Coal catalytic hydrorefinement

Thus, in the simultaneous liquefaction and primary catalytic hydrorefining of coal as practiced here, at the point of complete disappearance of hexane-insoluble asphaltenes very large proportions of the original coal remain as nonhydrocarbons in both the total filtered liquid product and in the distillate boiling below 1000°F. At this stage of hydrorefining, an additional input of ca. 2.2 wt % of hydrogen is required to convert all HCl-reactive, basic nonhydrocarbons to hydrocarbons and neutral nonhydrocarbons in the total filtered liquid product and about 1.7% in... 

This chapter reports results of applying a catalytic hydrorefining process to four coal liquids solvent-refined coal (SRC) process filter feed, SRC extract product, Synthoil, and H-Coal process hydroclone underflow. The achieved upgrading is evaluated in terms of reduction in benzene and heptane insolubles, reduction in sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen, an increase in hydrogen content, and a yield of lower boiling products. 

The study of catalytic reactions using a batch autoclave reactor has been criticized for long heat-up times and nonsteady-state catalyst activity. This catalyst-comparison study was carried out by injecting coal tar into a preheated autoclave containing precoked catalyst and hydrogen in order to eliminate long heat-up times. Nevertheless, the inherent differences in results between an autoclave and a trickle-bed reactor, which is widely used for hydrorefining of heavy liquids, exist still (5). 

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