Catalytic hydroconversion of derivates from Naomaohu lignite over an active and recyclable bimetallic catalyst

Fe/attapulgite powder (AP), Ni/AP, and Fe-Ni/AP were prepared by thermally decomposing iron pentacarbonyl (IPC), nickel tetracarbonyl (NTC), and different molar ratios of IPC to NTC onto AP in ethoxyethane, respectively. Their activities for the catalytic hydrocracking of di(1-naphthyl)methane (DNM) were compared under the same conditions. As a result, the activity of Fe-Ni-S/AP (Fe:Ni = 2:1) for DNM hydrocracking is significantly higher than that of other catalysts used. DNM conversion is near 100% over Fe-Ni-S/AP with Fe:Ni = 2:1. Over the catalyst, H2 can be effectively split to H, which attacks the ipso-position of DNM to cleave the Car-Calk bridged bond in DNM. Naomaohu lignite was subjected to thermal dissolution/ethanolysis in ethanol to afford soluble portion 1 (SP1, yield 56.0%) and residue 1 (R1) followed by non-catalytic hydroconversion (NCHC) and catalytic hydroconversion (CHC) of SP1 and R1 at 300 °C using Fe-Ni-S/AP with Fe:Ni = 2:1 as the catalyst to afford SPNCHC, SPCHC, SP2 (yield 2.3%), and SPII (yield 11.2%). According to gas chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis, arenes are the most abundant in SPCHC, accounting for 21.9%, while the most abundant group component in SPNCHC are non‑nitrogen ketones, accounting for 20.0%. [Display omitted] •Fe-Ni-S/AP is effective for catalyzing the cleavage of bridged linkages.•More organic matter in R1 was converted into SPIIvia CHC procedure.•SPCHC is rich in arenes and arenols, while SPNCHC is dominated by non‑nitrogen ketones.