Coal hydrogenation creosote

Table 2.14 shows the total production of oil products in Germany and aviation gasoline in the United Kingdom by catalytic hydrogenation of coal or creosote from 1935 to 1946. 

TABLE 2.15. Coal and Creosote Hydrogenation Process and Catalysts. 

Imperial Chemical Industries in Great Britain hydrogenated coal to produce gasoline until the start of World War II. The process then operated on creosote middle oil until 1958. As of this writing none of these plants is being used to make Hquid fuels for economic reasons. The present prices of coal and hydrogen from coal have not made synthetic Hquid fuels competitive. Exceptions are those cases, as in South Africa, where there is availabiHty of cheap coal, and fuel Hquids are very important. 

Microautoclave data was also obtained with Wilsonville Batch I solvent utilizing Indiana V coal. Batch I solvent was obtained from Wilsonville in mid-1977. Other batches of recycle solvent were received later. Batch I solvent had inspections most like the Allied 24CA Creosote Oil used for start-up at the Wilsonville Pilot Plant. Succeeding batches of solvent received by CCDC showed substantial differences, presumably due to equilibration at various operating conditions. As the Wilsonville solvent aged and became more coal derived, the solvent aromaticity decreased with an increase in such compounds as indan and related homologs. The decrease in aromaticity has also been verified by NMR. A later solvent (Batch III) also showed an increase in phenolic and a decrease in phenanthrene (anthracene) and hydrogenated phenanthrene (anthracene) type compounds. 

Authentic and synthetic solvent-refined coal filtrates were processed upflow in hydrogen over three different commercially available catalysts. Residual (>850°F bp) solvent-refined coal versions up to 46 wt % were observed under typical hydrotreating conditions on authentic filtrate over a cobalt-molybdenum (Co-Mo) catalyst. A synthetic filtrate comprised of creosote oil containing 52 wt % Tacoma solvent-refined coals was used for evaluating nickel-molybdenum and nickel-tungsten catalysts. Nickel-molybdenum on alumina catalyst converted more 850°F- - solvent-refined coals, consumed less hydrogen, and produced a better product distribution than nickel-tungsten on silica alumina. Net solvent make was observed from both catalysts on synthetic filtrate whereas a solvent loss was observed when authentic filtrate was hydroprocessed. Products were characterized by a number of analytical methods. 

Creosote oil was chosen as substitute solvent because of its coal source and its similarity in ring composition to SRC distillate. The hydrogen contents of these oils are lower than for conventional recycle solvents. Koppers Tar has a 6.1% hydrogen content whereas the SRC distillate from Tacoma used in this study has an 8.2% hydrogen content. 

Guin et al. (49) studied the HDS of creosote oil and Kentucky No. 9/14 coal mixture at 683 K and 6.8 MPa and 17 MPa initial hydrogen pressures in the presence of C0M0/AI2O3 catalyst and other mineral matter. The results indicated that C0M0/AI2O3 was the best catalyst (removing almost all the sulfur) and ankerite was the worst. 

The ICl plant was converted to use creosote feed during the war years. This was originally for safety reasons but later coal became too expensive and was in short supply. Creosote could be easily hydrogenated and gave reliable operation in a plant producing more than 100,000 tormes.year" of 100-octane aviation gasoline (Figure 2.6). 

Gas oil was another readily available alternative to coal and required orrly half of the amount of hydrogen needed compared with creosote. It was used in a second hydrogenation plant operated by Shell, ICl, and Trinidad Leaseholds, Ltd. (Trimpell, Ltd) to produce more than 300,000 tonnes.year of 100-octane gasoline. Butane, a by-product from both plants, was converted by the new UOP... 

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