Hydrogasification of Chinese sub-bituminous coal was performed in a fixed-bed reactor to study the effects of Ni and Ni + Ca dual catalysts on the yields of light hydrocarbon liquids (HCL) and gaseous products (GPs). In the presence of calcium, a high yield of HCL and GPs was obtained. The main components in tar were light aromatic hydrocarbons (LAHs) such as BTX and naphthalene. The product yields strongly depended on the amount of co-loaded calcium. The maximum yields of LAHs and GPs were achieved to be 2.15 wt% (0.85 wt% of BTX and 0.7 wt% of naphthalene) and 51.51 wt% (CH4, CO, CO2 and C-2-C-3), respectively, when using 5% Ni + 1% Ca dual catalysts at 750 degrees C and 1.0 MPa. The addition of Ca promoted the conversion of oxygen-containing species and aromatics to H2O, CO, CO2, CH4 and BTX. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.