Carbon Dioxide, as it arises in only a small way - - relative to some all-natural, un-taxable and non-political sources of it's emission, such as the Earth's inexorable processes of planetary volcanism - - from our economically-essential use of Coal in the generation of genuinely-abundant and truly-affordable electric power, could be made to be a valuable, even a precious, raw material resource.
Purdue University, actually, with regards to the headline, is explaining herein the "Basics" only of "indirect" Coal-to-Liquid Fuels technology, wherein Coal, usually combined with water, either in a liquid slurry or with applied steam, is first "gasified" - that is,partially combusted or oxidized - to produce a blend of, primarily, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen, that is, hydrocarbon synthesis gas. And, which "syngas" is then chemically, catalytically condensed into hydrocarbons.
By way of acknowledgement, this dispatch will be, in essence, a repeat of core information we earlier made report of. But, it bears repeating since the focus of our discourse concerns the fact that our United States Government has, officially, confirmed that a Nobel Prize-winning chemist led the development of technology which enables the efficient electrolytic conversion of a blend of Carbon Dioxide and Water into a hydrocarbon synthesis gas blend of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen.
Such synthesis gas, or "syngas", we remind you, can be catalytically, chemically condensed into both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, as via, for one example, the now nearly-ancient Fischer-Tropsch process.
http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/1084480
We've previously reported on the fact that the Ash arising from our economically essential use of Coal in the generation of abundant, reliable, and truly-affordable electric power can be seen and treated as a valuable raw material mineral resource, a raw material which can be used and consumed in such a way that it contributes to the economically and environmentally desirable concept and goal of "sustainability".
We first remind you that our United States Government's Department of Energy, and contractors working for our United States Department of Energy, have repeatedly and officially confirmed, as seen, for just several examples, in our reports of: