Application of non-reductive alkylation in liquid ammonia to studies on macromolecular structure of coals and bitumen-derived asphaltene
✍ Scribed by Helena Wachowska; Teresa Ignasiak; Otto P. Strausz; Denis Carson; Boleslaw Ignasiak
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1986
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 453 KB
- Volume
- 65
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0016-2361
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The reaction of non-reductive ethylation of a coal anion generated in the presence of a strong base (sodium and/or potassium amides) in liquid ammonia is an efficient method for coal solubilization. Under the reaction conditions used, over 50 wt y0 of vitrinites separated from carboniferous bituminous coals became soluble in chloroform. The chloroform extracts were characterized by relatively low molecular weights ranging from 600 to 12000. At the same time, Athabasca oil sand asphaltene, which, under reductive conditions, degrades relatively easily to lower molecular weight species, did not display any molecular weight changes on reacting with amides in liquid ammonia. This fact stresses the non-destructive character of non-reductive alkylation. It appears, therefore, that the molecular weights ofchloroform soluble portions of ethylated vitrinites reflect the molecular size of the original vitrinites. These results contradict the concept of coal having a highly crosslinked macro-molecular structure.