Publications Details

Moessbauer investigation of materials used in Sandia`s DCL catalyst testing program

Stohl, F.V.

Moessbauer spectroscopy has been used to determine the iron-bearing phases in the coal, catalysts, and IOM products used and generated in the Direct Coal Liquefaction (DCL) catalyst testing program at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico. DCL experiments were conducted with a Blind Canyon, Utah, coal both thermally and with three different iron-based catalysts: (1) a sulfated hematite catalyst (Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}), (2) a 6-line ferrihydrite catalyst, and (3) iron-oxide impregnated directly into coal. The catalysts were added to the coal at both a 0.5 and a 1.0 wt% level and sufficient sulfur was added to ensure complete sulfidation of the iron. The Moessbauer spectrum of the Blind Canyon coal revealed that the major iron-bearing mineral present was ankerite, Ca(Fe,Mg)(CO{sub 3}){sub 2}, which converts firs to {gamma}-Fe (austenitic iron) before undergoing partial sulfidation to pyrrhotite in the thermal runs. The percentages of pyrrhotite formed in the catalytic runs were higher than those in the thermal runs indicating that sulfidation of the added iron occurs more rapidly than with the ankerite. Moessbauer data on the amount of pyrrhotite present does not correlate well with THF and heptane conversion percentages, indicating that other parameters like catalyst dispersion must also be considered.