Chemical Composition Variations of Altered and Unaffected Coals from the Huaibei Coalfield, China: Implications for Maturity

The composition characteristics of altered coals in the Huaibei Coalfield, China, was investigated through a comparative analysis between altered and unaffected coals from the Wolonghu, Taoyuan and Renlou coal mines. Results indicated that the altered coals in Wolonghu coal mine are mostly anthracite coals, with a maximum vitrinite reflectance of 1.6–3.9% (average of 2.9%). Coals from Wolonghu coal mine were mainly consisted of vitrinite (66.2–97.0%), followed by inertinite (2.0–4.0%) and exinite (0.4–6.9%). Differences in volatile matter content were observed between the altered coals in Wolonghu coal mine and unaffected coals from neighboring coal mines, implying that the chemical composition and maturity of coals were changed after magmatic alteration. In addition, differences in hydrogen element were noted among the coals from Wolonghu, Renlou and Taoyuan coal mines, and the phenomenon of “deficient in hydrogen element” was observed in Wolonghu coals. The aliphatic hydrocarbon structure parameters suggested that the aliphatic chain lengths of Wolonghu coals are shorter than those of coal samples from the Renlou and Taoyuan coal mines. In addition, maturity is positively correlated with hydrogen enrichment degree, but negatively related with aliphatic hydrocarbon structure. Coals from Renlou and Taoyuan coal mines showed great weight loss with various heating rates at temperatures of 0–1000 °C, whereas those from Wolonghu coal mine had less weight loss.

Preparation of High-Purity Ammonium Tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate for the Activation of Olefin Polymerization Catalysts

Homogeneous olefin polymerization catalysts are activated in situ with a co-catalyst ([PhN(Me)2-H]+[B(C6F5)4]− or [Ph3C]+[B(C6F5)4]−) in bulk polymerization media. These co-catalysts are insoluble in hydrocarbon solvents, requiring excess co-catalyst (>3 eq). Feeding the activated species as a solution in an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent may be advantageous over the in situ activation method. In this study, highly pure and soluble ammonium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borates ([Me(C18H37)2N-H]+[B(C6F5)4]− and [(C18H37)2NH2]+[B(C6F5)4]−) containing neither water nor Cl− salt impurities were prepared easily via the acid–base reaction of [PhN(Me)2-H]+[B(C6F5)4]− and the corresponding amine. Using the prepared ammonium salts, the activation reactions of commercial-process-relevant metallocene (rac-[ethylenebis(tetrahydroindenyl)]Zr(Me)2 (1-ZrMe2), [Ph2C(Cp)(3,6-tBu2Flu)]Hf(Me)2 (3-HfMe2), [Ph2C(Cp)(2,7-tBu2Flu)]Hf(Me)2 (4-HfMe2)) and half-metallocene complexes ([(h5-Me4C5)Si(Me)2(k-NtBu)]Ti(Me)2 (5-TiMe2), [(h5-Me4C5)(C9H9(k-N))]Ti(Me)2 (6-TiMe2), and [(h5-Me3C7H1S)(C10H11(k-N))]Ti(Me)2 (7-TiMe2)) were monitored in C6D12 with 1H NMR spectroscopy. Stable [L-M(Me)(NMe(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]− species were cleanly generated from 1-ZrMe2, 3-HfMe2, and 4-HfMe2, while the species types generated from 5-TiMe2, 6-TiMe2, and 7-TiMe2 were unstable for subsequent transformation to other species (presumably, [L-Ti(CH2N(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]−-type species). [L-TiCl(N(H)(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]−-type species were also prepared from 5-TiCl(Me) and 6-TiCl(Me), which were newly prepared in this study. The prepared [L-M(Me)(NMe(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]−-, [L-Ti(CH2N(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]−-, and [L-TiCl(N(H)(C18H37)2)]+[B(C6F5)4]−-type species, which are soluble and stable in aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents, were highly active in ethylene/1-octene copolymerization performed in aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents.

Investigation of aliphatic hydrocarbons in red mullet (Mullus barbatus) and European hake (Merluccius merluccius) fish caught from the Edremit Bay (Western Turkey)

In this study, aliphatic hydrocarbon levels were investigated in red mullet and european hake fish caught by trawler from Edremit Bay (Western Aegean, Turkey) in spring and autumn 2015. For this purpose, trawling was carried out from 3 different regions of the Edremit Bay in both seasons. As a result of the analyzes, total aliphatic hydrocarbon (TAH) levels in red mullet were found to be higher than that of european hake. TAH concentrations found for red mullet were in the range of 456-2090 ng/g, while it was found in the range of 61-746 ng/g for european hake. In general, TAH concentrations in red mullet were higher than that of european hake for both seasons. In addition, EOM amounts were found higher in red mullet like TAH. According to correlation, cluster and primary component analysis results, it was observed that the compounds affecting TAH levels in red mullet are C11 and C12 aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds, while european hake have C15, C17 and Pristane compounds. These results indicate that the source of aliphatic hydrocarbons in Edremit Bay fish is biogenic in european hake samples, although not exact, it may be petrogenic in red mullet samples.