Comparison of the yields and structure of fuels derived from freshwater algae (torbanite) and marine algae (El-Lajjun oil shale)

Reactions of a Jordanian El-Lajjun oil shale under N2 or H2 for 1 h results in almost complete conversion of the organic material to liquid products at 355 °C or 390 °C. In contrast, reactions for 1 h of the algal coal, torbanite, give minimal conversion at 390 °C, but almost total conversion if the reaction time is extended to 5 h. At 355 °C reactions of torbanite are minimal at 1 and 5 h reaction times, however at 425 °C for 1 h almost complete conversion is observed. In addition, the oil to asphaltene ratio for the products from the Jordanian oil shale increases in the temperature range 355–390 °C, whereas the oil to asphaltene ratio for the products from torbanite strongly favours oil at all temperatures. l from both materials is highly aliphatic. The torbanite oil is mainly long chain, saturated hydrocarbons with few aromatic compounds. The oil from the Jordanian shale also has a high aliphatic content but a much wider range of aromatics. In addition, significant amounts of sulfur-containing compounds are present.