Coal continued direct liquefaction

Tomlinson, G. C., Gray, D., Neuworth, M. B., andTalib, A., The Impact of Rank-Related Coal Properties on the Response of Coals to Continuous Direct Liquefaction Processes, Sandia Contractors Report, SAND85-7238 (Oct. 1985). 

After World War II, direct liquefaction of coal became uneconomical as the use of lower-cost petroleum products became more widespread. However, the German process of indirect coal liquefaction, the Fischer-Tropsch process, continued to hold some interest. The Fischer-Tropsch process first involved production of a carbon monoxide and hydrogen-rich synthesis gas by the controlled gasification of coal followed by a catalytic reaction process to yield a valuable mixture of hydrocarbon products. Simplified Fischer-Tropsch reactions are shown by the following equations ... 

A question of considerable interest in coal hydroliquefaction chemistry is the amount and nature of "organically bound metals in the coal. One reason for this interest is the observation that when supported metal direct conversion catalysts are used in liquefaction reactors, a primary mode of deactivation is metals deposition Q, 2). In particular, recent work at the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) (4,5) and elsewhere (3) has indicated very high levels of titanium deposition on supported Co Mo catalysts used in the fixed bed continuous reactor system. It has been suggested that the culprits in such deposition are soluble metal species (6 9) The analyses of a Western Kentucky (Homestead) hvBb feed coal and of material deposited between the catalyst pellets in the fixed bed reactor at PETC (4) are shown in Table I. 

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