TITLE: Coal Liquefaction: Investigation of Reactor Performance, Role of Catalysts and PCT Properties: Final Report.

AUTHOR: Y. Shah;   J. Tierney;   I. Wender;   S. Joseph;   C. Wen.

INST.  AUTHOR: Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  Feb 87,  227p.

NTIS ORDER NO.: DE87008403/INW

ABSTRACT:

In the first section of this report, a mathematical model for the Wilsonville Integrated Two-Stage Liquefaction Process is presented. The first stage is a bubble column slurry reactor and has been modeled previously. The second stage is an ebullated bed catalytic reactor designed to improve product quality, process flexibility, and hydrogen utilization efficiency. The basic equations for the second stage are developed. Supplementary information, a user manual, a sample problem, and a complete computer code in FORTRAN are given in Appendices. The second, third and fourth sections deal with the role of three types of catalysts in direct coal liquefaction. The second section contains an overview of the advantages, limitations, and significance of using homogeneous catalysts such as transition metal complexes for direct coal liquefaction.  These catalysts have the potential for hydroliquefaction of coal at relatively mild conditions and with good liquid yields. Emphasis is on review of the large body of published literature and on obtaining a perspective for where future developments using these types of catalysts will occur. The third section is concerned with the conversion of coal to liquids using very strong acids known as superacids as catalysts in direct coal liquefaction. The study of the direct liquefaction of coal with superacids promises to yield new approaches to both coal conversion and to elucidation of the constitution of coal. Background information on the use of liquid clathrates as catalysts for coal liquefaction is presented in  Section IV. Liquid clathrates can aid in the liquefaction of coal at or near room temperature and require neither application of heat nor consumption of hydrogen. Unfortunately, yields are low, and further developments are needed to justify commercial exploitation. 120 refs. (ERA citation 12:028264)

REPORT  NUMBER: DOE/PC/60054-T13

CONTRACT  NUMBER: FG22-83PC60054