RI 6166 Oxidation Of Colorado Oil Shale ? Summary

Samples of raw oil shale and kerogen concentrates were oxidized by alkaline potassium permanganate, air, nitric acid, oxygen, and ozone to obtain information about the chemical structure of organic kerogen in oil shale. In one test, oil shale and oil-shale products were oxidized exhaustively with alkaline potassium permanganate, and the distribution of the organic carbon in the final oxidation products was determined. Comparing results of this oxidation with those obtained from other carbonaceous materials and known compounds gave information about the structure of kerogen. Alkaline potassium permanganate oxidation also was used partly to degrade kerogen into soluble products for characterization purposes. Structures present in these degradation products were indicative of type structures originally present in the kerogen. Nitric acid, oxygen, and ozone were used also for partly degrading kerogen to soluble oxidation products. Carbon-balance oxidation tests using alkaline potassium permanganate showed that Colorado oil-shale kerogen differs from many other carbonaceous materials such as coal and kerogens from other areas. Composition of the degradation products indicated that Colorado oil-shale kerogen is predominantly cycloparaffinic and saturated heterocyclic structures with some long-chain paraffinic and aromatic structures present. The ring systems may be connected through short carbon chains or bridges containing oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.