Coprocessing of Canadian lignites and bitumen

Simultaneous upgrading of Canadian lignites and bitumen under various operating conditions was investigated in a continuous hydrogenation unit. Results indicate that: - coprocessing of lignites and vacuum bottoms is feasible and the results are comparable to those obtained from subbituminous coal using the same coprocessing medium; - coal and pitch conversions appear to increase linearly with temperature over the range investigated; - distillate and gas yields appear to increase linearly with increasing pitch conversion; - hydrogen (equivalent) consumption ranges from 2 to 3 wt % of slurry feed (maf); and - qualities of distillates are comparable to those of No. 6 fuel oil.