Solvent deasphalting (SDA) is used to extract deasphalted oil from heavier hydrocarbons in series. The pitch stream from solvent deasphalting is calcined to recover volatile hydrocarbon vapor products and calcined solids. The hydrocarbon vapors can be fractionated to recover valuable transportation range fuel products. The pitch stream can be first fed to the fractionation column before calcination.

A method of preparing graphene from coal can include thermally processing raw coal and, after the coal has been at least partially cooled from thermal processing, forming reduced graphene oxide from the coal.

A method of producing advanced carbon materials can include extracting a coal sample from a location, performing a spectral analysis on the coal sample, determining one or more desired advanced carbon materials based at least in part on spectral analysis, extracting an amount of coal from the location, beneficiating the amount of coal, and processing the beneficiated amount of coal to produce the one or more desired advanced carbon materials from at least some of the amount of coal.

A method of producing at least one or more resins is disclosed. The method includes providing an amount of raw coal. The raw coal includes one or more impurities therein. The method also includes beneficiating the amount of raw coal to selectively removing at least a portion of some of the one or more impurities in the raw coal to form beneficiated coal. Additionally, the method includes processing the beneficiated coal to produce an amount of pitch. The method further includes modifying at least some of the pitch to produce the one or more resins. The one or more resins include a selected amount of a remainder of the one or more impurities that were not removed while beneficiating the amount of the raw coal, processing the beneficiated coal, and modifying at least some of the pitch.

A method of producing advanced carbon materials can include providing coal to a processing facility, beneficiating the coal to remove impurities from the coal, processing the beneficiated coal to produce a pitch, and treating the pitch to produce an advanced carbon material such as carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, resins, polymers, biomaterials, or other carbon materials.

A method of producing advanced carbon materials can include providing coal to a processing facility, beneficiating the coal to remove impurities from the coal, processing the beneficiated coal to produce a pitch, and treating the pitch to produce an advanced carbon material such as carbon fibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon fibers, polymers, biomaterials, or other carbon materials.

Disclosed are methods for preparing a high-viscosity non-hazardous bitumen composition for transportation in a railcar, wherein the method may include: (a) providing to a fractionator system a low-viscosity bitumen composition previously residing in a pipeline having a first viscosity and comprising a miscible blend of hydrocarbons, which blend was prepared by mixing a first diluent composition with a first bitumen composition; (b) heating the low-viscosity bitumen composition in the fractionator system at an operating temperature of from 170 C to 232 C to provide a first light fraction and a first heavy fraction; (c) removing at least a portion of the first heavy fraction from the fractionator system, wherein the first heavy fraction has a second viscosity that is higher than the first viscosity; (d) forming a high-viscosity non-hazardous bitumen composition from at least a portion of the first heavy fraction; and (e) directing the high-viscosity non-hazardous bitumen composition to a railcar.

The invention relates to a process for treating a hydrocarbon-based feedstock, comprising a) a step of extracting the feedstock, b) a step of separating the fraction comprising de-asphalted oil, c) an optional step of injecting a withdrawal flux into the fraction comprising asphalt, d) an optional step of separating the fraction comprising asphalt and solvent or solvent mixture obtained from the extraction step a), e) an optional step of injecting a withdrawal flux into the asphalt fraction alone or as a mixture with a withdrawal flux obtained from step d) and an integrated step of conditioning the asphalt fraction obtained from steps a) and/or c) and/or d) and/or e), in solid form, performed in successive or simultaneous substeps.

A method and apparatus are provided for processing hydrocarbon coal slurry feeds. The method and apparatus enhance the conversion of the coal feeds into useful conversion products, such as high melting and high carbon containing pitch products. In particular, the present techniques utilize a specially designed self-cleaning and wall-catalyzed preheater-reactor systems.

A receiver for irregularly shaped bricks cast from non-volatile bituminous material includes a receiver with a specialized storage chamber that can receive viscous bituminous material and a concave lid preferably modified with a radiant heating system that can accept and melt or soften arriving bricks. The lid includes multiple openings or other delivery routes that funnel the melted bituminous material to the chamber below. The radiant heating system can be electrical where cables or grids are embedded in the lid or where conductive materials coat or are distributed throughout the lid. Alternatively, the radiant heating system can be hydronic where channels or conduits are embedded in the lid to circulate heated liquid such as water or water mixed with propylene glycol. The receiver can also include blenders, skimmers, and additional heaters to further skim, blend, or process the bituminous material collected in the chamber.