Pretreatment of solid carbonaceous material with dicarboxylic aromatic acids to prevent scale formation

摘要

Scale formation during the liquefaction of lower ranking coals and similar carbonaceous materials is significantly reduced and/or prevented by pretreatment with a pretreating agent selected from the group consisting of phthalic acid, phthalic anhydride, pyromellitic acid and pyromellitic anhydride. The pretreatment is believed to convert the scale-forming components to the corresponding phthalate and/or pyromellitate prior to liquefaction. The pretreatment is accomplished at a total pressure within the range from about 1 to about 2 atmospheres. Temperature during pretreatment will generally be within the range from about 5 DEG to about 80 DEG C.