HYDROGENATION OF SILICON, ALUMINUM AND CHLORINE AS CONSTITUENTS OF TARFAYA OIL SHALE (MOROCCO) AT 550°C AND 750°C

Abstract

The formation of hydrogen chloride as well as silicon hydrides and aluminum hydrides called silanes and alanes respectively are formed when oil shale are thermally treated with hydrogen. These elements are part of the constituents of this oil shale. This work was carried out by a thermobalance (Red Croft) in the dynamic regime for thermal hydrogenation at 550°C and 750°C. The quantitative identification of the elements was done by X-ray diffraction using a dispersive method, a technique that is coupled to the scanning microscope. This work being the continuation of the one already carried out at a temperature of 550°C (A.Attaoui and M. Hafid: 2022), we have extended this to higher temperatures where we have decompositions in addition to kerogen as well as mineral matter. Studies comparing the thermal decomposition of oil shale and kerogen have shown that the mineral matter in oil shale provides surfaces capable of cracking high molecular weight products by thermal or catalytic mechanisms (A.K. Burnham, A. K and J.A.Happe: 1984). These studies indicate that reactions involving the cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-hydrogen bonds on mineral surfaces (R.A.Regtop et al: 1985). These authors demonstrated that the carbonized residue in spent shale can increase the magnitude of secondary reactions.