More Pakistan Coal Liquefaction


 
Study on influence of catalysts on product distribution during liquefaction of Pakistani coal

We submit more research from Pakistan confirming the very practical reality of coal-to-liquid conversion technologies.
 
Note in this research that they employ lignite coal as the subject of study, a lower grade of coal that would be comparable in certain respects, such as Btu and ash content, to some WV coal mine waste accumulations; especially those at older mines that once produced coal for metallurgical use and thus discarded significant amounts of run-of-mine product because of excessive ash and volatile content. Much high-Btu organic material still resides in those wastes.
 
The excerpt: 

"Imtiaz Ahmad, Mohammad Arsala Khan, Mohammad Shakirullah, Mohammad Ishaq, Rashid Ahmad, Habib ur Rehman and Saeed ur Rehman


Institute of Chemical Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, NWFP 25120, Pakistan

Department of Chemical Engineering, Yanbu Industrial College, Yanbu Al Sinayah, Saudi Arabia

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan


Abstract

The influence of a group of metal oxide, hydroxide and chloride catalysts on the yields of liquefied products has been identified. The results of hydrogenation experiments performed with varying coal to catalyst ratio for a slurry of lignite coal in toluene demonstrated that metal loadings even as low as 1% proved effective for enhancement of yields. Among the catalysts employed, halide catalysts proved to be the most effective in terms of high yields of desirable liquefied products."

Note that "halide" catalysts are identified as being most effective. Could something as common as table salt be a key to the more profitable and more productive conversion of coal into liquid fuels?

We find it interesting that, as we have discovered in other coal-to-liquid research efforts in other places, representatives from the Oil Cartel nations, as in the Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, College researchers noted above, have insinuated themselves into coal liquefaction research efforts around the world. Just keeping their friends close, but their enemies closer, we suppose.