Characteristics of products of thermal conversion of oil shales in supercritical benzene

A complex of methods of investigation (elemental analysis, cryoscopy in benzene, IR and NMR spectroscopy) is used to characterize the liquid products of thermal degradation of combustible shale samples in benzene under supercritical conditions. The samples differ in the type of the original OM. It is found out that pyrolysates withdrawn in the temperature ranges up to 200, 200–300, 300–400, 400–480°C differ in their molecular mass, content of resin-asphaltene components and heteroatoms, and the H/C atomic ratio. It is shown that pyrolysates obtained from OM of the type II have higher average molecular masses, lower concentrations of heteroatoms, and contain more of oil components than pyrolysates obtained from OM of the type I. The results of the study are important for the choice of methods for processing combustible shale, purposing to obtain chemically useful components based on them.A complex of methods of investigation (elemental analysis, cryoscopy in benzene, IR and NMR spectroscopy) is used to characterize the liquid products of thermal degradation of combustible shale samples in benzene under supercritical conditions. The samples differ in the type of the original OM. It is found out that pyrolysates withdrawn in the temperature ranges up to 200, 200–300, 300–400, 400–480°C differ in their molecular mass, content of resin-asphaltene components and heteroatoms, and the H/C atomic ratio. It is shown that pyrolysates obtained from OM of the type II have higher average molecular masses, lower concentrations of heteroatoms, and contain more of oil components than pyrolysates obtained from OM of the type I. The results of the study are important for the choice of methods for processing combustible shale, purposing to obtain chemically useful components based on them.