Abstract
In this study, we investigated the solvent performance of six heavy oils from Xinjiang, China, for coal-oil co-liquefaction (COCL). Autoclave experiments revealed that shale oil vacuum residue (SOVR) provided the best liquefaction performance. The oils were characterized using FT-IR, (13)C-NMR, (1)H-NMR, and column chromatography, which revealed that they were mainly composed of aliphatic compounds, with minor aromatic and substituted aromatic compounds. The pyrolytic degradation quality indices (PDQIs), solubility parameter (δ(C)), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content (H(A2) + H(A3)) were calculated and correlated with liquefaction performance. The results showed a strong linear relationship between H(A2) + H(A3) and oil yield (R(2) = 0.90), and the aromatic content (AR) was also positively related to oil yield. This study suggests that AR content and H(A2) + H(A3) are effective indicators for evaluating the solvent performance of heavy oils in COCL.