Trace and minor element analyses of coal liquefaction products

The feed coal and products from a single batch of a long-term liquefaction run on the 400 lb coal/day process development unit at the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) were sampled. Trace and minor element determinations were made on the West Virginia hvAb feed coal, gross liquid product, and centrifuged liquid product and centrifuge residue from both the first and second centrifuging of the liquid product. Spark source mass spectrometry was used to determine the distribution and general level of about sixty elements. More precise determinations of specific trace (copper, chromium, manganese, nickel, zinc, lead, and cadmium) and minor elements (iron, silicon, aluminum, magnesium, and potassium) were made for elemental balance purposes. Results are compared with those previously obtained from a Kentucky hvBb coal run. Centrifugation of the liquid product from the West Virginia coal results in a preferential removal of iron and several other elements which were not observed in the Kentucky coal run. Certain elements such as boron and titanium, which are highly associated with the organic fractions of the coal, are less efficiently removed from the liquid product than other elements.