Coal liquefaction process streams characterization and evaluation. Novel analytical techniques for coal liquefaction: Fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

This study demonstrated the feasibility of using fluorescence and reflectance microscopy techniques for the examination of distillation resid materials derived from direct coal liquefaction. Resid, as defined here, is the 850{degrees}F{sup +} portion of the process stream, and includes soluble organics, insoluble organics and ash. The technique can be used to determine the degree of hydrogenation and the presence of multiple phases occurring within a resid sample. It can also be used to infer resid reactivity. The technique is rapid, requiring less than one hour for sample preparation and examination, and thus has apparent usefulness for process monitoring. Additionally, the technique can distinguish differences in samples produced under various process conditions. It can, therefore, be considered a potentially useful technique for the process developer. Further development and application of this analytical method as a process development tool is justified based on these results.