Hydrogenolysis and hydrocracking of the carbon-oxygen bond. 2. Thermal cleavage of the carbon-oxygen bond in guaiacol

✍ Scribed by Ramazan Ceylan; J.B-son Bredenberg

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1982
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 554 KB
• Volume: 61
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-2361
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-2361(82)90054-0

✦ Synopsis

Low-rank coals and their precursors contain, in addition to aromatic hydroxy groups, aromatic methoxy groups. In the present work a model compound, guaiacol, is used for the study of the behaviour of the carbon-oxygen bonds under thermolytic conditions. The thermolysis of guaiacol is studied in tetralin, naphthalene and without solvent under hydrogen or nitrogen pressure at 578-618 K. The compound is homolytically converted by first-order kinetics. The major product is pyrocatechol. Phenol, o-cresol, methyl catechols and methyl guaiacols are also formed. When tetralin is present it reacts in a molar ratio of I:4 with guaiacol to form naphthalene. The source of hydrogen when tetralin is not present is guaiacol itself because molecular hydrogen does not participate in the reaction. The kinetics and reaction mechanism are discussed.