Advanced coal liquefaction. Final quarterly report, January 1, 1995--March 31, 1995

In this quarter, carbon-coated ceramic membrane was used in the permeation of tetralin and compound No. 9/tetralin. The carbon coating was applied in the silica-modified ceramic membrane to minimize the degradation of tetralin (as solvent) on the membrane surface. Thus, the fouling is much reduced. An extended permeation run can be performed without difficulty. This carbon coated product is thus adopted for our study from now on. Two modified ceramic membranes with pore size < 40 {angstrom} were tested. The one with a larger pore size (C-Si286) exhibited separation of compound No. 9 from tetralin at 300{degrees}C, but not at 400{degrees}C; while the one with a smaller pore size (C-Si272) showed separation of compound No. 9 at 400{degrees}C. Both of them will be used for our future study involving reactions. The catalytic membrane reactor concept was also demonstrated in the separation study conducted above. Due to the use of carbon-coated membrane, compound No. 9 decomposed at 400{degrees}C through the membrane, while no decomposition was found in the feed. This observation indicates compound No. 9 undergoes catalytic reaction on the carbon-coated membrane surface. In the next quarter, the membrane will be packed with the carbon catalyst to enhance the decomposition ratio