Patent ID: 11958056
Assignee: ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER FOUNDATION
Field: Micro-structural and nano-technology (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B  C | IPC B  C

Claim 17:
18. A method of upgrading coal, the method comprising:
cleaning coal having a largest dimension of 25 mm or less using a strong mineral acid at a temperature of 30° C. to 100° C. to form a cleaned coal residue; and
at least one of
reacting the cleaned coal residue at 100° C. to 500° C. under an inert gas with an oxidizable inorganic metallic agent comprising iron (II) sulfate heptahydrate (FeSO4·7H2O), iron (II) chloride tetrahydrate (FeCl·4H2O), or a combination thereof, and
reacting the cleaned coal residue at 0° C. to 50° C. in an organic solvent with a reducing agent comprising lithium aluminum hydride (LAH), sodium borohydride (NAH), or a combination thereof,

to form the upgraded coal;
wherein
the upgraded coal has a lower ash content, as compared to the coal used to form the upgraded coal, and
the upgraded coal has a lower oxygen concentration and a higher carbon concentration, as compared to the naturally-sourced coal used to form the upgraded coal.