PYROLYSIS OF COAL-TAR PITCH WITH GRAPHITE-MOCL5 INTERCALATION COMPOUND

Coal tar pitch (CTP) was pyrolysed in the presence of graphite-MoCl5 i ntercalation compound (MoCl5-GIC). Only a third-stage GIC could be obt ained using the classical two-temperature method. GIC concentrations i n the starting mixtures were 2, 5 and 10 wt%. The samples were charact erized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The distribution of GIC particles in the CTP matrix is hom ogeneous and their presence leads to a significant increase in green c oke yield on pyrolysis, in agreement with many published results. The influence of heating rate on the green coke yield was also studied: th e lower the heating rate, the higher the yield. After thermal treatmen t at 750 degrees C, molybdenum is always present in the green coke at a content close to the initial one, whereas most of the chlorine has b een outgassed. It appears that CTP-MoCl5-GIC mixtures have a behaviour similar to that of CTP-FeCl3-GIC mixtures on pyrolysis. The final aim of this work is to synthesize catalysts supported on carbonaceous mat erials. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.