PRODUCTION OF FULLERENE C20 BY USING EXTREMELY HEAT STABLE COMPONENT PRODUCED BY PRESSURIZED HEAT TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM PITCH AS SOURCE MATERIAL AND THEN TREATING SOURCE MATERIAL IN FUSED STATE UNDER HIGH PRESSURE AND HIGH TEMPERATURE CONDITION

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To economically produce a high purity fullerene by distilling a petroleum pitch under reduced pressure, extracting a specific fraction as the source material with an aliphatic hydrocarbon and heat treating the source material under specified conditions. SOLUTION: A petroleum pitch obtd. as a by-product of catalytic cracking of desulfurized light oil under reduced pressure is distilled under reduced pressure to remove 85% of the pitch and to obtain a fraction from 460 deg.C initial temp. to 560 deg.C finish temp. The obtd. fraction is extracted with 6-8C aliphatic hydrocarbon and is used as the source material. The obtd. source material is heat treated in an inert or produced gas flow under 20 to 300kg/cm2 pressure and 420 to 650 deg.C objective temp. for 30min to 10 hours to obtain a calcined pitch. The obtd. pitch contains a thermally stable H component having a decreased amt. of alkyl groups which has a large carbon number and is unstable with heat, and contains Q.S component, Q.i component, etc., produced from the H component. These components are extracted and used as the source martial, which is then heat treated under 50 to 300kg/cm2 pressure and 800 to 1,800 deg.C temp. for 1 to 10 hours to obtain a pitch. Then the obtd. pitch is dissolved in a solvent and fullerene C20 is separated.