Short contact time liquefaction of coal using hydrogen donor solvent

Liquefaction of coals to form benzene-soluble materials was studied at 400 °C under autogenous pressure conditions using tetrahydroquinoline (THQ), tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) and tetralin (TL) as the hydrogen donating solvents. THQ was the best solvent with a conversion rate of 90% within 15 min for low rank coals (< 80% C). In contrast, it took 50 min to achieve a conversion of 80% when TL was used as the solvent, although both solvents could achieve almost complete conversion of coals into quinoline-soluble material within 10 min. THQ also showed excellent activity with blended coals. Some binary solvents exhibited activities which varied with the THQ content. A 1:3 by weight mixture of THQ and petroleum pitch produced the highest conversion of 100%.