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On November 7, reporters learned from the Qingdao Institute of Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that the pilot plant developed by the institute for the hydrogenation of high-temperature coal tar to produce liquid fuels operated successfully on its first attempt, opening up a new pathway for coal-to-oil conversion. The series-connected full hydrogenation process technology developed by this institute has overcome the bottlenecks associated with the integrated development of high-temperature coal tar deep processing and the production of high-end chemical products. It has filled the gap in China regarding the use of reconstituted components from coal tar to produce high-density, low-freezing-point liquid fuels, providing technical support for the cost-effective and large-scale production of fuels for special application scenarios. It is stated that coal tar produced in coking is a by-product of coke production; it is produced in large quantities and is rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, making it highly suitable for the production of liquid fuels with low freezing points. Currently, domestic technologies for the conversion and utilization of coal tar focus primarily on medium- and low-temperature coal tar. Compared to medium- and low-temperature coal tar, high-temperature coal tar has a higher density, greater viscosity, and a higher final boiling point; it also contains reformed components such as resins and asphaltenes, as well as impurities like nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Hydrogenation of this type of coal tar is more difficult, and it can easily lead to catalyst deactivation, so there is an urgent need for technological advancements in this area. Leveraging the unique molecular structure of the high-temperature distillates produced as a by-product of coal coking, the Multiphase Catalytic Conversion Research Group at the Qingdao Institute of Energy conducted research on innovative approaches for removing impurities from high-temperature coal tar, enhancing the anti-coking properties of catalysts, and designing improved reactors. As a result, they developed a sequential full-hydrogenation process that involves hydrogenation pretreatment, hydrogenation refining, and hydrogenation ring-opening. The non-precious metal catalysts used for hydrogenation pretreatment, hydrogenation refining, as well as selective hydrocracking catalysts with moderate acidity enabled the deep conversion of low-quality feedstocks rich in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons into high-quality, clean coal-based liquid fuels. A responsible official from the institute explained that it took 7 years to develop this technology, progressing from laboratory research to pilot tests on a scale of 100 tons, during which the catalyst was developed, the process was optimized, and product testing was carried out. Subsequently, the institute collaborated with enterprises to build a kiloton-scale pilot evaluation facility, and by using refined washing oil as raw material, the pilot facility was successfully commissioned in just one attempt. The products manufactured by the pilot plant using this process have a density of over 0.83 g/cm³ and a freezing point below -60°C, making them highly suitable as transportation fuels and blending components.