Jaume Giralt

Catalytic hydroliquefaction of Bergueda lignite with fuel oil and anthracene oil under various reactive atmospheres

Abstract The hydrogenation of Bergueda lignite was studied using hydrogen donor and non-hydrogen donor solvents, such as anthracene and fuel oil, respectively, under a hydrogen atmosphere, in the temperature range 400–450 °C. The presence of a reactive hydrogen atmosphere increased coal conversion. Maximum yields were reached at 425 °C for the anthracene oil. The product distribution quality improved with the use of a commercial hydrodesulphurization catalyst, which also increased the production of hydrogen sulphide. Under these conditions, a pseudo-first order kinetic model appropriately described the hydroliquefaction reaction rate in terms of pseudocomponents.

Interactions of thiophenes and acidophilic, thermophilic bacteria

The growth and oxygen consumption of a variety of thermophilic, acidophilic bacteria in the presence of thiophene-2-carboxylate (T2C) and dibenzothiophene (DBT) have been determined. T2C was extremely toxic to the acidophiles in comparison with neutrophiles, but appeared to be degraded by a heterotrophicSulfolobus- like thermophile. DBT proved to be unstable at high temperatures, even in the absence of bacteria, and was not a substrate for the thermophiles.

Solvolysis of a Catalan lignite with solvents of low hydrogen donor capacity

Abstract The effect of the hydrogen donor capacity of the solvent — such as fuel oil, anthracene oil and mixtures of 10, 20 and 30 wt% of anthracene oil in fuel oil — on the solvolysis of a Catalan lignite was studied. Liquid yields of 50wt% (daf) obtained by solvolysis with fuel oil were increased when the hydrogen donor capacity of the fuel oil was enhanced by the addition of anthracene oil. A linear relation was found between the maximum coal conversion and the anthracene oil content of the mixture. The yield varied exponentially with reciprocal absolute temperature for each solvent mixture studied. A simple kinetic model was fitted to the data and a solid-fuel reaction model put forward.