Processes for employing treated solid carbonaceous fossil fuels

In a method of storing grain and forage crops useful as animal feed wherein said grain and forage is held in non-airtight storage while awaiting feeding said grain and forage to said animals, the improvement in combination therewith which comprises applying to said grain or forage crops an aqueous solution containing water soluble organic substances produced by intimately contacting solid fossil fuel in particulate form selected from the group consisting of coal, lignite, peat and admixtures thereof with an aqueous medium containing a catalytically effective amount of a catalyst,

• the solid fossil fuel having active sites therein which react with the aqueous medium under liquid conditions in the presence of said catalyst to produce said water soluble organic substances, and
• the particles of the solid fossil fuel being intimately contacted with the aqueous medium under liquid conditions in the presence of said catalyst until active sites of said fuel react with the aqueous medium to produce said water soluble organic substances,
• the catalyst being prepared by a process comprising
• admixing a water soluble alkali metal silicate with an aqueous medium containing a dissolved substance which is a source of calcium ion and a dissolved substance which is a source of magnesium ion,
• the aqueous medium containing said dissolved substances in amounts to provide between about 1.times.10.sup.-4 and 1.times.10.sup.-1 mole per liter each of calcium ion and magnesium ion,
• the aqueous medium containing said dissolved substances in amounts to provide a molar ratio of calcium ion to magnesium ion between about 2.0:1.0 and 1.0:2.0,
• the alkali metal silicate having an alkali metal oxide to silicon dioxide ratio between about 0.9:1.0 and less than 2.0:1.0 and being admixed with the aqueous medium in an amount of about 0.05-2 moles per liter,
• reacting the alkali metal silicate with said dissolved substances providing calcium ion and magnesium ion to produce an aqueous suspension of finely divided particles of the reaction product,
• admixing a micelle-forming surfactant with the aqueous medium in an amount to form catalyst micelles comprising said finely divided particles upon agitating the aqueous medium, and
• agitating the aqueous medium containing the finely divided particles and surfactant to form said catalyst micelles.