Effect of fuel oil source on the preparation of coal-oil dispersions

BP has devised a preparative route to stable coal-oil dispersions (COD's) which involves the fine grinding of coal in oil. This paper investigates how COD preparation and properties are affected by oil composition. COD's were prepared using a range of fuel oils from different crude sources or refineries and containing straight run or cracked components. Wide variations in sedimentation stability-milling time profiles were measured and attempts have been made to correlate these data with fuel oil analytical parameters. The tendency of the asphaltenes in the oil to flocculate is thought to be an important parameter in determining stability for a given milling time. A preliminary explanation of the observed trends is proposed in this Paper.