Enhanced production of thiophenes, pyrroles, and olefines via a catalyst-assisted pyrolysis of oil shale

Abstract

Phosphotungstic acid/boehmite (PWA/B) is used to catalyze oil shale (OS) pyrolysis, where either the quality of thus-catalyzed pyrolyzates could be upgraded distinctly with regard to an evident removal of heteroatom-containing species and a remarkable enrichment in the content of hydrocarbons and short-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, or the proportion of a number of valuable basic chemicals of extensive engineering/scientific interests, e.g., pyrroles, thiophenes, α-olefines and diolefines, could be enhanced substantially. We reveal that the density/acidity of Brønsted acids of PWA/B are larger/stronger than those of Lewis acids such that their collaborate-competition actions confer it with fascinating catalytic performances. Our work likely launches new opportunities for manufacturing value-added chemical/tecton or producing high-quality petroleum-like fuel using OS as feedstock, and it provides important guidance for the design and seeking of sophisticated catalyst for OS exploitation.