A process of producing a distillate fuel from coal includes: preparing a biomass-derived coal solvent; dissolving the coal in the biomass-derived solvent; and separating undissolved coal and mineral matter to produce a syncrude. In certain embodiments, the process further includes subjecting the syncrude to a hydrotreatment/hydrogenation process to produce a distillate fuel. In certain embodiments, the biomass-derived solvent is a hydrogen-donor solvent. A method to improve direct coal liquefaction includes: using a non-hydrogenated lipid in a direct coal liquefaction process to facilitate coal depolymerization. In certain embodiments, the lipid is a polyunsaturated biobased oil. A method for using a biomass-derived feedstock as a hydrogen donor includes: providing a biomass-derived feedstock; modifying the feedstock to improve its usefulness as a hydrogen donor; and conducting a transfer hydrogenation process using the modified feedstock as a hydrogen donor. In certain embodiments, the transfer hydrogenation process is a direct coal liquefaction process.

A process of producing a distillate fuel from coal includes: preparing a biomass-derived coal solvent; dissolving the coal in the biomass-derived solvent; and separating undissolved coal and mineral matter to produce a syncrude. In certain embodiments, the process further includes subjecting the syncrude to a hydrotreatment/hydrogenation process to produce a distillate fuel. In certain embodiments, the biomass-derived solvent is a hydrogen-donor solvent. A method to improve direct coal liquefaction includes: using a non-hydrogenated lipid in a direct coal liquefaction process to facilitate coal depolymerization. In certain embodiments, the lipid is a polyunsaturated biobased oil. A method for using a biomass-derived feedstock as a hydrogen donor includes: providing a biomass-derived feedstock; modifying the feedstock to improve its usefulness as a hydrogen donor; and conducting a transfer hydrogenation process using the modified feedstock as a hydrogen donor. In certain embodiments, the transfer hydrogenation process is a direct coal liquefaction process.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a multi-stage process for upgrading pyrolysis oil comprising polyaromatic compounds to benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) includes upgrading the pyrolysis oil in a slurry-phase reactor zone to produce intermediate products, wherein the slurry-phase reactor zone comprises a mixed metal oxide catalyst; and hydrocracking the intermediate products in a fixed-bed reactor zone to produce the BTEX, wherein the fixed-bed reactor zone comprises a mesoporous zeolite-supported metal catalyst.

The invention relates to a process for producing C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon stream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; and b) subjecting the first hydrocarbon product stream to C4 hydrocracking optimized for converting C4 hydrocarbons into C3 hydrocarbons in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to obtain a C4 hydrocracking product stream comprising C2 and C3 hydrocarbons.

The invention relates to a process for producing C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon stream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; and b) subjecting the first hydrocarbon product stream to C4 hydrocracking optimized for converting C4 hydrocarbons into C3 hydrocarbons in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to obtain a C4 hydrocracking product stream comprising C2 and C3 hydrocarbons.

The invention relates to a process for producing C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon feedstream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; b) separating the first hydrocracking product stream to provide a light hydrocarbon stream comprising C4− hydrocarbons and c) subjecting the light hydrocarbon stream to C4 hydrocracking in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to obtain a C4 hydrocracking product stream comprising C2 and C3 hydrocarbons.

The invention relates to a process for producing C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon feedstream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; b) separating the first hydrocracking product stream to provide a light hydrocarbon stream comprising C4− hydrocarbons and c) subjecting the light hydrocarbon stream to C4 hydrocracking in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to obtain a C4 hydrocracking product stream comprising C2 and C3 hydrocarbons.

The invention relates to a process for producing LPG and BTX, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon stream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; b) separating the first hydrocracking product stream to provide at least a light hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, a middle hydrocarbon stream consisting of C4 and/or C5 hydrocarbons and a heavy hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C6+ hydrocarbons and c) subjecting the heavy hydrocarbon stream to second hydrocracking in the presence of a second hydrocracking catalyst to produce a second hydrocracking product stream comprising BTX, wherein the second hydrocracking is more severe than the first hydrocracking, d) wherein at least part of the middle hydrocarbon stream is subjected to C4 hydrocracking optimized for converting C4 hydrocarbons into C3 hydrocarbons in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to produce a C4 hydrocracking product stream.

The invention relates to a process for producing LPG and BTX, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon stream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; b) separating the first hydrocracking product stream to provide at least a light hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, a middle hydrocarbon stream consisting of C4 and/or C5 hydrocarbons and a heavy hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C6+ hydrocarbons and c) subjecting the heavy hydrocarbon stream to second hydrocracking in the presence of a second hydrocracking catalyst to produce a second hydrocracking product stream comprising BTX, wherein the second hydrocracking is more severe than the first hydrocracking, d) wherein at least part of the middle hydrocarbon stream is subjected to C4 hydrocracking optimized for converting C4 hydrocarbons into C3 hydrocarbons in the presence of a C4 hydrocracking catalyst to produce a C4 hydrocracking product stream.

The invention relates to a process for producing LPG and BTX, comprising a) subjecting a mixed hydrocarbon feedstream to first hydrocracking in the presence of a first hydrocracking catalyst to produce a first hydrocracking product stream; b) separating the first hydrocracking product stream to provide at least a light hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C2 and C3 hydrocarbons, a middle hydrocarbon stream comprising C4 and/or C5 hydrocarbons and a heavy hydrocarbon stream comprising at least C6+ hydrocarbons and c) subjecting the heavy hydrocarbon stream to second hydrocracking to produce a second hydrocracking product stream comprising BTX, wherein the second hydrocracking is more severe than the first hydrocracking, wherein at least part of the middle hydrocarbon stream is recycled back to the first hydrocracking in step a).