Comparison of Coal Tars Generated by Pyrolysis of Hanna Coal and UCG (Underground Coal Gasification) Hanna IVB Coal Tars

摘要

The compositions of coal tars produced by laboratory and pilot scale apparatus have been compared to those produced during underground coal gasification (UCG) experiments at Hanna, Wyoming. Four coal tars were generated by pyrolysis using the block reactor and the laboratory reference retort, and a fifth coal tar was composited from products produced by UCG. Coal tars were separated into chemically defined fractions and were characterized by gas chromatography. Specific compounds were not identified, but rather fingerprinting or compound-type profiling was used for identifying similarities and differences in the product tars. This permitted the evaluation of the different methods of tar production with respect to one another. The UCG coal tars appeared to have undergone more secondary cracking than the pyrolytic products. The coal tar products from the laboratory reference retort appear to be more indicative of the coal's chemical structure. Products from the block reactor contained lesser amounts of the lighter boiling material. In addition there is organic sulfur contamination as indicated by the large amount of sulfur present in the product tar from the block reactor. 11 refs., 16 figs., 11 tabs. (ERA citation 12:047038)