Direct post-cracking of volatiles from coal hydropyrolysis: 2. Influence of pressure

Direct post-cracking of volatile material produced by hydropyrolysis of bituminous coal at 580 °C under hydrogen pressure 1–5 MPa has been investigated at 700 °C under constant hydrogen pressure with 0.1 and 1 s residence times. Results show that pressure promotes the formation of benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX) and naphthalenes during post-cracking, while phenol, cresols and xylenols (PCX) are not affected. The transformation of heavy Ohenols into PCX is not influenced by the hydrogen pressure. During post-cracking the BTX yield can be more than doyble that reached in simple hydropyrolysis. Post-cracking applied to high oil yield hydropyrolysis processes will be a valuable BTX source.