OXIDATIVE DESULFURIZATION OF COAL

Sidney Friedman, Robert B. LaCount, and Robert P. Warzinski

Pi ttsburgh Energy Research Center
U. S. Energy Research and Development Admi ni strati on
4800 Forbes Avenue, Pi ttsburgh, Pennsyl vani a 15213
I NTRODUCTI ON
It i s becoming i ncreasi ngl y apparent that the sol uti on to our nati onal energy
problems w i l l requi re a vari ety of approaches, and that these must be compati bl e
wi th environmental restri cti ons. Coal, onl y recentl y consi dered desti ned Tor
obscuri ty, has been rescued by a combination of i nternati onal pol i ti cal events
and i ncreasi ng di f f i cul ti es i n devel opi ng a nucl ear power i ndustry. Although coal
as an energy source presents problems, at l east i t is avai l abl e and can be uti l i zed.
The Federal Government, as part of the program admi ni stered by the Energy Research
and Development Admi ni strati on, i s carryi ng out research on many phases of coal
uti l i zati on to overcome the environmental problems i nvol ved i n the combustion of
coal . One such proj ect, which has been i n progress at the Pi ttsburgh Energy Research
Center si nce 1970, i s concerned wi th chemical benef i ci ati on of coal , and most
speci f i cal l y, wi th removal of sul f ur from coal pri or t o combustion.
EXPERIMENTAL
Batch Experiments. Thi rty-f i ve grams of -200 mesh coal and 100 ml of water were
pl aced i n a l i ner (gl ass or teflon) i n a 1-liter, magneti cal l y sti rred, stai nl ess
steel autocl ave. The autocl ave was pressuri zed wi th ai r (from a cyl i nder) to the
requi red gauge pressure, and then heated wi th sti rri ng unti l the speci f i ed
temperature was reached (approximately 1 hour heat-up ti me). After a speci f i ed
t i me at reacti on temperature, the autocl ave was cooled by means of an i nternal
cool i ng coi l . The contents were removed at room temperature, f i l tered, washed
unti l the pH of the f i l tr ate was neutral , and then extracted i n a Soxhl et thimble
wi th water unti l sul f ate (present as CaSO ) was no l onger present i n the f resh
extract.
anal yzed by the Coal Anal ysi s Secti on, U. S . Bureau of Mines.
Semicontinuous Experiments. Using a si mi l ar autocl ave f i tted wi th pressure
regul ati ng val ves, the autocl ave contai ni ng the coal and water was heated to the
speci f i ed temperature under one atmosphere ( i ni ti al pressure) of N2.
temperature, or shortl y before reachi ng i t, ai r was admi tted t o the desi red pressure.
Temperature was kept at the requi re9 val ue by usi ng heati ng and cool i ng (cool i ng
coi l ) whi l e ai r (approximately 2 f t /hr) flowed through the autocl ave. Af ter the
requi red t i me at temperature, the autocl ave was cool ed, and the products worked up
as i n the previ ous example.
4
The coal was then thoroughly dri ed i n a vacuum oven at 100'C and
A t
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Although the proj ect was i ni ti al l y di vi ded i nto removal of organi c and of i norgani c
sul f ur u, i t was soon evi dent that, though one coul d remove pyri ti c sul f ur
wi thout removing organi c sul f ur, the reverse was not true.
removed organi c sul f ur would al so remove pyri ti c sul f ur.
problem became one of f i ndi ng chemi stry sui tabl e f or removing organi c sul f ur from
coal .
Any process which
So the approach to the
100
The chemi st r y whi ch we chose to expl or e was based on t wo pr emi ses:
1. The maj or por t i on of t he or gani c sul f ur i n coal was of t he di benzot hi ophene
( DBT) t ype, and,
2 . The r eagent s had to be i nexpensi ve.
Whi l e we now bel i eve t hat at l east a si zabl e f r act i on of t he or gani c sul f ur i n coal
i s not di benzot hi opheni c, we have no r eason t o doubt t hat over 50%of i t may be.
These pr emi ses l ed us t o t he f ol l owi ng hypot het i cal t wo- st ep r emoval of or gani c
sul f ur f r omcoal .
1. Oxi dat i on of or gani c (or di benzot hi opheni c) sul f ur t o sul f one.
CoJ > /
02
2 . El i mi nat i on of t he SO2 f r omsul f one by base.
02
Bot h of t hese r eact i ons ar e i n t he l i t er at ur e, and so our t ask became one of
modi f yi ng and i mpr ovi ng t hemso t hat t hey coul d be appl i ed to desul f ur i zat i on of coal .
The second st ep -- t he r emoval of SO f r omDBT sul f one by base -- was f ound to be
essent i al l y quant i t at i ve when t he sul f one was heat ed t o 300C i n t he pr esence of
aqueous NaOH and near l y as ef f i ci ent wi t h Na2C03. Thi s was an i mpr ovement on t he
nonaqueous t r eat ment 0).
The f i r st st ep i n t he r eact i on -- oxi dat i on t o sul f one -- t hough ext ensi vel y
document ed i n t he l i t er at ur e, pr esent ed mor e of a chal l enge. Ther e ar e numer ous
oxi dant s r epor t ed whi ch can ef f ect t he conver si on of or ganosul f ur compounds t o
sul f ones, i ncl udi ng KMn04, HNO , Cr 03, H 0 / HOAc, and hydr oper oxi des <3). These
obvi ousl y do not f i t t he second pr emi se -- t he r eagent s must be i nexpensi ve. I t
was agr eed t hat t he onl y r eagent whi ch coul d be used as an oxi dant was t he oxygen
i n ai r . But DBT, and pr esumabl y t he or gani c sul f ur i n coal , i s i ner t t o ai r at
r el at i vel y hi gh pr essur e and t emper at ur e. Tr ansf er of oxygen t o a car r i er t o f or m
a hydr oper oxi de, f ol l owed by r eact i on of t he hydr oper oxi de wi t h DBT, di d gi ve
sul f one. We f ound t hat wi t h a l ar ge var i et y of hydr ocar bons, such as t et r al i n,
decal i n, and cycl ohexane, mer el y heat i ng DBT wi t h ai r under pr essur e i n t he pr esence
of t he hydr ocar bon r esul t ed i n f or mat i on of sul f one Vt), pr esumabl y as a r esul t of
i n si t u f or mat i on of hydr oper oxi des. Benzene, whi ch does not f or ma hydr o-
per oxi de, af f or ds no sul f one f or mat i on under compar abl e condi t i ons.
Appl yi ng our t wo- st ep r eact i on -- ai r oxi dat i on f ol l owed by t r eat ment wi t h aqueous
base -- t o coal , we wer e abl e t o achi eve up t o 50% r emoval of or gani c sul f ur, as
wel l as al most compl et e el i mi nat i on of pyr i t i c sul f ur as a bonus.
scheme appear ed pr omi si ng, i t di d r equi r e a sui t abl e or gani c l i qui d and al so NaOH.
We al so expl or ed anot her oxi dat i on syst emwhi ch ut i l i zes ai r as t he ul t i mat e sour ce
of oxygen. Ni t r ogen di oxi de -- NO -- i s a good r eagent f or conver t i ng sul f i des
t o sul f ones, and i t can be ut i l i ze2 i n an easi l y r egener abl e syst em.
2 2
Though t hi s
2N02 + -S- j 2NO + -SO 2 - ( 3)
2NO + O2 2N02
(4)
We f ound t hat we coul d, i ndeed, oxi di ze DBT t o i t s sul f one i n t hi s manner , usi ng
NO2 and ai r.
of concur r ent r eact i on took pl ace, i ncl udi ng ni t r at i on of t he coal , whi ch bonsumed
t he ni t r ogen oxi des and t hus woul d have necessi t at ed a cont i nuous addi t i on of NO
r at her t han t he r ecycl i ng shown i n Equat i ons 3 and 4.
I n t he meant i me, our exper i ment s on ai r oxi dat i ons of or ganosul f ur usi ng hydr o-
per oxi de pr ecur sor s l ed us t o t he ul t i mat e exper i ment , t he one i n whi ch H 0 was
used i n pl ace of an or gani c l i qui d phase. Thi s r eact i on of coal wi t h st eamand
compr essed ai r al most quant i t at i vel y conver t ed t he pyr i t i c sul f ur i n coal t o H SO
I n addi t i on, we f ound t hat we had al so r emoved 25%of t he or gani c sul f ur as weh.
Her e was evi dence t hat t her e was some or ganosul f ur i n coal whi ch was not DBT- l i ke,
si nce DBT f ai l ed t o r eact wi t h ai r and wat er under t hese condi t i ons.
I ni t i al exper i ment s on t he ai r - st eamoxydesul f ur i zat i on of coal wer e car r i ed out
usi ng a bat ch, st i r r ed aut ocl ave syst em. I n t hi s appar at us i n or der t o r epl ace
oxygen as i t was used, i t was necessar y t o cool t he aut ocl ave t o near r oom
t emper at ur e, vent t he spent ai r , r epr essur e, and r eheat . Though t hi s gave
sat i sf act or y desul f ur i zat i on, i t was an i mpr act i cal appr oach f or st udyi ng r eact i on
par amet er s. The r esul t s ci t ed i n Tabl es 1- 3 ar e f r ombat ch st udi es wi t hout
r epr essur i zat i on and t hus r epr esent l ess t han maxi mumdesul f ur i zat i on i n some cases.
The appar at us was modi f i ed t o al l ow ai r t o f l ow t hr ough t he st i r r ed r eact or whi l e
t he coal - wat er sl ur r y r emai ned as a bat ch r eact ant . Thi s i s our cur r ent syst em.
I n t hi s way, we can st udy many of t he var i abl es as t hey wi l l af f ect t he r eact i on
i n a cont i nuous syst em.
Our newest appar at us, now begi nni ng oper at i on, i s a f ul l y cont i nuous uni t , f eedi ng
bot h ai r and coal - wat er sl ur r y i nt o a r eact or t ube. Thi s syst emi s desi gned to
obt ai n dat a on r eact i on r at es, devel op i nf or mat i on f or economi c eval uat i on, and
answer t hose quest i ons whi ch ar i se concer ni ng engi neer i ng aspect s of t he pr ocess.
Heat i ng hi gh- pyr i t e coal s i n aqueous sl ur r y wi t h compr essed ai r at t ot al pr essur e
of 1, 000 psi and at 150- 160C r esul t s i n decr ease of pyr i t i c sul f ur t o near t he
l ower l i mi t of det ect i on by st andar d anal yt i cal pr ocedur e.
bat ch exper i ment s ar e shown i n Tabl e 1. The sul f ur whi ch i s r emoved i s conver t ed
compl et el y to aqueous sul f ur i c aci d. Exper i ment s i n a semi cont i nuous exper i ment
showas much as 80%of t he r eact i on occur s wi t hi n t he f i r st 5 mi nut es. At a
pr essur e of 200 psi , t he r eact i on i s much sl ower , r equi r i ng sever al hour s to achi eve
even 60%pyr i t i c sul f ur r emoval . For some coal s, at l east , t he desul f ur i zat i on i s
al most as r api d at 500 psi as at 1, 000 psi .
t emper at ur e dependent , but at t he condi t i ons of our exper i ment s, r eact i on i s
suf f i ci ent l y f ast t hat above 150C l i t t l e i mpr ovement i s not ed. I n a f ewcases,
wher e a coal appear s t o have some r esi dual pyr i t e whi ch i s not oxi di zed r eadi l y at
150"C, i t may be r emoved at 180' C.
A s t he t emper at ur e at whi ch t he oxi dat i on i s conduct ed i s i ncr eased above 150" C,
an i ncr easi ng amount of or gani c sul f ur i s r emoved f r omt he coal .
Per cent age of or gani c sul f ur r emoved par al l el s t he t emper at ur e r i se, so does t he
amount of coal whi ch i s oxi di zed. To pr event excessi ve l oss of coal a pr act i cal
l i mi t of 200C has been chosen f or car r yi ng out t he r eact i on on most Coal s.
Removal of or gani c sul f ur f r oma ser i es of coal s, shown i n Tabl e 2 , var i es f r om
20 t o over 40%.
wi t h some of t hese coal s wi t hout sacr i f i ce of coal r ecover abi l i t y.
When t he r eact i on was ext ended t o coal , however , a si gni f i cant amount
2
2
4'
Some r esul t s of 1- hour
The oxi dat i on of pyr i t i c sul f ur i s
Al t hough t he
Fur t her r educt i on of or gani c sul f ur cont ent i s pr obabl y possi bl e
102
An upper l i mi t on or gani c sul f ur r emoval appear s t o be bet ween 40 and 50%, and var i es
f r omcoal t o coal . We bel i eve t hi s i s due to t he f unct i onal i t y of t he or gani c sul f ur ,
and gi ves Some r ough measur e of oxi dat i on r esi st ant , or DBT t ype, of sul f ur .
Obvi ousl y, t hat sul f ur whi ch i s r emoved by oxydesul f ur i zat i on must be i n some ot her
st r uct ur e whi ch i s r eadi l y oxi di zed, such as t hi ol , sul f i de, and/ or di sul f i de.
These val ues coi nci de wi t h r emoval of sul f ur f r omcoal obser ved when i t i s heat ed
wi t h aqueous al kal i at 300"C, a r eagent whi ch does not at t ack DBT 0.
Even at 150- 160C many coal s, i ncl udi ng some wi t h r at her hi gh sul f ur cont ent s, can
be dr amat i cal l y desul f ur i zed, as shown i n Tabl e 3.
TABLE 1. Pyr i t e Removal f r omRepr esent at i ve Coal s by Oxydesul f ur i zat i on
Temp. Pyr i t i c sul f ur , wt pct
Seam St at e OC Unt r eat ed Tr eat ed
I l l i noi s No. 5 I l l i noi s 150 0. 9 0. 1
Mi nshal l I ndi ana 150 4. 2 0. 2
Lovi l i a No. 4 I owa 150 4. 0 0. 3
Pi t t sbur gh Ohi o 160 2. 8 0. 2
Lower Fr eepor t Pennsyl vani a 160 2. 4 0. 1
Br ookvi l l e Pennsyl vani a 180 3. 1 0. 1
TABLE 2 . Or gani c Sul f ur Removal f r omRepr esent at i ve Coal s
by Oxydesul f ur i zat i on
Temp Or gani c sul f ur , wt pct
Seam St at e "C Unt r eat ed Tr eat ed
Bevi er Kansas 150 2. 0 1. 6
Mammo t g Mont ana 150 0. 5 0. 4
Wyomi ng NO. $ Wyomi ng 150 1. 1 0. 8
Pi t t sbur gh Ohi o 180 1. 5 0. 8
Lower Fr eepor t Pennsyl vani a 180 1. 0 0. 8
I l l i noi s No. 6 I l l i noi s 200 2. 3 1. 3
Mi nshal l
I ndi ana 200 1. 5 1. 2
a Subbi t umi nous
TABLE 3. Oxydesul f ur i zat i on of Repr esent at i ve Coal s
Temp, Tot al sul f ur , wt pct Sul f ur , l b/ 106 Bt u
Seam St at e "C Unt r eat ed Tr eat ed Unt r eat ed Tr eat ed
Mi nshal l I ndi ana
I l l i noi s No. 5 I l l i noi s
Lovi l i a No. 4 I owa
Mammo tg Mont ana
Pi t t sbur gh Pennsyl vani a 150
Wyomi ng NO. Wyomi ng
Pi t t sbur gh Ohi o
Upper Fr eepor t Pennsyl vani a 160 2. 1 Q.2 1. 89 0. 80
a Subbi t umi nous
150 5. 7 2. 0 4. 99 1. 81
150 1. 1 0.6 0. 91 0. 52
150 3. 3 2. 0 2. 64 1. 75
150 5. 9 1. 4 5. 38 1. 42
1. 3 0. 8 0. 92 0.60
150 1. 8 0. 9 1. 41 0. 78
160 3. 0 1. 4 2. 34 1. 15
103
The reacti on condi ti ons which we have found to be sui tabl e f or oxydesul furi zati on
are :
Temperature - between 150" and 220' C.
Pressure - between 220 and 1,500 psi operati ng pressure.
Residence ti me - 1 hour or less.
Most of our experiments have been carri ed out below 220C and at approxi matel y 1,000
psi . Recoveries of f uel val ues are excel l ent, bei ng general l y 90% or better. The
onl y byproduct of the reacti on is di l ute H SO4.
observabl e ef f ect on desul f uri zati on f or a$ l east 5 cycl es.
too concentrated f or f urther use, i t can be converted to a commercial grade of
sul f uri c aci d i f a sui tabl e, economic market exi sts, or i t can be di sposed of by
l i mestone neutral i zati on as a readi l y f i l terabl e CaSO
The process, outl i ned i n Fi gure 1, needs no novel technology to produce coal having
over 95% of its pyri ti c sul f ur and as much as 40% of i ts organi c sul f ur removed.
Other than the coal , ai r , and water, the onl y other materi al needed f or the process
i s the l i mestone used to neutral i ze the $SO4.
water can be recycl ed, and the onl y waste product i s sol i d CaSO (7)
A prel i mi nary cost esti mate f or thi s process i ndi cates a cost of $3.50 to $5.00 per
ton. Even at twice thi s cost, the process would sti l l be consi derabl y less
expensi ve than coal conversi on to gas or l i qui d f uel . Assuming removal of 95%
pyri ti c sul f ur and 40% organi c sul f ur, an esti mated 40% of the coal mined i n the
eastern United States coul d be made envi ronmental l y acceptabl e as boi l er f uel ,
accordi ng to EPA standards f or new i nstal l ati ons. And the sul f ur content of the
remainder of the eastern coal coul d be drasti cal l y reduced, making i t envi ronmental l y
acceptabl e f or exi sti ng boi l ers.
Thi s can be recycl ed wi th no
When the H SO becomes
2 4
4'
No sl udge is formed, much of the
4 -'
CONCLUSIONS
Treatment of coal wi th compressed ai r and steam at 15Oo-20O0C represents a practi cal
method to desul f uri ze to acceptabl e l evel s a si zabl e percentage of the avai l abl e
coal i n the eastern Uni ted States at a cost i n money and f uel val ue less than coal
conversi on and to an extent greater than can be achi eved by physi cal depyri ti ng
methods.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
L. Reggel, R. Raymond, I . Wender, and B. D. Bl austei n, Am. Chem. SOC., Div. of
Fuel Chem. Prepri nts, 2 (Z), 44 (1972).
T. J. Wallace and B. N. Heimlich, Tetrahedron, 24, 1311 (1968)
E. Reed, "Organic Chemistry of Bi val ent Sul f ur," Vol. 11, Chemical Publ i shi ng
Co., I nc., New York, N. Y . , 1960, p. 64.
R. B. LaCount and Si dney Friedman, Manuscript i n preparati on.
4.
5. W. Worthy, Chem. & Eng. News, J ul y 7, 1975, pp. 24-25.
6.
Sidney Friedman and R. P. Warzi nski , Meeting of Am. I nst. Mech. Eng., New York,
N. Y . , Dec. 5-10, 1976.
During the course of thi s work, two ref erences have appeared which rel ate to a
si mi l ar procedure, though nei ther cl ai ms removal of organi c sul f ur:
J. C. Agarwal, R. A. Gi berti , P. F. I rmi nger, L. F. Petrovi c, and S. S. Sareen,
Mining Congr. J ., 61 ( 3 ) , 40 (1975); J. Thomas and A. Warshaw, u. s. Pat-
3,824,084 (Assigned t o Chemical Constructi on Corp.), J ul y 16, 1974.
7.
104
COMPRESS08
FI R *------
GRINDING
COAL
HEAVY
MINERALS
i
V'ATER I FILTER
Ca
DESULFURIZED
POWER P LANTS
AND INDUSTRIAL BOILERS
DRYER
-LI MESTONE
'4
i
Figure 1 - Air-steom coal desulfurization process.