Research and development of rapid hydrogenation for coal conversion to synthetic motor fuels (riser cracking of coal). Final report, April 1, 1976-September 30, 1980

Technical Report · Sun Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6629694· OSTI ID:6629694

Duncan, D. A.; Beeson, J. L.; Oberle, R. D.

The objective of the program described was to develop a noncatalytic process for the hydropyrolysis of lignite and coal to produce high-octane blending gasoline constituents, methane, ethane, and carbon oxides. The process would operate in a balanced plant mode, using spent char to generate process hydrogen by steam-oxygen gasification. The technical program included the construction and operating of a bench-scale unit (5-10 lb/hr), the design, construction, and operation of a process development unit (PDU) (100 lb/hr), and a final technical and economic assessment of the process, called Riser Cracking of Coal. In the bench-scale unit program, 143 runs were made investigating the effects of pressure, temperature, heating rate, residence time, and particle size, processing North Dakota lignite in hydrogen. Some runs were made in which the hydrogen was preheated to pyrolysis temperatures prior to contact with the coal, and, also, in which steam was substituted for half of the hydrogen. Attempts to operate the bench-scale unit at 1200 psig and 1475/sup 0/F were not successful. Depth of carbon conversion was found to be influenced by hydrogen pressure, hydrogen-to-coal ratio, and the severity of the thermal treatment. The composition of hydrocarbon liquids produced was found to change with severity. At low severity, the liquids contained sizable fractions of phenols and cresols. At high severity, the fraction of phenols and cresols was much reduced, with an attendant increase in BTX. In operating the PDU, it was necessary to use more oxygen than was planned to achieve pyrolysis temperatures because of heat losses, and portions of hydrocarbon products were lost through combustion with a large increase in carbon oxide yields. Economic studies, however, showed that selling prices for gasoline blending stock, fuel oil, and fuel gas are competitive in current markets, so that the process is held to warrant further development.

• Research Organization: Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-76ET10520
• OSTI ID: 6629694
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/10520-1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010405* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Hydrogenation & Liquefaction
090121 -- Hydrocarbon Fuels-- Chemical Synthesis-- (1976-1989)
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
ALKANES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BROWN COAL
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHARS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTION YIELD
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL
COAL LIQUEFACTION
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
ECONOMICS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ETHANE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL OILS
FUELS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
HEAT TREATMENTS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
HYDROGENATION
INFORMATION
LIGNITE
LIQUEFACTION
LIQUID FUELS
MATERIALS
METHANE
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLE SIZE
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
PROCESS DEVELOPMENT UNITS
PRODUCTION
PYROLYSIS
PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS
SIZE
SYNTHETIC FUELS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TIME DEPENDENCE
YIELDS