Solid superacids as coal liquefaction catalysts

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5631999

Tierney, J W; Wender, I

This research is aimed at exploring the possibility of liquefying coal at mild conditions using titanium, zirconium, iron, and hafnium treated with sulfate ions. Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} has been shown to be an impressively active catalyst in coal conversion at 400{degrees}C. A main objective is to find conditions under which Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} and similar superacid systems catalyze the conversion of coal at mild conditions of temperature and pressure. To date, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}, TiO{sub 2}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}, ZrO{sub 2}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} and HfO{sub 2}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} have been synthesized and characterized by XRD, BET, IR, acidity measurement, and sulfur analysis. A comparison of the relative reactivity of these superacids for n-pentane isomerization and conversion of diphenyl ether and diphenylmethane in both batch and fixed bed reactor systems has been carried out. We explored the recent discovery that a platinum doped solid superacid, Pt/ZrO{sub 2}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}, was capable of converting long chain n-paraffinic hydrocarbons to valuable products, i.e. gasoline, jet fuel and lubricating oils. This has created a new route for fuels application of this type of solid superacid. Work continues on the direct liquefaction of coal using Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}} as well as solid superacids of tin, SnO{sub 2}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}. 6 refs., 3 figs.

• Research Organization: Pittsburgh Univ., PA (USA). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FG22-87PC79928
• OSTI ID: 5631999
• Report Number(s): DOE/PC/79928-T14; ON: DE91015069
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010405* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
ALKANES
CATALYSTS
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL LIQUEFACTION
CRACKING
DEACTIVATION
DECOMPOSITION
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
FISCHER-TROPSCH SYNTHESIS
HAFNIUM COMPOUNDS
HAFNIUM OXIDES
HEXADECANE
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGENATION
IRON COMPOUNDS
IRON OXIDES
LIQUEFACTION
METALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLATINUM
PLATINUM METALS
PROGRESS REPORT
PYROLYSIS
REFRACTORY METAL COMPOUNDS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TIN COMPOUNDS
TIN OXIDES
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TITANIUM OXIDES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
ZIRCONIUM COMPOUNDS
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES