Pyrolysis of coal tar pitch with graphite-MoCl 5 intercalation compound

Abstract

Coal tar pitch (CTP) was pyrolysed in the presence of graphite-MoCl 5 intercalation compound (MoCl 5-GIC). Only a third-stage GIC could be obtained using the classical two-temperature method. GIC concentrations in the starting mixtures were 2, 5 and 10 wt%. The samples were characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The distribution of GIC particles in the CTP matrix is homogeneous and their presence leads to a significant increase in green coke yield on pyrolysis, in agreement with many published results. The influence of heating rate on the green coke yield was also studied: the lower the heating rate, the higher the yield. After thermal treatment at 750°C, molybdenum is always present in the green coke at a content close to the initial one, whereas most of the chlorine has been outgassed. It appears that CTP-MoCl 5-GIC mixtures have a behaviour similar to that of CTP-FeCl 3-GIC mixtures on pyrolysis. The final aim of this work is to synthesize catalysts supported on carbonaceous materials.