TIRE LIQUEFACTION AND ITS EFFECT ON COAL-LIQUEFACTION

Liquefaction experiments were run using ground tire rubber and ground coal, individually and in combination. The runs, in a batch tubing-bom b reactor, were carried out in the presence and absence of tetralin as a solvent, and at high hydrogen pressures. The tire conversion is tem perature dependent. At 400-degrees-C in 30 min, almost all of the orga nic matter in the tire is converted to hexane-soluble material, in the absence of solvent and H-2. The conversion of the tire-coal mixture i s greater than the combination of the individual conversions. The incr emental conversion, i.e., the difference between the conversion of the mixture and the combination of the individual conversions, increases with the tire/coal ratio. The incremental yield of hexane-solubles, de fined analogously, shows trends that are similar but smaller in magnit ude. The effect of the tire appears similar to that of the solvent tet ralin, even though the tetralin is more effective in converting coal. The differences between the two may be due to the different radical-st abilizing capabilities between tire products and tetralin.