A biochar (BC)-supported
non-noble metal catalyst CoMoS
x
O
y
@BC was prepared by in situ co-pyrolysis
and ex situ sulfurization,
and a two-step conversion (TSC) strategy, including H2-controlled
catalytic hydroconversion (CHC) and catalytic ethanolysis without
H2 participation, was proposed and used for catalyzing
degradation of Dahuangshan lignite (DL) into soluble species (SSs)
in high yields. CoMoS
x
O
y
@BC with uniformly dispersed nanoparticles of metals, metal
sulfides, and metal oxides plays a crucial role in the TSC. The effective
activation of H2 and ethanol over CoMoS
x
O
y
@BC facilitates cleaving bridged
linkages in organic matter of DL to increase the SS yields. As a result,
the total yield of SSs increased from 42.7% via non-catalytic degradation
(NCD) to 70.0% via catalytic degradation (CD), while that of the petroleum
ether-extractable portion (PEEP) increases from 17.5% via NCD to 27.0%
via CD. In addition, according to the analysis with a gas chromatograph/mass
spectrometer, alkanes, arenes, and arenols are dominant in PEEPs from
step 1 (PEEPs1), while alkanol, arenols, and esters in
PEEPs from step 2 (PEEPs2) are predominant. The difference
in composition among the PEEPs and hydrogenated PEEPs obtained by
the CHC further confirms that PEEPs1 are more suitable
as a precursor for the fuel-platform unit, while PEEPs2 are better candidates for obtaining value-added chemicals. In other
words, multiple PEEPs in high yields with different properties can
be obtained by this TSC strategy, which provides a potential and promising
alternative to the clean and efficient utilization of lignites.