Coal to liquids process 4

[HariAugustine]

A friend of mine would like to build a process to convert coal into a it's liuid form. Basically, gasify it and then liquify it. What I would like to know is; what will be the supporting industries that will be required to facilitate profitable operation of the process? I realise that this a broad question and any suggestions and thoughts will be appreciated.

 

[JLSeagull]

Many coal gasification and liquefaction projects were considered during the oil embargo era of the 1970's. A brief review of the technologies back then found the economics to be prohibitive. I think that SASOL may have built gasification and liquefaction plants while they were embargoed.

 

[dcasto]

Fischer-Tropsch process was used by Germany during World War II. Others Bergius process,Mobil,Karrick process.

To support a plant like these, coal mining, water, lots of water, a refinery optimized on the output.

 

[MJCronin]

"What I would like to know is; what will be the supporting industries that will be required to facilitate profitable operation of the process?"

Ummmm...... What are you really asking ??

You have to build a specialized refinery for one of these well known and mature processes.

You must engage the services of a professional engineering firm to explore, size, and price the plant that you want.

You must get permits, contractors etc....etc..

Tell your "friend" that the number and type of "supporting industries" is difficult to define without a good idea of what you want....

-MJC

 

[mbeychok]

HariAugustine:

You asked this identical question in the "Chemical engineering other topics" forum. This is the same answer that I gave you there:

... required to facilitate profitable operation of the process

I don't know who your friend is, but if he wants to build a profitable industrial scale plant, he is going to need a few billon U.S. dollars (and a billion means 109 ).

The South African company of SASOL and the Royal Dutch Shell company are the leading designers and licensors in the field of producing synthetic crude oil from either coal or natural gas.

Milton Beychok
(Visit me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

 

[rmw]

Just google the words of the thread topic subject line (less the word process). You will get more reading on the topic than you can do in a short while. There are lots of folks well advanced into the concept most of whom are putting together processes based on the SASOL technology as Milton has noted.

Last I read, it was said to be feasable when oil reached $60/bbl so there must really be a payoff now.

The name Rentech comes to mind as one. This is not a back yard project, however. The US Air Force is funding some research on CTL in order to find alternate sources of fuel.

rmw

 

[mbeychok]

Where I said that a billion is 109, it was meant to say a billion is 10[sup]9[/sup]. Sorry for that typo.

Milton Beychok
(Visit me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

 

[fbrwiz33]

I used to do research in this area. Forget it, way too much money to be feasible. Think instead of goal gasification, this is much easier comparitively speaking. The real killer is the plant capital and maintenecs costs. One estimate for Pres. Carter's orginal coal liquifaction plants was said to require the entire world's production of stainless steel for 6 years, I recall.

 

[rmw]

See thread71-222736 for my response to the above.

rmw

 

[mbeychok]

rmw:

I completely agree with you that "Synthetic gasoline is coming". SASOL in South Africa has been gasifying coal for about 40 years ... and the North Dakota Gasification Company has also been gasifying coal in Beulah, North Dakota for about 30 years.

The BTU's in the proven reserves of the surface-mineable coal in our Western states is about 10 times the BTU's in the Saudi Arabia's oil reserves! And then there is also the shale oil in Colorado.

As one who was heavily involved in the design of coal gasification plants in the early 1970's and visited SASOL's plant in South Africa as well as other gasification plants in Europe, it only a matter of time before the technologically-challenged senators and congressmen in Washington wake up and get real about our energy crisis. At crude oil prices of over $130 per barrel, synthetic gasoline from coal is certainly economically viable.

As far as the environmental impacts of coal gasification, all it takes is money to make gasification plants environmentally acceptable. The technology is available.

Milton Beychok
(Visit me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.