Coal Tar Hydrogenation Catalysts: A Review
Cong‐Jian Pan, Sheng Li, Hui‐Jie Cheng, Bao‐Kun Shi, Wen‐Long Mo, Da‐Bing Zhang, Zhi‐Hao Ma, Ya‐Ya Ma, Qing‐He Ma, Xiao‐Yu Zhang, Xian‐Yong Wei, Zhi‐Xin LiABSTRACT
Coal tar is a carbon‐rich byproduct of coal pyrolysis, gasification, and carbonization. Catalytic hydrogenation enables its conversion into clean fuels, specialty oils, and carbon‐material precursors, but its complex composition presents substantial challenges for catalyst design. The existing reviews mainly summarize the upgrading technology of coal tar and do not deeply analyze the relationship between catalytic structure and catalytic performance. This review systematically reviews recent advances in heterogeneous catalysts for coal tar hydrogenation, with emphasis on the relationship between the active‐phase structure and catalytic performance. The multiscale synergistic mechanism among metal active centers, support acid sites, and promoters is deeply analyzed. In addition, to address the multiple challenges facing coal tar hydrogenation catalysts, future research directions are proposed, including active‐site identification, stability evaluation, and structure‐guided catalyst design, thereby providing theoretical guidance for efficient and targeted coal tar conversion.