What chemicals can be produced from coal through a chemical chain?
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This is the direction my supervisor has asked me to work on—using chemical chain-related technologies to produce chemicals. But this is a relatively new area of research; neither my seniors nor those who came before me have worked on it, and there are also few studies available on it. I have no idea where to start, so I was wondering if anyone who is familiar with this topic could offer some guidance. Thank you
Coal chemical industry is divided into traditional coal chemical industry and new coal chemical industry. Traditional coal chemical processes such as ammonia synthesis, urea synthesis, methanol production, etc ； New coal chemical technologies include coal-to-hydrogen, coal-to-natural gas, MTO/MTP, coal-to-ethanol, coal-to-ethylene glycol, coal-to-aromatics (BTX), and coal-to-carbon-based materials. Methanol can also be used to derive formaldehyde, polyoxymethylene, dimethyl ether, methyl acetate, and others ； Ethanol can also be used to derive ethylene, acetic acid, and acetates ； Ethylene glycol can be used to produce polyesters ； BTX can continue to be used for producing other basic organic chemical raw materials, among others. As for which specific products to develop, enterprises need to determine this based on the local industrial structure and actual market demands. Among them, coal-based ethanol holds considerable promise; coal-based ethylene glycol is very popular and suitable for the current polyester market, while coal-based carbon-based materials have the greatest potential for development.
Well, I’ve learned about most of this from literature; currently, I know that chemical chains are mostly related to combustion. I’ve read many studies on chemicals produced from coal, either through coal hydrogenation and liquefaction or in other ways； Or other chemicals can be obtained through extraction ； Either by producing syngas through a chemical chain reaction, and then using that syngas to manufacture chemicals. However, there are still very few cases of chemicals being produced directly through chemical chains; no relevant literature could be found. I have read a lot of papers over the course of time yet still don’t understand it. For a long period, I have been thinking about how such equipment can be used to produce chemicals directly via chemical chains
Coal has a complex composition with many impurities; to produce chemicals, it is generally first gasified and purified to generate syngas or methanol, from which other chemicals can be derived. Coal direct liquefaction (usually with hydrogenation) produces oils.
Mm-hmm, I thought about it some more and now I have a rough idea of what to do. Thank you; I’ll ask you again if I have any questions in the future.