DIRECT PRODUCTION OF METHANE AND BENZENE FROM COAL.

The experimental results achieved to date suggest that non-catalytic hydropyrolysis of coal to methane and BTX is technically feasible. Sufficient data have been accumulated to explicitly define the operating conditions necessary to design a commercial unit that will react lignite to methane and BTX. In the commercial design, it is anticipated that an entrained flow reactor would be used. The advantage of this process is that no further hydrotreating of liquid products is necessary and that the products can be sold ″as is″ from the plant. Several cases have been developed to determine the optimum flow diagram for this process.