Effect of Reaction Conditions on the Molecular Compositions of the Oils From Mild Catalytic Hydrocracking of Xilinguole Lignite Over a Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Supported Iron Catalyst

ABSTRACT Catalytic hydrocracking of lignite through cleaving C─O bridged bonds is a promising approach for producing aromatics. Herein, a nitrogen‐doped carbon‐supported Fe catalyst (Fe/NC) was prepared through a co‐pyrolysis method and used for the CHC of benzyl phenyl ether and Xilinguole lignite. Fe/NC carbonized at 800°C with 4% Fe exhibited good activity for selectively converting benzyl phenyl ether into toluene and phenol at 250 °C and 1 MPa H 2 . The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, initial hydrogen pressure, and solvent on the yields of products and the molecular compositions of the oils from catalytic hydrocracking of the lignite were investigated. The results showed that total product yield reached 29.1 wt% with an oil yield of 13.7 wt% under the optimal reaction conditions at 325 °C, 1 MPa, and 6 h. The group components in the oils were dominated by aromatic compounds with relative content higher than 90% by using alcohols as the solvents. Phenols accounted for more than 50% of the relative content among the aromatic compounds in most cases. The possible pathways for lignite hydrocracking over Fe/NC induced by H∙were proposed. This study proposed a possible approach for producing aromatics through mild hydrocracking from lignite.