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We present this Japanese research as additional confirmation of the validity of West Virginia University's focus on direct coal liquefaction techniques, and some specific components of those techniques, as opposed to indirect, i.e. the Fischer-Tropsch, Bergius, Karrick, etc., processes, for converting coal into crude liquids suitable for refining into petroleum substitutes.
The excerpt:
"Coal hydroliquefaction using highly dispersed catalyst precursors
Naoki Ikenaga, Shusaku Kan-nan, Takahiro Sakoda and Toshimitsu Suzuki
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kansai University, Suita, Osaka 564, Japan
Abstract
In order to discuss the hydrogen transfer process in coal liquefaction with a catalyst in the presence of a donor solvent, hydroliquefaction of Yallourn, Wyoming, Illinois No. 6, and Mi-ike coals and cracking of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE) were carried out in tetralin or tetralin/naphthalene mixed solvent under a hydrogen atmosphere with highly dispersed catalyst precursors such as Fe(CO)5---S, Mo(CO)6---S, and Ru3(CO)12.
In the absence of the catalyst, more than 70% of hydrogen was transferred from tetralin, as determined by the formation of naphthalene. In the presence of Mo(CO)6---S and Ru3(CO)12, however, the amount of hydrogen transferred from tetralin decreased to 15–40% of the total hydrogen and that from gas phase increased to 60–85% of the hydrogen required to stabilize coal fragment radicals even with an excess amount of tetralin. When the reaction was carried out in the tetralin/naphthalene mixed solvent, little hydrogenation of naphthalene occurred even with the active catalyst.
This strongly supports the assertion that a decrease in the amount of naphthalene in the catalyzed liquefaction of coal in tetralin with a catalyst can be ascribed to the direct hydrogen transfer from molecular hydrogen to coal fragment radicals. In the presence of coal or benzyl phenyl ether, little or no hydrogenation of naphthalene occurred."
This Japanese effort might seem unnecessary for us to report, even though it does seem to confirm WVU, and other, research results into catalyst specifics. However, it's important, we think, to continue making note of the fact that this kind of detailed effort is underway in various places throughout the world that are pretty far removed from each other. It's further confirmation of the solid reality that we can convert coal into perfectly acceptable replacements for petroleum-based fuels - just as the ancestors of these contemporary Japanese scientists did for Imperial Japan, at Kobe, in WWII, as we've documented.
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We'll not provide excerpts from this study, but we invite you to explore it. Although the report is published and maintained by our own National Energy Technology Laboratory, the four researchers who performed the research are from four separate entities, two universities and two corporations, in South Korea.
In sum, the researchers discovered that, when they combined Alaskan sub-bituminous coal with used auto tire waste, and some other, unspecified, plastics, in the presence of tetralin, the coal conversion catalyst specified by West Virginia University, the tire wastes helped contribute hydrogen to the coal, and hydrocarbon liquid production increased by more than 20% over coal converted alone.
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We sent you some of this info previously in a link to one of the Dallas, Texas, newspapers which reported on the work of WVU and UTA, and their cooperative effort to develop coal-to-liquid fuel technology that works both on Texas lignite and on higher-BTU West Virginia bituminous coal.
The excerpt:
"Coal-to-Oil Could Possibly Yield $35 a Barrel Oil?
Researchers at the University of Texas Arlington have succeeded in producing Texas intermediate-quality crude oil from lignite, an abundant and cheap variety of coal. Their discovery, which was reported in Sunday’s Dallas Morning News, is a major step toward converting the country’s enormous coal reserves into a transportation fuel and reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
By using relatively inexpensive microrefineries that cost $5 million a piece (versus the $800 million to $6 billion cost for a traditional refinery), the researchers’ believe they can generate two barrels of oil from each ton of lignite. With lignite forecast to cost $12 to $14 a ton, this equates to $35 a barrel oil.
According to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, the United States has the world’s largest known coal reserves, about 263.8 billion short tons. This is enough coal to last approximately 225 years at today’s level of use. In 2006, the amount of coal produced at U.S. coal mines reached an all-time high. Coal is mined in 27 states. Wyoming mines the most, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The largest lignite deposits can be found in Texas and the Dakotas."
WVU's participation with UTA is unfortunately not mentioned in this release, but they are documented to be working together, and it is likely to be WVU's patented "West Virginia Process" of direct coal liquefaction they are working to commercialize.
And, once again, we'll note that this lignite from which they are expecting to extract 2 barrels of oil per ton. We could expect higher yields from higher-quality West Virginia bituminous coal.
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We submit the enclosed article:
"Co-processing of agricultural and biomass waste with coal",
both as further confirmation that biomass can be added to coal as feed stock for a suitably designed coal-to-liquid fuel conversion process, thus offsetting some of the CO2 which might be generated by the conversion, and as additional example of West Virginia University's leadership role in developing these alternative liquid fuel technologies.
The excerpt:
Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University, PO Box 6102, Morgantown, WV 26506-6102, USA
Abstract
The liquefaction of Blind Canyon seam coal in the presence of one of four different types of co-liquefaction agents (CLAs) was studied at 350°C and 1000 psi (cold) hydrogen pressure. The role of tetralin as a solvent was studied. The four CLAs used include sawdust, horse manure, cow manure and commercial “Super Manure”. The conversion and the asphaltene-plus-preasphaltene yield were obtained by successive dissolution in tetrahydrofuran and hexane, respectively, with the oil-plus-gas yield obtained by difference. Results (on a dry, ash-free basis) are reported as both the overall values of conversion and yields, as well as the incremental differences in conversion and yields, relative to separate liquefaction of coal and the CLA. With or without the addition of tetralin, the overall conversion with cow manure is the smallest for the four co-liquefactions. In the absence of tetralin, the asphaltene-plus-preasphaltene yields are all similar. The presence of tetralin increases the overall conversions and the asphaltene-plus-preasphaltene yields. A study of the incremental differences in conversions and yields indicates that the four CLAs interact with coal and tetralin in different ways. The incremental conversion and the asphaltene-plus-preasphaltene yield appear to be related to the amount of hemi-cellulose in the CLAs, while the incremental oil-plus-gas yield appears to be related to the amount of lignin. Added inorganic compounds appear to negate incremental improvements in the oil-plus-gas yield when tetralin is present."
"Tetralin" - the word is a contraction of the compound's full name - is cited frequently in the literature as an agent that can promote the direct liquefaction, the dissolution, of coal, and apparently some organic matter, as well. This is an example, we believe, of "direct" coal liquefaction, as opposed to "indirect" liquefaction wherein syngas is first generated from coal via controlled thermal decomposition, and then is condensed back into liquid through the mediation of a suitable catalyst.
Make note of the "agricultural wastes" that can be included in the feed. They include sawdust and manure, confirming our previous, documented, assertions that both cellulose and, by inference, sewage sludge, can be included in the feed stock of suitably-designed coal-to-liquid conversion facilities.
And, again, West Virginia University is demonstrating it's leadership in developing these alternative, liquid fuel technologies, using our abundant coal resources coupled with renewable agricultural products that can compensate for emissions of carbon, and provide a sustainable source of raw material.
- Details
Enclosed is a link to the proceedings of the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, held this past November, in Philadelphia.
The agenda, if you'll spend a little worthwhile time exploring it, indicates that some quite interesting topics were addressed.
Outstanding among those interesting topics is this submission from West Virginia University.
"Solvent Extraction of Low Grade Coals for Clean Liquid Fuels
Elliot B. Kennel, Mayuri Mukka, Alfred H. Stiller, and John W. Zondlo. Department of Chemical Engineering, West Virginia University, PO Box 6102, Morgantown, WV 26506-6102"
"Solvent extraction of bituminous coals has been used as a means of coproducing clean liquid transportation fuels as well as solid fuels for gasification. Coal solvents are created by hydrogenating coal tar distillate fractions to the level of a fraction of a percent, thus enabling bituminous coal to enter the liquid phase under conditions of high temperature (above 400 oC). The pressure is controlled by the vapor pressure of the solvent and the cracked coal. Once liquefied, mineral matter can be removed via centrifugation, and the resultant superheavy crude can be processed to make pitches, cokes as well as lighter products."
(Gosh, we wonder what those "lighter products" might be.)
"Low emission liquefaction processes are particularly important in a scenario in which greenhouse gas mitigation is essential. Likely such scenarios will emphasize the use of technologies such as wind and nuclear power for central station power, while hydrocarbons will be increasingly reserved for liquid transportation fuel applications."
(In other words, we'll want more innovative "renewable" energy installations for power supply, like New Martinsville's hydroelectric retrofit of the Hannibal Locks.)
"Lower rank coals such as sub-bituminous coal and lignite are desirable feedstocks for this process due to their low cost, high hydrogen to carbon ratio and high aliphaticity compared to bituminous coals, which can result in superior transportation fuels. However, these advantages are partially offset by the high moisture content and high ash content which typically accompany lignite and sub-bituminous coals. In particular, ash content of approximately 20% is problematic because centrifugation might not succeed in increasing the ash content of the tails. Hence, much of the liquid product would be contained in the nominal tails rather than in the separated liquid centrate, if conventional centrifugation techniques were utilized."
(We've no idea what "higher aliphaticity" means, but, when it comes to lignite versus WV-type bituminous as feed stock for liquid fuel production, it sounds like the plusses and minuses might balance out. That bodes well not only for WV's bountiful stores of bituminous coal, but for some of her mine waste accumulations, as well, many of which are composed in part of highly carbonaceous material that wasn't, when it was mined, considered to be of high-enough quality for the market.)
"In order to overcome this inherent difficulty, a more complete liquid separation can be accomplished by vacuum distillation. Mineral matter is further heat treated to produce a value-added slag product. Solids separation can be over 90% effective using this technique depending upon the degree to which coal molecules are broken down during the solvent extraction process. The result is correspondingly higher yield of lighter products such as transportation fuels, with lower yield of heavy hydrocarbon products such as pitches and coke precursors."
So, they can get a higher yield of "transportation fuels", and another, "value-added", by-product with this advance in coal-to-liquid conversion technology.
As with some of the other reports we've submitted, this work from WVU makes it seem as if coal-to-liquid conversion technology is not only well-known and thoroughly understood, but is undergoing continuous refinement, which should make of it an even better commercial replacement for petroleum-based fuels than our South African friends, Sasol, discovered it to be some decades ago. The "solvent extraction" technique implies that the "West Virginia Process" might be quite different from the pyrolytic methods of coal reduction that have been traditionally employed to obtain syngas from coal for Fischer-Tropsch conversion into liquids.
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