Reaction mechanism of coal hydrogenation 4. Effect of catalyst type

Abstract Japanese Taiheiyo coal was hydrogenated in naphthalene or tetralin under 10 MPa hydrogen using three types of catalyst of varying activities: stabilized nickel, iron dust (from steel-making converter) plus sulphur and cobalt-molybdenum on alumina support. In naphthalene, conversion (calculated from the pyridineinsoluble residue) and hydrogen consumption decreased with catalyst activity, in the order: Ni 〉 Fe 〉 Co-Mo 〉 no catalyst. In tetralin, conversion and hydrogen consumption was in the same order as in naphthalene, and the ratio of the amount of hydrogen consumed from gaseous hydrogen to that transferred from tetralin also had a similar tendency. This result supports the finding that the catalyst accelerates the direct hydrogenation of coal by gaseous hydrogen.