Influence of hydrogen bonding and structural features of coal on its liquefaction

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:6126136

Chung, K E; Goldberg, I B; Ratto, J J

To describe coal liquefaction chemistry quantitatively, the chemical structural characteristics of a given coal were defined on the molecular level, and the reactivity of the coal was examined under hydroliquefaction conditions using two solvents, tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) and a mixture of tetralin and pyrene. A Wyoming subbituminous coal from the Rawhide Mine was found to consist of different aromatic clusters linked to each other in a specific way. At least four single-aromatic-ring clusters are linked to each other by alkyl C-C bonds, making a group of single aromatic ring clusters. These groups are connected to each other by ester groups. At least two clusters of two-fused-aromatic-ring structures are joined by alkyl C-C bonds, making a group of two-fused-ring clusters. These groups are connected to each other by ester groups and probably by ether groups. Three- or more-fused-aromatic-ring clusters are connected to each other in a similar manner. The structural data of the coal were related to product distribution and hydrogen consumption in its hydroliquefaction. The reaction of this coal with THQ at 300/sup 0/C revealed that the hydrogen-donor solvent provided little hydrogen to the coal product, but the solvent molecules themselves reacted and combined with the coal to form inseparable coal-THQ complexes or compounds. The reactions with a mixture of tetralin and pyrene under H/sub 2/ pressure showed that strong linkages between aromatic clusters of the coal were cleaved extensively at 400/sup 0/C but the liberated clusters recombined to become a nondistillable product. At 454/sup 0/C, in addition to the cleavage of the linkages, dealkylation was a dominant process as indicated by a 2.8-fold increase in gaseous product yield over that at 400/sup 0/C. 15 references, 23 figures, 21 tables.

• Research Organization: Rockwell International Corp., Thousand Oaks, CA (USA). Science Center
• OSTI ID: 6126136
• Report Number(s): EPRI-AP-3889; ON: TI85920502
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL LIQUEFACTION
CHEMISTRY
HYDROGEN
CONSUMPTION RATES
PYRENE
SOLVENT PROPERTIES
QUINOLINES
SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
INFRARED SPECTRA
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
TETRALIN
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HYDROGEN TRANSFER
AROMATICS
AZAARENES
AZINES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
CONDENSED AROMATICS
DATA
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
LIQUEFACTION
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
PYRIDINES
SPECTRA
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
010405* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
010600 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Properties & Composition