Vapor pressures and heats of vaporization of primary coal tars. Quarterly technical progress report, 1 July 1993--30 September 1993

Abstract

There is significant current interest in general area of coal pyrolysis, particularly with respect to comprehensive models of this complicated phenomenon. This interest derives from the central role of pyrolysis in all thermally driven coal conversion processes -- gasification, combustion, liquefaction, mild gasification, or thermal benefication. There remain several key data needs in these application areas. Among them is a need for more reliable correlation for prediction of vapor pressure of heavy, primary coal tars. Such information is important in design of all coal conversion processes, in which the volatility of tarry products is of major concern. Only very limited correlations exist, and these are not considered reliable to even an order of magnitude when applied to tars. The present project seeks to address this important gap in the near term by direct measurement of vapor pressures of coal tar fractions, by application of well-established techniques and modifications thereof. The principal objectives of the program are to: (1) obtain data on the vapor pressures and heats of vaporization of tars from a range of ranks of coal, (2) develop correlations based on a minimum set of conveniently measurable characteristics of the tars, (3) develop equipment that would allow performing such measurements in a reliable, straightforward fashion. Results of the literature survey are compiled. The experimental tasks have been concerned with setup and calibration.