Thermal Solvolysis of Coals Under Mild Conditions as an Alternative Way to Produce Aromatics for Carbon Materials

Abstract

Russia, China and, Mongolia are among the countries having large reserves of coals which are traditionally utilized mainly as a fuel for energy generation. In the present paper, the solvolysis of a large series of differentranked coals from various deposits of Russia and Mongolia in anthracene oil as a solvent to produce soluble aromatic substances was studied. All the coal samples were well characterized by the data on the chemical composition and on the conventional classification industrial indexes. The correlations between the composition and properties of coals and their reactivity for pyrolysis and for solvolysis with anthracene oil into soluble products were analyzed. Well defined correlations were established between the coal conversion into quinoline solubles and the properties of coals such as vitrinite reflectance, the yield of volatile matter, carbon content, and temperature at which the main decomposition occurs during coal pyrolysis. The criteria for the properties of coals suitable for solvolytic conversion into soluble aromatic substances are suggested. The chemical and group composition and the characteristics of the molecular structure of the soluble products obtained were studied using chemical and 1 H and 13 C NMR techniques. The extract obtained can serve as an alternative source for aromatics, liquid fuels, and for the production of a substitute for coal-tar pitch binder and for other purposes.

The Composition and Properties of Soluble Products from the Coal ThermoSolvolysis with Hydrocarbon Residues and Blends as Solvents

“…A large body of data on the dissolution of coals in the 1-methylnaphthalene and CMNO solvents was obtained by Japanese researchers [7,9,10,12]. Kobe Steel Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Chemical Co. are jointly developing a coal dissolution process to produce a deashed product called Hypercoal [7,12]. This product contains mainly polycondensed aromatic substances, has good plasticity and coking properties.…”