PYROLYSIS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY HEAVY OIL USING A TRANSFER LINE REACTOR

The pyrolysis of a heavy fraction of the COED Western Kentucky coal oil was studied using a transfer line reactor at temperatures ranging from 600 to 750 °C, with pressures of essentially 1 atm and residence times up to 0.1 s. Results indicate the preferential pyrolysis of the saturates fraction in the oil. The main gas products are hydrogen, methane, and ethylene whose formation is favored by increasing temperatures and residence times. The formation of polycyclic aromatics is evident in the liquid pyrolysate at high temperatures and long residence times. The rate of cracking of the heavy oil was found to follow first-order kinetics with an activation energy of 16 947 cal/g-mol. A comparison is made with the results reported earlier for the pyrolysis of a light fraction of the COED Western Kentucky coal oil (Krishnamurthy et al., 1979). The light oil, due to its lower boiling range and higher saturates content, yields more gaseous hydrocarbons and appears to be less susceptible to polymerization than the heavy oil under similar conditions. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.