LURGI AND IN SITU-GENERATED RAW COAL GAS CONTAIN TARS, PHENOLS AND LIGHT HYDROCARBONS.

LURGI AND IN SITU-GENERATED RAW COAL GAS CONTAIN TARS, PHENOLS AND LIGHT HYDROCARBONS. THESE BY-PRODUCTS ARE OFTEN UNMARKETABLE AND FORCE THE USE OF EXPENSIVE AND CUMBERSOME GAS CLEANUP SCHEMES TO REMOVE AND DISPOSE OF THEM. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP A CATALYTIC GAS CLEANUP STEP FOR CONVERSION OF BY-PRODUCTS IN THE RAW GAS TO ADDITIONAL H(2), CO, CO(2), AND CH(4). SUCH A CLEANUP STEP WOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR SEVERAL PIECES OF DOWNSTREAM EQUIPMENT AND ALLOW IMPROVED HEAT INTEGRATION AND THERMAL EFFICIENCY AS WELL AS REDUCED STEAM CONSUMPTION.PHASE I WORK WILL CONSIST OF: AN EXPERIMENTAL SCREENING TEST PROGRAM ON PROMISING CATALYSTS UNDER REALISTIC CONDITIONS AND AN ENGINEERING STUDY VIA A COMPUTER PROCESS MODEL TO DETERMINE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT CLEANUP REACTOR OPERATING CONDITIONS AND MEANS OF HEAT SUPPLY. EXPECTED RESULTS ARE A SMALLER GROUP OF POTENTIALLY COMMERCIAL CATALYSTS TO BE CARRIED INTO MORE DETAILED PHASE II TESTING AND A QUANTITATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF TRADE-OFFS GOVERNING CLEANUP REACTOR CONDITIONS.