Coal to liquid conversion has been a hot but challenging topic. In general, there are two ways for this conversion: one is the direct way via coal liquefaction by hydrogenation under high pressure; the other is those indirect syntheses via syngas (to methanol, liquid hydrocarbons and others). The first one can directly convert coal into liquid fuels but high pressure and hydrogen are needed. The hydrogen production is expensive and needs special care. The indirect conversion requests a catalytic conversion normally after the syngas production from coal. At present, the indirect conversion would be better from viewpoint of economics. Coal to liquid conversion via dimethyl ether (DME) attracted many attentions recently. In this presentation, we report a novel coal to liquid conversion via DME by dielectric barrier discharge, a cold plasma phenomena. We confirm that the plasma conversion is easy and cheap with need of neither catalyst nor high pressure. Methoxy-containing oxygenates (methyl ethyl ether (MEE), dimethoxymethane (DMM) and dimethoxyethane (DMET)) can be easily produced. These oxygenates are excellent additive or alternative to diesel fuels.The selectivity is determined by the feed composition, frequency and applied power. No hydrogenation needed. Further studies are being conducted to demonstrate the feasibility for further applications.

Coal to liquid conversion via dimethyl ether

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.