Clean liquid fuels from direct coal liquefaction: Chemistry, catalysis, technological status and challenges

Sivakumar Vasireddy, Bryan Morreale, Anthony Cugini, Chunshan Song, James J. Spivey

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

351 Scopus citations

Abstract

Increased demand for liquid transportation fuels coupled with gradual depletion of oil reserves and volatile petroleum prices have recently renewed interest in coal-to-liquids (CTL) technologies. Large recoverable global coal reserves can provide liquid fuels and significantly reduce dependence on oil imports. Direct coal liquefaction (DCL) converts solid coal (H/C ratio ≈ 0.8) to liquid fuels (H/C ratio ≈ 2) by adding hydrogen at high temperature and pressures in the presence or absence of catalyst. This review provides a comprehensive literature survey of the coal structure, chemistry and catalysis involved in direct liquefaction of coal. This report also touches briefly on the historical development and current status of DCL technologies. Key issues, challenges involved in DCL process and directions for the future research are also addressed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)311-345
Number of pages35
JournalEnergy and Environmental Science
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering
  • Pollution

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