Kinetics of thermal dissolution of a Utah bituminous coal using 1,2,3,4 tetrahydronaphthalene

This work describes the extraction of a Utah bituminous coal using twenty-six organic solvents and in particular the dissolution of this coal in 1,2,3,4- tetrahydronaphthalene (tetralin). A brief literature survey is included which serves to indicate the relation of coal to solvent for several extractions. Particular attention was paid to the static dissolution of the coal in tetralin over a temperature range of 96° to 350°C. Kinetics for this system was expressed by a velocity equation which seemed to fit the observed data fairly well over a time period of 30 to 500 minutes. From the kinetic data, it is shown that a two-stage mechanism for this static system is preferred. An Arrhenius activation energy for the low temperature stage (96° to approximately 250°C) was found to be 7.0 Kcal. per mole which can be compared to the energy of a diffusion process in a liquid media. In the high temperature region (approximately 250° to 350°C), a value of 19 Kcal. per mole was found for the Arrhenius activation energy. This value can be compared to the energy for a thermal dissociation or dissolution process.