Catalyst dispersion and activity under conditions of temperature-staged liquefaction

The general objectives of this research are (1) to investigate the use of highly dispersed catalysts for the pretreatment of coal by mild hydrogenation, (2) to identify the active forms of the catalysts under reaction conditions and (3) to clarify the mechanisms of catalysis. The ultimate objective is to ascertain if mild catalytic hydrogenation resulting in very limited or no coal solubilization is an advantageous pretreatment for the transformation of coal into transportable fuels. The experimental program will focus upon the development of effective methods of impregnating coal with catalysts, evaluating the conditions under which the catalysts are most active and establishing the relative impact of improved impregnation on conversion and product distributions obtained from coal hydrogenation