Coal Conversion Cookbook

We have thoroughly documented for you the existence of very real technologies which could enable us to convert our abundant coal into much-needed liquid transportation fuels and raw materials for our chemical manufacturing industries.

We have verified our reports with published news stories and with technical articles presented in scientific journals.

Herein we send you a complete textbook on the subject.

We'll forego excerpting passages accessible through the enclosed links, and won't append following comments.

But, note: This text was published prior to WWII in Great Britain. It was authored by one of the German scientists who invented the coal-to-liquid fuel process which the Nazis, and their Japanese allies, employed, as we've thoroughly documented, to power a war machine that overran most of Europe and much of Asia, and battered England's United Kingdom to it's knees. If you have been following our posts, you will know that somewhat similar circumstances are now evolving, wherein Communist China, a nation really not all that friendly to us, is forging ahead with a massive coal-to-oil industrialization based on technology and technical assistance provided by the United States, and others. It seems they have been receiving much assistance and guidance from West Virginia University, as we've documented, who are helping the Chinese to commercialize what is known as "The West Virginia Process" for converting coal into liquid fuels.

As follows: 

The Conversion of Coal into Oils

by Dr. Franz Fischer

Authorized English Translation
Edited
with a Foreword and Notes
by
R. Lessing

London: Ernst Benn Limited
8 Bouverie Street, E.C.4
1925

 Table of Contents

Section 1
534kb
Foreword i
Author's Preface ii
Contents v
List of Illustrations ix
List of Tables xi
Introduction 15
Section 2
608kb
I. Extraction by Solvents 20
  (a) The Yield of Oil by Extraction 20
  (b) Identification of Chemical Compounds in the Extracts 20
II. Production and Working-Up of Primary Tar 22
  (a) Methods of Destructive Distillation of Fuels 22
  (b) Special Laboratory Methods for the Production of Primary Tar 24
  (c) Yields of Primary Tar From Coal and Peat 25
  (d) Proximate Composition of Primary Tars 27
  (e) The Temperatures Required for the Production of Primary Tar 28
Section 3
779kb
  (f) Differentiation Between Various Primary Tars and Other Tars 30
  (g) The Chemical Compounds Found in Primary Tar and in Primary Benzines 38
  (h) The Liquor From Low-Temperature Carbonization 43
  (i) Composition and Application of Low-Temperature Carbonization Gas 43
Section 4
865kb
  (k) The Low-Temperature Benzine 46
  (l) The Position of Primary Tar Between Coke-Oven Tar and Petroleum 49
  (m) Semi-Coke 50
  (n) The Heat Balance of Low-Temperature Carbonization 56
  (o) The Development of Commercial Primary Tar Production 58
    1. Distillation Apparatus with External Heating 59
        Vertical Retorts 60
Section 5
939kb
        Horizontal Retorts 64
        Tunnel Kilns 68
        Rotary Retorts 71
        Retorts with Inner Lining 76
    2. Internal Heating 76
        Superheated Steam as Heating Agent 76
        Hot Producer Gas as Heating Medium 78
        Hot Coke-oven Gas as Heating Medium 79
        Carbonisation by means of Flue Gasses 80
Section 6
1002kb
    3. Combined Apparatus 81
        Hot-Run Generators fitted with Carbonising Retorts 81
        Retorts Combined with Low-Temperature Producers 84
        Preliminary Carbonization of Furnace Fuel 87
  (p) The Influence of Retort Design Upon the Composition of Primary Tars and Gas Benzines 89
  (q) The Influence of Coal Drying on the Oil Recovery 91
  (r) Utilisation and Working-Up of Primary Tar 94
    1. Direct Utilisation of Primary Tar  94
    2. Working-Up of Primary Tar by Distillation 94
        Chemical Changes on Distillation 94
Section 7
544kb
        Working-up by Distillation at Ordinary Pressure 97
        Distillation at Ordinary Pressure and Chemical Treatment 99
        Working-up of Primary Tar by means of Superheated Steam and Chemical Treatment 100
        Working-up in a High Vacuum 104
    3. Separation and Utilisation of Phenols 106
        The Disadvantages of Phenols and their Corrosion of Metals 106
        The Utilisation of Phenols 108
        Methods of Separation of Phenols hitherto in Use 108
Section 8
292kb
        The Recovery of the Phenols by means of Superheated Water 110
Section 9
959kb
    4. The Reduction of Phenols of Primary Coal Tar to Benzol and Toluol 117
Section 10
605kb
    5. Benzine by Destructive Distillation of Primary Tar from Bituminous or Brown Coal 137
        Benzine by Cracking of Primary Tar at Ordinary Pressure 140
        Benzine by Cracking under Pressure 146
Section 11
705kb
        Benzine by the Burton Process 150
        Benzine by Cracking and Simultaneous Hydrogenation under High Pressure 151
    6. The Hydrogenation of Primary Tars, Tar Oils and Phenols 158
        With Catalysts 158
        Without Catalysts 159
    7. Summary of the Recovery of Light Motor Spirits From Primary Tars 160
    8. Purification of Primary Tar Oils by Oxidation Under Pressure 164
Section 12
414kb
    9. Formation of resins and Asphalt from Primary Tar by Oxidation under Pressure 166
    10. Fatty Acids from Crude Paraffin Wax by Oxidation under Pressure 166
  (s) Conversion of Low-Temperature Carbonisation Tar into Coke-oven Tar 166
  (t) Conversion of Brown Coal Tar into Aromatic Tar 169
  (u) Liquid Motor Fuels by Hydrogenation of Coal Tar, and Especially by Naphthalene 170
  (v) Importance of Primary Tar as Raw Material 173
Section 13
568kb
II. Hydrogenation of Coal 174
  (a) By Means of Hydriodic Acid Under Pressure According to Berthelot 174
  (b) Comparative Hydrogenation of Different Coals with Hydriodic 177
  (c) Hydrogenation by Means of Sodium Formate 179
Section 14
626kb
  (d) Hydrogenation by Means of Carbon Monoxide and Water 187
  (e) Hydrogenation with Sodium Carbonate and Hydrogen 195
  (f) Destructive Distillation of Bituminous Coal at Higher Hydrogen Pressures 197
  (g) Hydrogenation of Coal According to Bergius at High Hydrogen Pressure 198
Section 15
569kb
IV. Synthetic Processes 202
  (a) The Action of Electric Discharges 202
  (b) Catalytic Experiments at Ordinary Pressure 203
  (c) Liquid Hydrocarbons from Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Under Pressure 206
  (d) Alcohols and Formaldehyde from Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Under Pressure 210
  (e) Methyl Alcohol and Oils by Decomposition of Formates 211
Section 16
610kb
  (f) Synthol From Carbon Monoxide and Water Vapour Under Pressure 213
  (g) Catalytic Experiments in the Presence of Nitrogen 219
  (h) Catalytic Experiments with Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen under Pressure 221
  (i) Synthol from Water Gas Under Pressure 221
    1. On the Need of a Metallic Hydrogen Carrier in the Contact Material 221
    2. Influence of the Form and Length by the Contact Material 223
    3. Influence of Bases and their Quantity upon the Oil Yield 224
Section 17
646kb
    4. Experiments with Hydrogen Carriers other than Iron 227
    5. Influence of the Composition of Water Gas 229
    6. Influence of Impurities in Water Gas 232
    7. Influence of Temperature, Pressure and Gas Velocity 232
    8. Determination of Yields in the Circulation Apparatus 234
  (k) Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen in the Circulation Apparatus 240
  (l) Carbon Dioxide and Methane in the Circulation Apparatus 241
Section 18
641kb
  (m) Carbon Monoxide and Methane in the Circulation Apparatus 241
  (n) Examination of Products of Reaction 246
  (o) Road Tests of Synthol 248
  (p) Conversion of Synthol into Synthin 248
  (q) Formation of Petroleum from Water Gas 248
  (r) Attempt at an Explanation of the Synthol Process 250
Section 19
664kb
  (s) Industrial Applicability of the Synthol Process 255
V. Hydrocarbons from Carbides 258
  (a) Carbides which Directly Yield Liquid Hydrocarbons 258
  (b) Carbides Giving Hydrocarbons which can be Converted inot Liquids 261
Appendix (Editor's Notes) 263
  (a) Recent Developments in Low-Temperature Carbonisation 263
      Parker Plant 263
      Maclaurin 266
Section 20
825kb
  (b) Lessing Process for the Separation of Oils and Pitch from Tar 269
  (c) Hydrogenation of Coal in the Absence of Oil 271
Bibliography 274
Index 279