PREFACE
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on December 23, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 20, 1981 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1981-0156.pr001
O
ur current dependence on petroleum is a natural result of economic forces: petroleum products until recently were much cheaper than liquid hydrocarbons derived from other sources such as coal, oil shale, and tar sands. We have also developed over the years transportation and domestic uses for liquid fuels that could be produced from petroleum at a relatively low cost. As the supply of petroleum becomes shorter, the alternative of synthetic fuels, derived from hydrocarbon resources other than petroleum, becomes more attractive, provided that they can be upgraded to suit our needs. If synthetic fuels could not be refined to suit our existing uses, we would be forced at an extraordinarily high expense to reinvent, redesign, and replace much of our end use equipment. Therefore, both production and upgrading of synfuels are critical to the goal of developing alternative energy resources.
Although coal can be used directly in many stationary power plants equipped with appropriate environmental safeguards, it must be converted to a liquid before it can serve as a substitute for present-day transportation fuels or home heating oils. Liquids have been obtained from coal for many years. However, as a direct result of recent energy shortages, a major effort is now being made to develop new and improved coal liquefaction technologies. Typically, liquids derived from coal are lower in hydrogen content and contain more impurities than do petroleum products. These impurities consist of atoms other than hydrogen and carbon, that is, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and inorganic materials. Upgrading of coal liquids to make specification fuels typically involves both hydrogen addition and removal of impurities. This book presents results of studies representative of the type of work in progress today on the upgrading of coal liquids. Information is presented on composition of coal liquids, the chemistry of upgrading, a variety of processing routes, catalyst evaluations, biological tests, and cost studies. Most of the chapters in this book were originally presented at the 179th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in March
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of 1980; many of them have been revised and updated. It is our hope that this book will serve as a convenient reference for those currently involved in related research areas and will serve as a building block for future work. RICHARD F. SULLIVAN
Chevron Research Company Richmond, California
Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on December 23, 2017 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 20, 1981 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1981-0156.pr001
November 7, 1980
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Sullivan; Upgrading Coal Liquids ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
