FORMATION OF MESOPHASE USING PRECURSORS FROM SHALE OIL

The delayed coking process on a laboratory scale of vacuum distillate bottoms of a retorted shale oil from the Green River Formation of oil shale was studied so that these carbon sources could be used for manuf actured graphite. The bottoms were refluxed under nitrogen at 285-degr ees-C for 5, 25, and 74 h. The samples were pyrolyzed under nitrogen w ith heating rates of 13-degrees-C/h to 360-degrees-C and 5-degrees-C/h to 465-degrees-C at atmospheric pressure. Afterward, the residues wer e examined using polarized light microscopy for observing conditions. The samples were investigated using different analytical techniques (H -NMR)-H-1, IR, VPO, and GC) to determine the changes that were occurri ng with the thermal treatment. However, contrary to other precursors, proton NMR and IR studies revealed that the naphthenics are most likel y responsible for mesophase formation during carbonization. Gas chroma tography of the samples indicates the existence of certain branched co mpounds that disappear with heat treatment. The presence of isocompoun ds acted to suppress graphitization. This process can be extended to o ther nongraphitizing source materials for manufactured graphite.