Reactions of a Jordanian El-Lajjun oil shale under N-2 or H-2 for 1 h results in almost complete conversion of the organic material to liquid products at 355 degrees C or 390 degrees C. In contrast, reactions for 1 h of the algal coal, torbanite, give minimal conversion at 390 degrees C, but almost total conversion if the reaction time is extended to 5 h. At 355 degrees C reactions of torbanite are minimal at 1 and 5 h reaction times, however at 425 degrees 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 degrees C, whereas the oil to asphaltene ratio for the products from torbanite strongly favours oil at all temperatures. The oil 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. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.