INFLUENCE OF TYPE OF VACUUM RESIDUE ON THE CATALYTIC COPROCESSING OF A DEMINERALIZED CATALAN LIGNITE

The catalytic coprocessing of a demineralized Catalan lignite under a hydrogen atmosphere was studied. Two vacuum residues with different as phaltene contents were tested as solvents. The experimental results sh ow that the residue with the lower content of both asphaltenes and aro matic oils yields poor coal conversion and oil production as well as l ow-quality products. The catalysts used do not seem to have any signif icant influence on these results. The residue with the higher aromatic content gives higher conversions under catalytic conditions. This pro ves the importance of the aromatic compounds for the mechanism of coal radical stabilization with molecular hydrogen. Copyright (C) 1996 Els evier Science Ltd.