COAL CONVERSION IN LOW TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALTS

LOW TEMPERATURE MOLTEN SALTS BASED ON AL, FE, AND B ARE KNOWN. RECENTLY, UNIQUE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN THESE EUTECTIC MIXTURES. THESE LOW TEMPERATURE EUTECTICS ( 100 DEGREE(C)) ARE ATTRACTIVE MEDIA FOR COAL CONVERSION. THE EUTECTICS SHOULD DISSOLVE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HYDROGEN. BY CONTROLLING THE ACIDITY OF THE MIXTURES, COAL CLEAVAGE REACTIONS SHOULD BE ENHANCED. ETHER CLEAVAGE REACTIONS SHOULD BE VASTLY ACCELERATED BY SPECIFIC CHELATION IN THESE MOLTEN SALTS. ITHAS ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT OIL SHALE CAN BE CONVERTED TO LIQUIDS AT TEMPERATURES SEVERAL HUNDRED DEGREESCENTIGRADE LOWER THAN IN THERMAL PROCESSES. THIS PROJECT WILL EXAMINE COAL CONVERSION TO TOLUENE SOLUBLES IN SODIUM TETRACHLOROALUMINATE, FERRIC CHLORIDE-SODIUM CHLORIDE, AND BORON TRIBROMIDE BASED MELTS. MELT TEMPERATURES FROM NEAR EUTECTIC POINT TO 250 DEGREE(C) WILL BE EXAMINED. THE EFFECT OF MODEST HYDROGEN PRESSURE (50, 200, 500 PSIG AT TEMPERATURE) ALSO WILL BE EXAMINED. WHERE CONVERSION IS HIGH, THE EFFECT OF DISSOLVED WATER WILL BE EXAMINED. A BRIEF STUDY OF MODEL COMPOUND REACTIONS WILL BE PERFORMED, IF WARRANTED. FINALLY, A COMPARISON OF MOLTEN SALT CONVERSION RESULTS WITH CONVENTIONAL DIRECT LIQUEFACTION RESULTS WILL BE MADE.