The use of NMR techniques for the analysis of water in coal and the effect of different coal drying techniques on the structure and reactivity of coal. Final report

Abstract

Western Research Institute has conducted a study of different methods of coal drying as pretreatment steps before liquefaction. The objectives of this study were to develop a combined chemical dehydration/nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method for measuring the moisture content of coal, to measure the changes in coal structure that occur during drying, and to determine the effects of different drying methods on liquefaction reactivity of coals. Different methods of drying were investigated to determine whether coal drying can be accomplished without reducing the reactivity of coals toward liquefaction. Drying methods included thermal, microwave, and chemical dehydration. Coals of rank lignite to high volatile bituminous were studied. Coals that were dried or partially dried thermally and with microwaves had lower liquefaction conversions than coals containing equilibrium moisture contents. However, chemically dried coals had conversions equal to or greater than the premoisturized coals. The conversion behavior is consistent with changes in the physical structure and cross linking reactions because of drying. Thermal and microwave drying appear to cause a collapse in the pore structure, thus preventing donor solvents such as tetralin from contacting reactive sites inside the coals. Chemical dehydration does not appear to collapse the pore structure. These results are supported by the solvent swelling measurements in which the swelling ratios of thermally dried and microwave-dried coals were lower than those of premoisturized coals, indicating a greater degree of cross linking in the dried coals. The swelling ratios of the chemically dried coals were greater than those of the premoisturized coals because the pore structure remaining unchanged or increased when water was removed. These results are consistent with the NMR results, which did not show significant changes in coal chemical structure.