Hydroprocessing of low-temperature coal tar to produce jet fuel

Abstract

Jet fuel was prepared from low-temperature coal tar (LTCT) via two-stage fixed beds that were filled with two commercial catalysts. The effects of temperature (340–400 °C), pressure (6–12 MPa) and liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) (0.4–1.0 h⁻¹) on the hydrogenation performance and properties of the product were investigated, while the H₂/oil ratio was maintained at a constant 1600 : 1 in all cases. In this study, the freezing point and the heat value increased with increasing pressure and LHSV over the catalysts. However, the freezing point decreased and then increased, while the heat value increased and then decreased with the increase of temperature. The jet fuel (180–280 °C) fraction was separated from the product and analyzed. The density, the freezing point and the heat value of the jet fuel were 0.815 g mL⁻¹, −56 °C and 42 MJ kg⁻¹, respectively. The main components of jet fuel were cycloalkanes and isoalkanes. The results showed that the jet fuel obtained from the LTCT had a series of advantages such as lower freezing point and higher heat value.