd. hydrocarbons. The overall compn. of the arom. hydrocarbons was similar to most crude oils; the major components isolated from natural oils and from pyrolyzates were C1-4 alkylnaphthalenes. At the lowest pyrolysis temp. (280°) the distributions of the minor components of the pyrolyzates (e.g., alkylphenanthrenes, arom. steroids) were also generally similar to those in natural crudes. However, a no. of components (e.g., methylanthracenes, Diels' hydrocarbon) which are not usually reported in crudes, were also detected and the relative proportions of these increased at the higher temps. Hydrous pyrolysis (340°) of an org.-rich shale (Jurassic, Kimmeridge) and an asphaltic-material contg. no minerals produced pyrolyzates in which many of these unusual compds. were also present. Also, the pyrolyzate of the oil-shale contained higher proportions of org. S compds. The formation of the unusual compds. is not simply a function of the type of org. matter or mineralogy but rather of the high temps. or fast heating rates employed. .