Chemical values from solvent refined coal SRC-II

Gulf Oil Corp.'s SRC-II process, developed for the production of synthetic fuels from coal, can also produce chemical feedstocks. Estimates based on a 30,000 ton/day plant show that ethane-propane cracking would produce (in millions of lb/yr) 1100 of ethylene and 110 of propylene; conversion of the naphtha alone into aromatics would produce 970 of benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX); conversion of the naphtha and light oil to aromatics would give 1500 of BTX and significant amounts of gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel; and the light fuel oil alone, e.g., of Kentucky No. 9 coal, could yield 276 of phenol, 463 of cresols, and 64 of naphthalene. Detailed product slates and cost estimates projected for 1990 show that ethylene from ethane-propane cracking offers $0.016/lb advantage over a natural gas-derived feedstock; that cost of ethylene from SRC-II hydrotreated naphtha is comparable to that from a Kuwait full-range naphtha and higher than ethylene from Kuwait gas oil; and that the cost of BTX from SRC-II naphtha is $0.87/gal compared with $1.22/gal for petroleum naphtha-derived BTX. The coal-derived petrochemical feedstocks are expected to be competitive with the petroleum-derived feedstocks by 1990.