WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS AND TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY
FOR THE LIQUIFICATION OF COAL USING THE H-COAL PROCESS
Edward J. Reap, Project Engineer
Gary M. Davis, Project Manager
John H. Koon, Director of Wastewater Management
Associated Water and Air Resources Engineers, Inc.
Nashville, Tennessee 37204
Michael J. Duffy, Corporate Environmental Coordinator
Ashland Oil, Inc.
Ashland, Kentucky 41101
INTRODUCTION
In an effort to meet the ever expanding demand for energy, increasing emphasis is
being placed upon substitution of the nation's abundant coal reserves for the rapidly declining crude oil reserves in the U.S.   One approach currently receiving serious consideration is the liquefaction of coal directly into liquid hydrocarbons.   One of the more
promising methods for coal liquefaction is the H-Coal process developed by Hydrocarbon
Research Incorporated (HRI).
BACKGROUND:   THE H-COAL PROCESS
The H-Coal process evolved from HRI's H-Oil process for the hydrotreating of heavy
residuals from petroleum refining operations.   Actual development of the H-Coal technology began in the early 1960s when HRI investigated the feasibility of applying its
H-Oil technology to the hydrogenation, desulfurization and liquefaction of coal.   Subsequent bench-scale investigations proved encouraging and HRI continued its experimental
program throughout the 1960s under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Interior
Office of Coal Research (OCR).
Encouraged by the results of HRI's bench-scale studies, several industrial participatn
including Ashland Oil, Inc., agreed to fund athree-year expanded development program to
further assess the technical and economic viability of the HCoal process.
With the successful completion of ths  program, the assistance of the Energy Research
and Development Administration (ERDA) was enlisted for the construction and operation
of a full-scale pilot plant facility.   The pilot plant, to be located in the vicinity of Ashland
Oil's Catlettsburg refinery, will be capable of processing up to 600 tons/day of coal, as
shown in Figure 1, and may be operated in either one of two modes:   (a) the production
of synthetic crude oil, or (b) the production of heavy fuel oils.
Funding for the $178,000,000 three-phase project will be provided by ERDA  and the
industrial participants shown in Table I; ERDA will provide 80% of the funds, with the
remainder furnished by the industrial participants.   The work reproted herein was performed under phase one of this funding.
PROCESS DESCRIPTION
The pilot plant will be generally divided into four operational areas:
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