Total Hydrocarbon Yield Research Articles

Pyrolysis-hydrogenation-gas chromatography of carbonaceous material from Australian sediments, part I: Some Australian coals

A technique consisting of pyrolysis at 700°C in hydrogen, followed by catalytic hydrogenation and gas chromatography of the products, has been developed for studying the carbon-skeleton structure of coal or kerogen. As a result of the hydrogenation step, the only organic compounds produced were saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. Pyrolysis-hydrogenation of coal produced light hydrocarbon gases, n-alkanes from pentane to pentadecane, benzene, toluene, xylenes and other unidentified hydrocarbons. Samples of some coals were used to show the quantitative and qualitative reproducibility of the technique and to examine the relationship between the yields of various hydrocarbons and the usual coal parameters. The results indicated that coals have an appreciable component of long unbranched carbon chains. This component is decreased, and the aromatic component is increased, with increasing coal rank, although the relationship is complicated, probably by variations in maceral composition. The total yield of hydrocarbons from a coal was found to bear a linear relationship to its hydrogen content. This relationship could be explained on the basis of stoichiometry.

Catalytic hydrocondensation of carbon monoxide with olefins

1. An investigation was made of the influence of the ethylene/hydrogen ratio in the initial gas mixture, of dilution with nitrogen and of the space velocity upon the hydrocondensation of carbon monoxide with ethylene. 2. It was shown that the optimum ethylene/hydrogen ratio in the intial gas is 2.5–3. 3. Dilution of the initial gas mixture with nitrogen does not influence the total yield of hydrocarbons when expressed as ml/m2 but leads to a fall in yield when related to unit time and to unit volume of catalyst.Dilution of the gas with nitrogen up to a certain limit leads to rise of yield (ml/m2) of light oil and a corresponding fall of yield of gas oil. 4. Rise of space velocity in the range of 100–500 liters/liter-hour does not influence the total yield of hydrocarbons expressed as ml/m2 and leads to a linear rise of yield expressed in ml/liter-hour. When using small amounts of catalyst, the latter is quickly deactivated.