More Coal to Liquid Fuels Research from Penn State


We couldn't track down the original, but the following is excerpted text from a 2007 Penn State PR release:

"Penn State University has really been on a green roll these last few days, getting three stories featured on our site. One had to do with a novel way to extract hydrogen from water using nanotechnology and sunlight and the second had to do with using coal and papermaking waste to make a liquid fuel. This third story again has to do with coal-based liquid fuels. Instead of looking at paper mills as potential sources for products to add to coal, they are looking to existing fuel refineries. They believe that many different fuels, including jet fuel, gasoline substitutes and diesel substitutes, can be made from coal if you add the correct refinery by-products. Penn State researchers have been working on this idea for a while now, first focusing solely on jet fuel. But, they found that while making the jet fuel they also ended up with certain amounts of fuel oil, diesel fuel and gasoline as co-products.

The refinery by-products of coal tar, refinery solvent and decant oil are being mixed with coal in different fractions. Fuel-grade coke, which is a fuel used in the steel industry, has also been used. Penn State should be familiar with the steel industry being that Pennsylvania is known as the steel capital of the U.S. (and hence the Pittsburgh Steelers football team). No mention was made of the emissions of these various fuels, so we are not suggesting that these are green fuels in any way. In fact, they are almost assuredly not green in any way. None of that means that the fuels will not be used, of course. Hopefully, the nation and the world will be on to bigger and better things by then!

[Source: Penn State]"

Note especially the mention the mention of papermaking waste and oil refinery by-products as co-raw materials, with coal, for making liquid fuels - something we've earlier suggested would be possible.

 

Promotion of Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC) Technology

FINAL REPORT
 
 
As you can tell from the stilted English, this a European Union release.
 
They refer to their coal conversion method as "Low Temperature Carbonisation" - meaning they don't want to give the USBM credit and call it by it's real name: The Karrick Process.
 
Just sending it along to affirm that others are at work on this, and that Karrick will turn a lot of carbonaceous material (which, in the case of the Schuykill, PA, CTL plant, means coal waste) into stuff we can fill our gas tanks with.
 
Corn stalks, sawmill dust and used toilet paper would work, too.
 
We have a lot of options.
 

 
PS. An excerpt:

"Summary

For sustainable and sound economic development there is a strong demand for extended clean power production, which is affordable by cost, utilising extended volumes of renewable biomass and continuously increased waste streams as well, and also offering high level of process safety with comprehensive long term management of residual process streams.

Among various available technologies for clean energy production, the Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC) fuel pre-treatment technology is looking promising for future project implementations. The Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC) technology is essentially a process for producing fuels – solid, liquid, and gaseous – from coal and other carbonaceous material, such as biomass and organic wastes. It is a value added technology, since it converts widely available low-grade fuels to high-grade fuels, while removing hazardous air pollutants, such as Sulphur, Chlorine and Mercury, which can be separately treated or recycled. Thus, produced Clean Coal can be utilised in power production, making LTC a complete and cost efficient revitalisation option. LTC is a preventive environmental protection technology that may utilise available domestic fuels and may contribute to compliance with environmental legislation in energy production. It is therefore consistent with both demands of an energy market operating under open market principles and sustainable environmental protection.

In the framework of this work-package an overview of Low Temperature Carbonisation (LTC) technology is attempted, including its present status, properties, yields and utilisation of LTC chars, a survey of competitive carbonisation methods, carbonisation conditions and their effect, and short assessment of advantages, economic and technological development of LTC"

Jennings Randolph: Facts, Discussion Forum, & Encyclopedia Article

 
 
For Pete's sake!
 
Our very own Senator Randolph:
 
"... and a professional pilot flew in an aircraft powered by gasoline derived from coal. The small, single-engine airplane flew from Morgantown, West Virginia to National Airport in Washington, DC..." --- in 1943!!!
 

And,

"In 1942 he proposed a Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act, which would fund the transformation of coal and its products into other useful forms of energy. To promote the viability of synthetic fuelSynthetic fuel ...".
 
C'mon, Brother. We think it's time you blew the lid off this thing. Don't you?
 

Vindy.com Local News Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio - News, Sports & Information - Plans Progress to Build Coal-to-Liq.


 

 
Info on the Wellsville Coal To Liquids plant. The reporter is one D.A. Wilkinson - perhaps you know him/her.
 
The story is dated January 4, and clearly states they are progressing, as in:
 
"WELLSVILLE — Columbiana County officials are quickly moving ahead with plans to start a plant here that would turn coal into liquid fuel."
 
Why not WV?
 

Idaho National Laboratory

Newsroom
 
 
The "INL", mentioned in the following excerpt, is the Idaho National Laboratory.
 
"Focused on the theme Energizing the West, CSG-WEST delegates received a detailed briefing from INLs Richard Boardman on studies concerning converting coal to liquids and the key challenges associated with using Americas abundant coal resources in an environmentally conscious manner."
 
Contact info for Boardman, and others, at the INL are available on their site.
 
We'll see if we can find some other links and info to send along, but one of their focus areas is the development of a nuclear generating unit to provide the power needed by a coal-to-liquid/gas conversion plant.
 
Key point: They are at work, not on the technology of coal conversion, but on the integral details of powering CTL plants; putting it all together.