We have no idea what the affiliations of these inventors might be; nor, what "coal and other carbonaceous materials" there might be to gasify in the US Virgin Islands.
However, even a scientist in that little piece of US Paradise knows what all of us, in Almost Heaven, ought to know: Coal can be converted into other, more versatile, forms of fuel. Note, especially, that they were aware, in the Virgin Islands, of what we, in the US Coal Country heartland, were not aware, that there was: "A two-stage gasification process, developed at Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., at Pittsburgh, Pa.".
As in the excerpt following, with comment appended:
"Combined shift and methanation reaction process for the gasification of carbonaceous materials
United States Patent 3904386
Inventors: Graboski, Michael S. (Stahlstown, PA); Donath, Ernest E. (St. Croix, VI)
Assignee: The United States of America
Date: 09/09/1975
A process for the gasification of coal and other carbonaceous materials to produce a methane rich fuel gas includes the combination of the shift and methanation reactions in a single reactor system. A hot raw synthesis gas comprising methane, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and oxides of carbon passes from a coal gasification system into a combined shift and methanation reactor system where the shift reaction between steam and the product gas adjusts the hydrogen/carbon monoxide ratio. Simultaneously with the occurrence of the shift reaction in the combined reactor system, carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted to methane and water. Steam formed by the methanation reaction promotes the shift reaction to, in turn, produce the hydrogen necessary to carry out the methanation reaction. After purification to remove the acid gases, the methane rich product gas is reacted in a cleanup methanator in the presence of a nickel catalyst to reduce the carbon monoxide content and increase the methane content to the pipeline standards required for synthetic natural gas.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the gasification of carbonaceous materials, and more particularly to a combined shift and methanation reaction process for providing a methane rich pipeline gas as the principal product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of methane rich fuel gas by the gasification of coal or other carbonaceous materials is widely known in the art. Pyrolysis techniques are used to carbonize coal wherein coal is heated in the absence of air to obtain a solid char and gaseous products such as hydrogen, methane, and ammonia. The Lurgi process utilizes pressure and high temperature to recover synthetic natural gas from carbonaceous solids. All these processes yield product gas that contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen which can be methanated after the hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio has been adjusted to about a 3 to 1 ratio to obtain high Btu. heating fuels having suitable pipeline quality. Generally the gasification processes use coal in fixed beds, fluidized beds or beds in suspension. Steam, hydrogen, and oxygen are used as the gasification media.
A two-stage gasification process, developed at Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., at Pittsburgh, Pa. combines the processes of coal gasification, shift conversion, acid gas removal and methanation to produce a methane rich fuel gas which meets the specification of a high Btu. pipeline gas.
The catalytic methanation unit converts the hydrogen and carbon monoxide of the product gas to methane which is suitable for use as a high Btu. pipeline gas.
There is need to provide a process for gasification of carbonaceous materials, including water gas shift reaction and a methanation reaction, to produce high methane content gas suitable for use as a pipeline gas in which the high costs of the process may be reduced and the process in general simplified."
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In other words: We can make Methane from Coal, and the US Government owns the rights to do so via the technology presented herein.
And, the technology was, it seems, developed in part in the US Virgin Islands, where they have no Coal but plenty of solar and wind energy.
Moreover, this US Government-owned patent for the transmutation of Coal has gone unused for 35 years.
Finally, to repeat the chorus: Methane can be converted directly into liquid fuels. Methane can be used to increase the productivity of indirect Coal Liquefaction processes to make liquid fuels. Methane can be reacted with Carbon Dioxide to synthesize liquid fuels.
We can synthesize Methane from Carbon Dioxide, via the Sabatier process as now employed by NASA; or, as herein, we can make it from Coal.