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Thermal decomposition of long-chain fatty acids and its derivative in the presence of montmorillonite

A thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) investigation

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Abstract

In sedimentary environments or clay-rich rocks, clay minerals are usually combined with organic matter; however, little research has focused on the effects of combinations of organic matter and clay minerals on the thermal degradation of organics and on subsequent hydrocarbon generation. In this study, the long-chain fatty acid octadecanoic acid (OA) and its derivative octadecy trimethyl ammonium bromide (OTAB) were selected as model organics. The organics were prepared for clay–organic associations with Na-based montmorillonite (Mt(Na)). The thermal decomposition behaviors of these associations were studied via thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analysis. In the presence of Mt(Na), OA decomposed at 275.2 °C, decomposing sooner than pure OA. The thermal decomposition behavior of OTAB is nearly consistent with that of pure OTAB, but for interlayer OTAB, the decomposition temperature increased to higher than 300 °C. The results indicate that Mt(Na) plays a dual role in the thermal decomposition of fatty acid. Mt(Na) may accelerate the thermal decomposition of OA, and inherent solid acidity levels may be the key factor. In addition, the interlayer structure of Mt(Na) can increase the thermal stability of OA and OTAB. The above results further demonstrate that the thermal decomposition behavior of a given organic material may also depend on its structure and composition. In the presence of Mt(Na), organics with amino and amine structures are more stable than those with carboxyl groups.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41272059, 41472044, 41502031, and 41173069), Foundation of Guangdong (Grant No. 2015A030310363) and Guangzhou (Grant No. 201510010153)and CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (Grant No. 20140491534). This is a contribution (no. IS-2318) from GIGCAS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, Wushan, China

    Hongling Bu, Peng Yuan, Hongmei Liu, Dong Liu & Xiang Zhou

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Hongling Bu & Xiang Zhou

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  1. Hongling Bu
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  2. Peng Yuan
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  4. Dong Liu
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Correspondence to Peng Yuan.

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Bu, H., Yuan, P., Liu, H. et al. Thermal decomposition of long-chain fatty acids and its derivative in the presence of montmorillonite. J Therm Anal Calorim 128, 1661–1669 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-6022-5

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