Status of Carbon-to-Liquid Project Technology is Hot Topic Hour on Nov. 4, 2010
Given the many threats to our oil supply from terrorists, hostile oil producing nations and others ,as well as the fact that the world oil supply is peaking while demand continues to rise rapidly, you would think that our national policy would stimulate rapid establishment of facilities to convert solid carbonaceous materials to liquid fuels. However, at present, carbon conversion provides only a very small fraction of our energy needs and there are only a few active carbon conversion projects in the U.S.
There are three proven methods for converting carbonaceous matter, including coal, coal waste, biomass, refinery waste and other materials, to produce gaseous and liquid fuels that have been in use throughout the world for decades: indirect liquefaction (Fischer-Tropsch) and direct liquefaction (Bergius) and a hybrid process that combines the two. The indirect liquefaction pathway first gasifies the coal to produce a syngas, and then catalytically converts the syngas to liquid hydrocarbons or chemicals. Direct liquefaction combines coal with hydrogen over a catalyst for the direct conversion to linear and ring-type hydrocarbons.
Conversion of coal and other materials to liquid fuels with these processes offers many benefits in addition to eliminating our dependency on foreign oil. The process is environmentally friendly because during the production process, sulfur and other materials harmful to the environment are extracted and these extracted materials can replace existing energy consuming production of these materials. Also the resulting liquid fuels do not contain sulfur or aromatics and are what some call Ultra Clean Fuel (UCF) as compared to the typical oil or gasoline now produced. Utilizing UCF for transportation purposes could also reduce the overall amount of greenhouse gases introduced into the atmosphere and is generally more environmentally friendly than the production of electricity for electric "non-polluting" cars. Since the worst waste coal and even oil shale can be used in gasifiers, locating conversion plants close to the mines can eliminate energy and cost for transportation and use otherwise waste material. Converting coal mine wastes to fuels can also resolve the long-standing reclamation problem of existing coal waste piles. There are also methods to directly convert coal in the ground to a syngas that can be used to produce liquid fuels and other chemicals. This will eliminate mining entirely and give ready access to coal that is too deep to be mined.
In the U.S., we have enough proven reserves of coal to last 800 years or more considering current production for direct combustion plus the conversion of coal-to-liquids and gases to offset 100 percent of our imports. With all of the positive factors related to conversion of carbon to liquid fuels, why has the United States been so slow to utilize this alternative fuel technology? The traditional argument is that a synthetic fuel produced from coal or other resources is more expensive than the liquid fuels we make from petroleum. But that argument may no longer be true with the current price of oil and the expected future cost, especially if you look at the total cost of foreign oil on the economy and security of the country. Also current tax policies give imported oil an advantage but that could be easily reversed.
The following speakers will discuss the technical, economic and environmental issues associated with the various technologies for converting all types of carbonaceous materials to liquid fuels, their experience with planning, permitting, constructing and operation of carbon conversion plants and the issues related to implementing a viable carbon-to-liquids energy policy in the U.S.
Dr. Theo Lee, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Headwaters CTL, LLC, will describe an advanced 20,000 BPD coal to ultra clean liquid fuels plant that has recently been commissioned in Inner Mongolia China. Operating since early 2009, the plant is based on Headwaters' direct coal liquefaction and Axens' synthetic fuel hydrocracker. Although direct coal liquefaction posts a high stringent coal requirement (prefers to use a lower coal), it is more thermal energy efficient (low carbon footprint) and requires less investment than indirect coal liquefaction.
Dr. Santosh K. Gangwal, Manager of Business Development, Energy Technology at Southern Research Institute, will discuss the conversion of biomass and coal-to-liquid transportation fuels. The conversion of biomass and coal-to-liquid transportation fuels (carbon-to-liquids) can significantly improve the nation’s energy security. Biomass is a renewable resource and the United States has the world’s largest known coal reserves. This presentation will discuss the status of carbon-to-liquid conversion technologies, their economic viability and their potential for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Southern Research Institute’s ongoing advanced carbon-to-liquid projects will also be described.
Charles (Chuck) Gounaris of CoalStar Industries, Inc., will discuss their process for the direct conversion of coal to liquid fuels. This process is more economical and environmentally friendly than other processes currently used.
To register for the "Hot Topic Hour" on November 4, 2010 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago time), click on: on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm
Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com