QUANTIFICATION OF ORGANIC SULFUR-CONTAINING FUNCTIONAL-GROUPS FOR COAL CONVERSION PROCESSES

Abstract

An improved and automated temperature programmed reduction (TPR) apparatus has been applied to the study of sulphur functional groups in model compounds, coals and coal derived products. Experiments were performed in two independent laboratories and showed good reproducibility. A set of sulphur containing model compounds representing the types of functional groups believed to be present in coal were studied and were found to exhibit characteristic H2S evolution profiles. Quantitative conversion was observed for the model compounds. To gain a better understanding of the processes involved cysteine was the subject of a detailed kinetic study. Samples from a coal liquefaction process were investigated and the changes in sulphur functional group distributions rationalised in terms of the processing conditions.