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We often refer, in the course of our reportage, to ExxonMobil's "MTG"(r), methanol-to-gasoline, technology, wherein the Methanol is most often posited to be made from Coal.
The "MTG"(r) process makes use of a what is sometimes described as an "acidic catalyst", or catalyst support, based on the zeolite mineral designated as "ZSM-5", which shorthand label actually conveys some technical information about the specific compound to those blessed with intimate knowledge of zeolites, which is a broad family of both natural and synthetic minerals, and their sub-microscopic structures.
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We have already documented the fact that our USDOE, in its wisdom, has, in the past, hired major petroleum companies to develop Coal liquefaction technologies.
An example of our reportage concerning such issues would include:
USDOE Hires Exxon to Improve Low-Rank Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,304,655 - Liquefaction Process; 1981; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company, NJ; Abstract: Scale formation during the liquefaction of lower ranking coals and similar carbonaceous materials is significantly reduced and/or prevented by pretreatment with a combination of pretreating agents comprising SO2 and an oxidizing agent. Government Interests: The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. EF-77-A-01-2893 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy."
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We've reported many times on various "reforming" technologies, wherein Carbon Dioxide, CO2, is reacted with Methane, CH4, and/or Water, and is made thereby to form a hydrocarbon synthesis gas suitable for catalytic condensation into liquid hydrocarbons via what are, in some circles at least, well-known processes.
From an historical perspective, those CO2-CH4 reforming technologies seem to have been discovered, or development of them first got underway, during the WWII era, as witness, for just one example, our report:
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The latter months of the year 1975, from whence the principal subject of our discussion herein originates, were, in terms of Coal conversion science and technology, busy ones both for our United States Patent Office and for the companies that some decades later found themselves getting homogenized into Chevron.
Texaco was one of those companies; and, we have documented their mid-1970's development of a variety of Coal utilization and conversion technologies in a number of prior reports.
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In the course of our reportage, we often make reference to ExxonMobil's Methanol-to-Gasoline, "MTG"(r), technology, usually stipulating that ExxonMobil most often posits that Methanol is to be made from Coal.
Our most recent documentation of such Methanol-to-Gasoline technology appeared in a dispatch which documented that Methanol can be synthesized from some other intriguing substances, as well, in addition to Coal, as seen in:
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