SYNTHESIS AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON-CONTAINING PHENOL-FORMALDEHYDE RESITES

To probe the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) duri ng the carbonization, gasification, and liquefaction of coals and othe r solid fuels, nonsoftening phenol-formaldehyde (PF) co-resites are id eal since they facilitate the incorporation of individual PAHs into a highly crosslinked matrix. A series of PAH and diphenylalkane-containi ng phenolic co-resites have been prepared using phenol with, as the se cond component, 2-naphthol, 4-hydroxy diphenylmethane, 4,4'-dihydroxyd iphenylethane, 1-(4-hydroxybenzyl)naphthalene, 9-(4-hydroxybenzyl) ant hracene, and 9-(4-hydroxybenzyl) phenanthrene. A mole ratio of 3:1 (ph enol:second phenolic constituent) was adopted to ensure that a reasona bly high degree of crosslinking was achieved. The virtually complete e limination of ether and methylol functions from the resoles by curing at 200 degrees C was monitored by solid-state C-13-NMR. The resites we re also characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The volatile-matter contents of the PAH-containing resites were all higher than that of the normal resite. The carbonization of the 9-(4-hydroxy benzyl) anthracene-containing resite in a fluidized-bed reactor is use d to illustrate the potential applications of the PAH-containing resit es in fuel science. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.