Why don’t enterprises engaged in the direct liquefaction of Shenhua coal and the hydrogenation of coal tar produce cycloalkyl specialty oils?

The \"Technology Roadmap for Key Areas of Made in China 2025\" states that: (1) For lubricating greases, emphasis should be placed on the development and utilization of base oils, with increased use of high-quality base oils such as hydrogenated base oils, GTL base oils, and biodegradable base oils in applications related to engine oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and lubricating greases； Increase the development and application of additives; carry out molecular design, development, and application of additive products such as antioxidants, viscosity index improvers, detergents and dispersants, and friction modifiers that meet the special performance requirements outlined by new environmental regulations, including low sulfur, low phosphorus, low ash content, low toxicity, biodegradability, and long service life. Developing proprietary formulae for universal products applicable to the most common industrial lubricants, including hydraulic oil, industrial gear oil, turbine oil, and grease ； Develop high-performance, long-lasting space lubricant products.

Some bosses don’t understand; most of them lack technical skills

Firstly, a large portion of tar consists of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which undergo certain degree of cracking and saturation through hydrogenation; however, it is difficult to saturate the benzene rings in most cases, and the products mainly consist of monocyclic and bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. It is very difficult to saturate a benzene ring into a cycloalkane. Secondly, products such as transformer oil, refrigerant oil, oil for rubber, and mineral oil have limited markets; there might be more demand for them in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Selling these products in the northwest regions also presents a challenge.

It’s the issues of technology and market that prevent anyone from doing it. I’m thinking about this question: is it possible to distill raw materials suitable for producing specialty oils from direct coal tar, and then use hydrogenation to produce those specialty oils?

It should mainly be the two reasons you mentioned. In the heavy oil lubricating oil fractions from Zone 9 of Karamay, naphthenes account for about 40%, while aromatic hydrocarbons account for about 15%. In our country, naphthenic crude oils are mainly found in the heavy oil in Area 9 of Karamay, the Yangsanmu oil in Dagang, as well as the heavy oils from the Liaohe region and the Suizhong 36-1 field. The production volume of naphthenic crude oil from Yangsanmu in Dagang is currently very low. Due to their low pour points and low aromatic content, the lubricating oil produced from Karamay’s heavy oil is primarily high-quality naphthenic oil. In contrast, because the heavy oils from the Liaohe and Zhonghai regions have relatively higher pour points and aromatic content, the lubricating oils derived from them are mainly of medium- and low-quality naphthenic type. At present, Karamay Petrochemical Company has become the largest production base for naphthenic lubricants in China, with an annual output of 400,000 tons of various lubricant products. Its high-pressure hydrogenation facility for lubricants is the only one of its kind in the country that uses this high-pressure hydrogenation process to produce high-quality naphthenic lubricants.

Hydrogenation of coal tar to produce lubricant base oils is now also feasible; it’s just that this process has not been widely adopted

I see that there are patent applications covering it.

{:3_55:} Can coal tar also be used to produce base oils? ?

Work in this area has already begun; the Fujian Research Institute has launched its own catalysts. This market is not large, and if too many products enter it, profits will drop sharply

A PPT from the Fuyan Research Institute stated that the ideal raw materials for lubricant base oils are: long-side-chain monocyclic aromatics, long-side-chain monocyclic naphthenes, and long-chain alkanes.