ScienceDirect - Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis : Production of high octane gasoline components by hydroprocessing, .
The work of the University of Utah, as represented herein, invites full review by experts qualified to translate it's import for the rest of us.
We don't want to surmise too much; and, we present it for only two reasons, as we explain following the excerpts from:
"Production of Gasoline Components (from) Coal-derived Aromatic Hydrocarbons
2007
B. Demirel and W.H. Wiser
Department of Chemical and Fuels Engineering University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract: The main objective of this work was to convert aromatic compounds, representative of coal-derived liquids, into high octane compounds low in aromatics. For this study, 1-methyl-naphthalene was chosen as a model compound. Experiments were performed in single and two-stage systems. The model compound was treated with various catalysts at different reaction conditions in the single-stage operation. The highest conversion to isoparaffins ... was achieved with a NiW/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst (a zeolite compound, we believe, likely similar to that employed by ExxonMobil in their "MTG"(r), methanol-to-gasoline, process, wherein the Methanol is posited to be made from Coal. - JtM) at 325C and 1000psig in 10h with a feed to catalyst ratio of 10 to 1. In the two-stage operation, 1-methylnaphthalene was hydrogenated to methyldecalins at 325C with almost 100% conversion in the first stage, using a NiMo/TiO2-Al2O3 catalyst. In the second stage, the methyldecalins underwent hydrocracking reactions at different reaction conditions using various catalysts. Pd/REX exhibited the best result for the production of high octane gasoline components without aromatics at 300–325C."
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First, this work was performed in Utah, where they do mine some Coal, but, which is pretty far removed from the truly major centers of Coal production - and pretty much everything else.
Second, they were, we believe, converting, as we have documented to be feasible and practical, primary Coal tars and oils, which can be generated via coking processes, into Gasoline.
And, they were working only with a "model compound" selected to be "representative of coal-derived liquids".
That seems strange since they do have plenty of real Coal to work with in Utah.
Nonetheless, scientists at the University of Utah demonstrated that "almost 100%" of a Coal-derived liquid can be converted, via intermediary compounds, "methyldecalins", into "high octane gasoline components".
