There are several ways to remove minral matter from coal‐derived liquids: antisolvent agglomeration and subsequent sedimentation is one. Adding antisolvent to coal liquids causes asphaltenes and/or preasphaltenes in the oil to precipitate. The precipitated asphaltenes then agglomerate the paraticles, increasing the sedimentation rate. The magnitude of this increase depend no the mixing conditions used to dispers the antisolvent in the oil.
This article discuss the results of sedimentation experiments performed onthe antisolvent addition to coal liquids, using an x‐ray detection system. The system has the capacity of high temperature (up to 315°C) and high pressure (up to 2.75 7 × 106 Pa). The important parameters are the mixing time, the impeller speed, and the antisolvent addition rate. These are studied in detail for the antisolvent Soltrol.