Chemical depolymerization of oil shale

The chemical structure of the organic matter from Krassava oil shale has been investigated by means of chemical degradation with metallic sodium in liquid ammonia and with phenol in the presence p-toluenesulphonic acid. The former reaction yielded 20 wt% of pyridine-soluble material and the latter ≈ 65 wt%. Extensive depolymerization of the oil shale was achieved by a combination of both methods in which case the solubility of the organic matter was increased to 85–95 wt%. The characterization of soluble and insoluble products by pyrolysis g.c. and elemental analysis indicated that aliphatic chains were prevalent in the organic matter of the Krassava oil shale.