Catalytic reactions of solvent refined coal (SRC) were studied using mixed metal oxide and low melting Lewis acid catalysts in extracting solvent media. From characterization of the benzene- and cyclohexane-soluble products, ZnCl/sub 2/ and SnCl/sub 2/ were determined to be the most effective at hydrogenating and solubilizing SRC while assisting in heteroatom removal. ZnCl/sub 2/ and SnCl/sub 2/ were also found to be more effective at producing oil-like products rather than alphaltene-like products. Further enhancement of the solubilization of SRC could be achieved by the addition of isopropanol to the Lewis acid-substrate-solvent reaction mixture. Dry HCl was also investigated for its effect on the solubilization of SRC. Characterization of the solubilized products and residues was performed by elemental analysis, /sup 1/H-NMR, and gel permeation chromatography. Investigations were performed to determine what effect reaction temperature, hydrogen pressure, and catalyst loading had on the yield of soluble products as well as the chemical analyses of the products. The results showed that the conversion of SRC to soluble products increases monotonically with hydrogen pressure and catalyst loading. The effect of temperature is not as straightforward.