We've sent you links to several complete books detailing some of the technologies that exist to convert abundant coal into the liquid fuels we seem to grow increasingly short of.
We've also documented the very real technologies that are available, including some developed by our own, US, Department of Defense, to recycle the Carbon Dioxide by-product of our coal use into even more liquid fuels, and useful industrial chemicals. Other reports we've brought to your attention have revealed how CO2 can be used to synthesize raw materials for the manufacture of valuable plastics.
Herein is a book on that subject.
We can't, as with some of the coal-to-liquid conversion texts we've provided, connect you with the complete work. However, the link will provide ordering information for those interested, and following are some excerpts, and the revealing table of contents, with additional comment appended:
"Carbon Dioxide Utilization for Global Sustainability: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Seoul, Korea, October 12-16 2003
Synopsis
Addressing global environmental problems, such as global warming is essential to global sustainability. Continued research leads to advancement in standard methods and produces new data. Carbon Dioxide Utilization for Global Sustainability: Proceedings of the 7th ICCDU (International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization) reflects the most recent research results, as well as stimulating scientific discussions with new challenges in advancing the development of carbon dioxide utilization. Drawing on a wealth of information, this well structured book will benefit students, researchers and consultants looking to catch up on current developments in environmental and chemical engineering. Provides comprehensive data on CO2 utilisation.Table of Contents
Heterogeneous catalytic reactions with CO2 : status and perspectives 1 Chemicals from CO2 via heterogeneous catalysis at moderate conditions 9 Synthetic hydrocarbon fuels and CO2 utilization 17 Design of copper based hybrid catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation 25 Plasma enhanced preparation of highly dispersed Ni/Al2O3 catalyst for CO2 reforming of methane 33 Synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by transesterification over CaO/carbon solid base catalysts 41 The synthesis of clean fuels by F-T reaction from CO2 rich biosyngas 47 Reduction of carbon dioxide using metal powders 55 Catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol over Pd/ZnO : metalsupport interaction 61 CAMERE process for methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation 67 Product distribution analysis for catalytic reduction of CO2 in a bench scale fixed bed reactor 73 Process evaluation of biomass to liquid fuel production system with gasification and liquid fuel synthesis 79 Novel catalysts for gasification of biomass with high energy efficiency 85 Improving carbon utilization in biomass conversion to synthetic hydrocarbons via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis 91 Fischer-Tropsch synthesis with CO2-containing syngas from biomass - kinetic analysis of fixed bed reactor model experiments 97 Hydrogen production from woody biomass by novel gasification using CO2 sorbent 103 A feasibility study of synthesis of oxygenates directly from methane and carbon dioxide using dielectric-barrier discharges 109 Synthesis gas production from CO2 and H2O with nonthermal plasma 119 CO2 reduction by blast furnace top gas recycling combined with waste hydrocarbon gasification 125 Microwave-assisted reactions of oxiranes with carbon dioxide in ionic liquids 131 CO2 reforming of n-heptane on a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst 137 Hexaaluminate catalysts of the novel process of syngas production through catalytic oxidation and steam-CO2 reforming of methane 141 Redox behavior of Cu-ferrite for CO2 decomposition 145 CO2 reforming by CH4 over Ni-YSZ modified catalysts 149 The interaction between CO2 and CH4 on Ru-Co-catalysts 153 Selective formation of light olefins by the cracking of heavy naphtha over acid catalysts 157 Effect of additives and a preparation method on catalytic activity of Cu/ZnO/ZrO2 system in the carbon dioxide hydrogenation to methanol 161 Selective formation of ethylene carbonate from ethylene glycol and carbon dioxide over CeO2-ZrO2 solid solution catalysts 165 Effects of palladium particle size in hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol over Pd/ZnO catalysts 169 Ga, Mn and Mg promoted copper/zinc/zirconia - catalysts for hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol 173 Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to light olefins in a fluidized bed reactor 177 Synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CH3 and CO2 with CeZrO2 catalysts 181 The effect of catalyst pore structure change into the selectivity and conversion of CO2 hydrogenation over Fe-KA2O3 185 Tri-reforming of CH4 using CO2 for production of synthesis gas to dimethyl ether 189 Carbon dioxide reduction technology with SOFC system 193 Synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from urea and methanol over metal oxides 197 Development of heterogeneous catalyst system for esterification of free fatty acid contained in used vegetable oil 201 Investigation of synthesis gas production from natural gas and CO2 by microwave plasma technology 205 CO2 hydrate kinetics in electrolyte solutions containing clay minerals 209 New catalysts for the conversion of urea into carbamates and carbonates with C1 and C2 alcohols 213 Group 5 (V, Nb and Ta) element-alkoxides as catalysts in the trans-esterification of ethylene-carbonate with methanol, ethanol and allyl alcohol 221 Hydroformylation with carbon dioxide using ionic liquid media 227 Ionic liquid-derived imidazolium metal halides for the coupling reaction of ethylene oxide and CO2 233 Aliphatic polycarbonate synthesis by alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide with cyclohexene oxide using heterogeneous zinc complex 239 Alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide aluminum Schiff base complex - quartenary ammonium salt systems as novel initiators 243 Alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxide the first example of polycarbonate synthesis from l-atm carbon dioxide by manganese porphyrin 247 Semifluorinated block copolymer surfactants for water-in-CO2 microemulsions 251 Aliphatic polycarbonate synthesis by alternating copolymerization of carbon dioxide with cyclohexene oxide using [beta]-diiminate zinc complex 255 Synthesis of poly(DOMA-co-AN) by addition of carbon dioxide to poly(GMA-co-AN) and the miscibility behavior of its blends with PEI 259 Half-sandwich complexes with dihydroxy polypyridine : water-soluble, highly efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of bicarbonate attributable to electron-donating ability of oxyanion on catalyst ligand 263 Synthesis of propylene carbonate from carbon dioxide and propylene oxide using ionic liquids 267 Spectroscopic characterization of intermediates in CO2 reduction with rhenium photocatalysts 271 Electrochemical reduction of CO2 at alloy electrode in methanol 277 Photoactivation of Ti centers in mesoporous silicate sieve under visible and UV light 283 Photocatalytic reduction of CO with H2O on Ti-containing mesoporous silica hydrophobically modified using fluoride ions 289 Effect of CO2 concentration on growth and photosynthesis of spirulina platensis 295 High performance photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with H2O by TiSBA-15 mesoporous material 299 New CO2 chemistry - recent advances in utilizing CO2 as an oxidant and current understanding on its role 303 Tri-reforming of methane over Ni catalysts for CO2 conversion to syngas with desired H2/CO ratios using flue gas of power plants without CO2 separation 315 CO2 dehydrogenation of propane over Cr-MCM-41 catalyst 323 CO2 reforming of n-heptane on a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst 329 Dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene over promoted vanadium oxide catalyst with carbon dioxide : from laboratory to bench-scale test 333 Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with carbon dioxide over supported chromium oxide catalysts 339 Oxidehydrogenation of ethane with CO2 over transition metal doped MCM-41 mesoporous catalysts 343 Selective formation of styrene via oxidative dehydrogenation of 4-vinylcyclohexene over ZrO2- supported iron oxide catalysts 347 Catalytic transformation of cyclohexanol over mixed metal oxides with and without CO2 351 The utility of carbon dioxide in homogeneously-catalyzed organic synthesis 355 Aldol reactions of propanal using MgO catalyst in supercritical CO2 363 Critical point and phase envelope calculations - some practical aspects based on CO2-mixtures 369 Evaluation of sequestrable carbon dioxide in Japanese coal samples at sub-critical and supercritical conditions 375 Synthesis and characterization of poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) and poly(styrene-co-butyl methacrylate) in supercritical carbon dioxide 381 Phenol hydrogenation over supported metal catalysts under supercritical carbon dioxide 385 Synthesis of various block copolymers containing poly-lactide) in supercritical carbon dioxide 389 Vapour pressure of CO2 as well as phase envelopes and critical points for CO2 and CH4 mixtures calculated by aspen plus and flowbat simulation software 393 CO2 recovery pilot plant 397 A 2-stage PSA process for the recovery of CO2 from flue gas and its power consumption 405 Novel nanoporous "molecular basket" adsorbent for CO2 capture 411 Reversible adsorption of carbon dioxide on amine-modified SBA-15 from flue gas containing water vapor 417 Looks like a pretty complete treatment of the subject of CO2 recycling and utilization, doesn't it? And, it sounds a lot better than "tax, tax, tax the CO2", through Cap&Trade; or, "let's hold the coal users at gunpoint and force them to pay for Big Oil to scrub his petroleum reservoirs for a few last drops", through enforced sequestration, doesn't it?The Carbon Dioxide that arises from our coal use industries is a valuable raw material resource, not a pollutant.As with most things in life, it all depends on how we look at it.