Fine particle clay catalysts for coal liquefaction. Quarterly technical progress report, November 9, 1992--February 8, 1993

The mixed iron/alumina pillared clay catalysts and clay-supported iron catalysts have been shown in previous reports of this project to significantly improve yields of heptane-soluble products obtained in the liquefaction of both as received and acid-exchanged Wyodak subbituminous coal and Blind Canyon bituminous coal. In this quarter, the soluble product (LSW) obtained from the noncatalytic low-severity liquefaction of Wyodak coal was used as a feed to determine the activity of iron based catalysts for the hydrogenation and depolymerization steps. Comparison data for liquefaction of the soluble LSW with other catalysts were desired, and these data were obtained for a dispersed form of iron sulfide, prepared via iron hydroxyoxide (PETC method). The iron oxyhydroxide catalyst was directly precipitated on LSW product using either water or ethanol as the solvent. An insight into the functioning of the mixed iron/alumina pillared clay in coal liquefaction was investigated by preparing and studying an iron oxoaluminate structure. An investigation of new methods for the production of tetralin soluble iron oxometallate catalysts and the determination of their catalytic activities was continued in this quarter. The hydrogenation activity of iron oxoaluminate was investigated using pyrene and 1-methylnaphthalene as the test compounds, and results were compared with thermal reactions. In order to determine the loss of activity, recovered catalyst was recycled a second time for the hydrotreating of pyrene. Reaction of 1-methylnaphthalene with iron oxoaluminate also gave very high conversion to 1- and 5-methyltetralins and small amount of 2- and 6-methyltetralins. Liquefaction of Wyodak subbituminous and Blind Canyon bituminous coal was investigated using an in situ sulfided soluble iron oxoaluminate catalyst