Premium
Ionic liquids for coal dissolution, extraction and liquefaction
Author(s) -
Zhao Hua,
Franklin Michael S
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.6489
Subject(s) - coal , coal liquefaction , chemistry , ionic liquid , asphaltene , liquefaction , pyrolysis , dissolution , destructive distillation , dry distillation , coal combustion products , extraction (chemistry) , waste management , chemical engineering , environmental chemistry , coal tar , organic chemistry , pulp and paper industry , carbonization , catalysis , adsorption , engineering
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel. Direct combustion of low‐ and medium‐rank coals causes alarming environmental impacts. Therefore, it is crucial for coal to undergo pretreatments before its efficient utilization [such as coal to liquid (CTL) processes]. Conventional pretreatment methods suffer from several limitations including the use of volatile organic solvents, environmental hazards, strong reaction conditions (e.g. high temperature and pressure), consumption of large quantities of nonrecoverable chemicals (e.g. bases used in aqueous alkaline digestion), or being only effective for specific coals. On the other hand, coal pretreatment by nonvolatile ionic liquids (ILs) could lead to partial coal dissolution/swelling and structure disruption, which is a critical step before coal liquefaction, hydrogenation, pyrolysis or the inhibition of oxidation/combustion. In addition, ILs are suitable solvents for extracting sulfur compounds from coal, asphaltenes from Direct Coal Liquefaction Residues (DCLR) and phenolic compounds from coal tar. This review will discuss these aspects of coal pretreatments by ILs, and identify how ILs could lead to a cleaner and more efficient utilization of coal resources. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry