Experiments were conducted to determine whether or not methane (natural gas) is an active hydrogenation gas for pyrolysis and liquefaction of Highvale (Alberta subbituminous) coal. Reactions were done under pressure in methane, hydrogen and argon gases in order to compare the toluene-soluble conversions. Tubing bomb micro-reactors were employed at 450ยฐC and 19-24 MPa. Tetralin was used as the donor solvent for the liquefaction runs and iron oxide was employed as the catalyst for the catalytic experiments. For comparison, a separate set of studies were conducted with standard samples of Illinois no. 6 bituminous coal under similar reaction conditions. The toluene soluble products were analysed by 'H n.m.r., g.c. and elemental analysis and the gases by g.c.. The data for both coals show that under pyrolysis and non-catalytic liquefaction conditions, coal conversions to toluene soluble products were higher for the runs with hydrogen gas than the corresponding methane runs. However, coal conversions under methane gas pressures were higher than those observed in the runs under inert gas (argon) atmospheres, indicating some hydrogenation activity for methane. In the catalytic runs, methane conversions of Highvale coal were consistently higher than the hydrogen conversions while conversions of Illinois no. 6 coal were equivalent. The 'H n.m.r. analysis of the liquid products from both coals showed that the compositions of the oils observed in the hydrogen and methane runs are similar. G.c. analysis of the liquid products showed alkylation of the donor solvent in the presence of methane to give methyl and dimethyl products.
. 13,14 Most of the hydrogen consumed in the liquefaction reaction comes from molecular hydrogen