Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.
J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2012 May;62(5):489-99. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2012.660269.
To increase U.S. petroleum energy-independence, the University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) has developed a coal liquefaction process that uses a hydrogenated solvent and a proprietary catalyst to convert lignite coal to crude oil. This paper reports on part of the environmental evaluation of the liquefaction process: the evaluation of the solid residual from liquefying the coal, called inertinite, as a potential adsorbent for air and water purification. Inertinite samples derived from Arkansas and Texas lignite coals were used as test samples. In the activated carbon creation process, inertinite samples were heated in a tube furnace (Lindberg, Type 55035, Arlington, UT) at temperatures ranging between 300 and 850 degrees C for time spans of 60, 90, and 120 min, using steam and carbon dioxide as oxidizing gases. Activated inertinite samples were then characterized by ultra-high-purity nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 K using a high-speed surface area and pore size analyzer (Quantachrome, Nova 2200e, Kingsville, TX). Surface area and total pore volume were determined using the Brunauer Emmet, and Teller method, for the inertinite samples, as well as for four commercially available activated carbons (gas-phase adsorbents Calgon Fluepac-B and BPL 4 x 6; liquid-phase adsorbents Filtrasorb 200 and Carbsorb 30). In addition, adsorption isotherms were developed for inertinite and the two commercially available gas-phase carbons, using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as an example compound. Adsorption capacity was measured gravimetrically with a symmetric vapor sorption analyzer (VTI, Inc., Model SGA-100, Kingsville, TX). Also, liquid-phase adsorption experiments were conducted using methyl orange as an example organic compound. The study showed that using inertinite from coal can be beneficially reused as an adsorbent for air or water pollution control, although its surface area and adsorption capacity are not as high as those for commercially available activated carbons.
The United States currently imports two-thirds of its crude oil, leaving its transportation system especially vulnerable to disruptions in international crude supplies. UT Arlington has developed a liquefaction process that converts coal, abundant in the United States, to crude oil. This work demonstrated that the undissolvable solid coal residual from the liquefaction process, called inertinite, can be converted to an activated carbon adsorbent. Although its surface area and adsorption capacity are not as high as those for commercially available carbons, the inertinite source material would be available at no cost, and its beneficial reuse would avoid the need for disposal.
为了提高美国的石油能源独立性，德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校（UT Arlington）开发了一种煤炭液化工艺，该工艺使用氢化溶剂和专有催化剂将褐煤转化为原油。本文报告了液化过程的部分环境评估结果：评估液化过程中产生的不可溶解的固体残渣——惰性煤作为空气和水净化的潜在吸附剂。本文使用来自阿肯色州和德克萨斯州褐煤的惰性煤样作为测试样品。在活性炭的制备过程中，将惰性煤样在管式炉（Lindberg，Type 55035，Arlington，UT）中以 300-850℃的温度加热 60、90 和 120 分钟，使用蒸汽和二氧化碳作为氧化气体。然后使用高纯度氮气在 77 K 下通过高速表面积和孔径分析仪（Quantachrome，Nova 2200e，Kingsville，TX）对活化的惰性煤样进行特征描述。使用 Brunauer Emmet 和 Teller 方法对惰性煤样以及四种市售的活性炭（气相吸附剂 Calgon Fluepac-B 和 BPL 4 x 6；液相吸附剂 Filtrasorb 200 和 Carbsorb 30）进行表面积和总孔体积的测定。此外，使用甲乙酮（MEK）作为示例化合物，为惰性煤和两种市售的气相碳开发了吸附等温线。使用对称蒸汽吸附分析仪（VTI，Inc.，Model SGA-100，Kingsville，TX）进行吸附容量的重量法测量。此外，还使用甲基橙作为示例有机化合物进行了液相吸附实验。研究表明，虽然煤衍生的惰性煤作为空气或水污染控制的吸附剂的比表面积和吸附能力不如市售的活性炭高，但仍可以被有益地再利用。
美国目前进口其原油的三分之二，使其运输系统特别容易受到国际原油供应中断的影响。UT Arlington 开发了一种液化工艺，可将美国丰富的煤炭转化为原油。这项工作表明，液化过程中产生的不可溶解的固体煤残渣——惰性煤可以转化为活性炭吸附剂。虽然其比表面积和吸附能力不如市售碳高，但惰性煤的原料是免费的，其有益的再利用将避免需要处置。
