We've many times documented and referred to West Virginia University's "West Virginia Process" for the direct liquefaction of Coal.
Again, our understanding of the West Virginia Process is that it utilizes, as do some others we've documented for you, the hydrogen donor solvent known most commonly as "Tetralin", which, again as we've documented, is an hydrogenated version of the long-known primary Coal oil, Naphthalene, to effect the hydrogenation and dissolution raw Coal.
A little more information concerning that WVU technology can be found, for one instance, in a fairly recent report we made, accessible via: WVU Hydrogenates Coal Tar | Research & Development | News; wherein is detailed:
"Hydrogenation of Naphthalene and Coal Tar Distillate over Ni/Mo/Al2O3 Catalyst; Abhijit Bhagavatula; Thesis submitted to the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at WVU in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Chemical Engineering."
We have also documented in other reports that such Coal-derived Hydrogen donor solvents can be utilized, in technically similar processes, to effect the conversion of other, solid and semi-solid, Carbon materials, including Carbon-recycling and renewable resources, such as cellulose and various other carbonaceous wastes, primarily of botanical origin.
Herein, from England, we have additional confirmation of that fact. Brief comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 4,618,736 - Conversion of a Municipal Waste to Fuel
Date: October, 1986
Inventors: Frederick Benn and Charles McAuliffe, UK
Assignee: Salford University, Manchester
Abstract: A process for converting cellulose-containing refuse into a fuel comprising forming a suspension of said cellulosic material in a polycyclic hydrogen donor substance and hydrogenating the suspension at elevated temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst to produce a mixture of gaseous, liquid and solid hydrocarbons having a low oxygen content and correspondingly high calorific value.
Claims: A process for production of hydrocarbons from cellulosic material comprising the steps of forming a suspension of cellulosic material in a liquid polycyclic hydrogen donor substance, ... (and, through specified reaction conditions, bringing) about hydrogenation of the cellulosic material and (thereby) produce a mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons ... separating the mixture of hydrocarbons into gaseous, liquid, and solid phases, and recovering liquid polycyclic hydrogen donor substance from the liquid phase and recycling said recovered liquid hydrogen donor substance for treatment of fresh cellulosic material.
A process ... wherein the cellulosic material is derived from or comprised in refuse.
A process ... wherein the polycyclic hydrogen donor substance is tetralin.
Other useful hydrogen donor substances include partially reduced polycyclic aromatic compounds such as dihydroanthracene and dihydrophenanthrene; and crude polycyclic aromatic fractions.
(Other Coal-derived oils, in other words; i.e., hydrogenated anthracene and phenanthrene.)
Description: This invention relates to the hydrogenation of cellulose and more particularly but not exclusively the hydrogenation of waste containing cellulosic substances.
Municipal waste or refuse almost always contains cellulosic materials such as paper, vegetable matter, cellulosic textile materials. The proportion of such cellulosic materials in the waste is, of course, variable but nevertheless after screening of the waste to remove large pieces of waste it may contain up to 70% cellulosic material. This cellulosic material is an important commodity which at present is frequently unused.
It is well known that cellulose can be hydrogenated at elevated temperature and pressure in the presence of a metal catalyst in an oil solvent to form a mixture of gaseous, liquid and solid products. It is also known that certain hydrogen donor substances such as tetralin can be used to extract soluble components from coal and to facilitate hydrogenation of the soluble components.
(Sadly, it is not, apparently, so "well known" in US Coal Country, outside the academic confines of WVU, and some other institutions of higher learning, that such Coal-derived "tetralin can be used to extract soluble components from coal".)
It has now been discovered that cellulose can be hydrogenated in the presence of a hydrogen donor substance such as tetralin.
Municipal and plant refuse is normally wet and it is preferred to dry it and grind it prior to hydrogenation. It would appear that water plays a part in the hydrogenation reaction which is not disadvantageous, so that the refuse need not be completely dried and/or water can be added to it after it has been ground.
(The Disclosure goes on to explain, again in confirmation of earlier of our reports, that plain old H2O can sometimes be made to serve as an adjunct Hydrogen donor in such Carbon conversion processes, especially when the desired end product is an alcohol, such as Methanol.)
The hydrogenation may be catalysed with a metal based catalyst such as nickel oxide but that is not essential. Catalysts which are less active than nickel, such as iron oxides have been found less satisfactory than nickel and other more active catalysts but they can be used if desired.
A mixture of gaseous, liquid and solid hydrocarbon products are formed. The phases may be readily separated by any suitable method and the liquid phase distilled to recover the polycyclic hydrogen donor substance for reuse and to obtain other fractions as desired.
The liquid fraction after distillation may be used as a fuel oil."
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So, to be clear:
By using "known" Coal-derived "substances such as tetralin", which "can be used to extract soluble components from coal", we can convert Carbon-recycling "municipal and plant refuse" into "fuel oil".
We've discussed all of this to some length among ourselves; and, we think we understand most of it.
The one thing we are having a problem with is understanding what the reasons might be, which have prevented us all from seeing to it that we start using a Coal-based solvent, i.e., "tetralin ... to extract soluble components from coal and to" do the same with renewable, Carbon-recycling "cellulose and ... waste containing cellulosic substances".