We submit this study, from Australia, in support of West Virginia University's identification of "tetralin" as being an effective, perhaps the best yet identified, solvent for the direct liquefaction of coal for refining into petroleum substitutes.The excerpt:"Apparent enhancement of coal conversions using cresol — tetralin solventsAlbert A. Awadalla and Brian E. Smith
The Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd., Melbourne Research Laboratories, 245 Wellington Road, Clayton 3168, Australia
Abstract
Conversions are measured for coal hydrogenations using various solvent mixtures of p-cresol and tetralin. Compared with experiments in which tetralin alone was used as solvent, the addition of p-cresol yielded apparent increases in the observed conversions, by as much as 24%. In contrast to earlier studies, it is concluded that the effects of p-cresol occur during evaluation procedures rather than during the conversion reactions."
Honestly, we've no idea what the actual significance of these findings and conclusions might be, excepting that tetralin works in the dissolution of coal for direct liquefaction purposes, as WVU has attested, and that some significant efficiencies in performance might be realized by it's combination with other solvents. The true import, we think, is that coal conversion to liquid fuels is a valid endeavor, a true science that's undergoing serious development towards profitable commercialization in many parts of the world; places as far removed from each other as West Virginia and Australia.
