Coal liquefaction with in situ impregnated Fe₂(MoS₄)₃ bimetallic catalyst

Daliuta subbituminous coal (DL), loaded with Fe₂(MoS₄)₃ bimetallic catalyst, was liquefied in a 50 ml micro-autoclave with tetralin as solvent at 440 °C, initial hydrogen of 6.0 MPa, soaking time of 30 min in attempt to produce one to four ring aromatic chemicals. The catalytic effects of in situ impregnated Fe₂(MoS₄)₃ in water solution with and without surfactant were investigated in terms of coal conversion, oil + gas yield and the yields of aromatic, aliphatic and polar compound fractions in the oil. The conversion, oil + gas, aromatics and polar compound yields of DL coal, loaded with 1 wt% daf FeMo of Fe₂(MoS₄)₃ bimetallic catalyst, were 78.2, 70.5, 20.8 and 16.7 wt% daf, respectively, which were higher than those with 1.0 wt% Fe (based on daf coal) of Fe₂S₃ (62.6, 54.2, 13.4, 13.2 wt% daf, respectively) or 1.0 wt% Mo of ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (70.8, 63.2, 16.7, 14.1 wt% daf, respectively) alone under the same conditions. When the catalyst was impregnated on coal in surfactant solution, the coal conversion and product yields were further increased. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.