Catalytic and Thermal Cracking of Coal-Derived Liquid in a Fixed-Bed Reactor

A coal-derived liquid, obtained from the Coal Technology Corp.'s mild gasification process, was cracked over char produced from Pittsburgh No. 8 coal mixed with Plum Run dolomite in the Foster Wheeler carbonizer. For the purpose of comparison, calcined Plum Run dolomite (PRD), char produced from Pittsburgh No. 8 coal, and silicon carbide (an inert material) were also studied. Coal liquid feed was analyzed by sulfur-selective gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and for elemental composition. The gaseous products of cracking were analyzed for hydrocarbons using GC. Most sulfur in the feed was present in molecules heavier than dibenzothiophene and was distributed in a variety of structures. The surviving coal liquid was analyzed by LC. The results indicated that deoxygenation of phenols, dealkylation of aromatic compounds (AR), and condensation of aromatic structures are some of the reactions occurring on the surface of bed materials. Energies of activation for homogeneous and for heterogeneous pyrolysis of the coal liquid were calculated after separating the rate of thermal cracking from the sum of rates of thermal and catalytic cracking.