Catalytic cracking of 4-(1-naphthylmethyl)bibenzyl in sub- and supercritical water

Abstract The upgrading and reforming of coal-derived liquids are necessary for the application of high value-added liquid fuels, but the processing is difficult due to the amounts of impurities. In this paper, the catalytic cracking of 4-(1-naphthylmethyl)bibenzyl (NMBB) as a model reaction was studied deeply under sub- and supercritical water environment. Water might serve as a cheap and environmental H donor, which was more efficient than the supplied H 2 in the processing of coal-derived liquids upgrading. Meanwhile, sub- and supercritical water could provide a homogeneous reaction environment for NMBB cracking as special solvents. The NMBB conversion under subcritical water was much higher than that under supercritical water. Furthermore, for H 2 atmosphere, NMBB conversion was higher than that of N 2 atmosphere, indicating that the process of in-situ H 2 formation from subcritical water was more easily. Therefore, the cracking of NMBB under subcritical water and H 2 atmosphere could be regarded as a reasonable reaction condition.