| abstract |
The invention relates to integrated thermochemical processes for converting coal into valuable products involving the combination of pyrolysis and solvent extraction. The disclosed systems and methods are versatile and can be used to produce a variety of valuable products, including chemicals (aromatic compounds, asphaltenes, naphthenes, phenols, polyamides, polyurethanes, polyesters), polymeric composite products (resins, coatings), graphitic products, agricultural materials, building materials, carbon fiber and other products that have a considerably greater value than those produced by energy through combustion . In addition, these systems and methods are more particularly designed to have a high degree of branching and flexibility, which allows a high selectivity and optimization to increase the value of the products, compared to that of the starting load . |