| Abstract: | Hydrous pyrolysis (closed vessel autoclaving in the presence of excess water) of organic-rich rocks is said to generate oils which closely resemble natural crude oils in their broad characteristics and composition. However there are only a few accounts of the proportions and compositions of hydrocarbons in hydrous pyrolysates and none of these discuss the aromatic hydrocarbon composition in detail. The present paper presents some data on the latter.Hydrous pyrolysis (3 days) of a dolomitic siltstone (Permian, Marl Slate) at 280, 300,320, 340 and 360°C produced significant amounts of oils in which the aromatic hydrocarbons were one and a half to two times as abundant as the saturated hydrocarbons.The overall composition of the aromatic hydrocarbons was similar to most crude oils; the major components isolated by our methods from natural oils and from pyrolysates were C1–4 alkylnaphthalenes. At the lowest pyrolysis temperature (280°C) the distributions of the more minor components of the pyrolysates (e.g. alkylphenanthrenes, aromatic steroids) were also generally similar to those found in natural crudes. However, a number of components (e.g. methylanthracenes, Diels' hydrocarbon) which are not usually reported in crudes, were also detected and the relative proportions of these increased at the higher temperatures. Hydrous pyrolysis (340°C) of an organic-rich oil shale (Jurassic, Kimmeridge) and an asphaltic-material containing no minerals produced pyrolysates in which many of these unusual compounds were also present. In addition the pyrolysate of the oil-shale contained higher proportions of organic sulphur compounds. It appears that the formation of the unusual compounds is not simply a function of the type of organic matter or mineralogy but rather of the high temperatures or fast heating rates employed. |
