Present Status of the Synthane Coal-to-Gas Process
We've been reporting lately the many virtues of Methane, and wanted to document, yet again, that, in addition to being able to, through Sabatier processes, synthesize Methane from Carbon Dioxide, we can also produce it through technologies of Coal gasification.
Some excerpts from the link, with comment appended:
"Title: Present Status of the Synthane Coal-to-Gas Process
Authors: Forney, A.J., Haynes, W.P., Corey, R.C.
Affiliation: US Bureau of Mines
Source: Fall Meeting; Society of Petroleum Engineers; October, 1971; New Orleans, LA
Abstract: The U.S. Bureau of Mines has developed a process to make a high-Btu gas from coal. The development work at the Bureau currently involves a fluid-bed gasifier plus a tube-wall reactor methanator. The unique features of the gasifier are: it can operate with any type of coal, including caking coals; it yields a very high content of methane in the product gas; and it operates with low oxygen product gas; and it operates with low oxygen consumption. The gas from the gasifier has to be shifted to make the necessary H2/CO ratio for the methanator, then purified to remove sulfur compounds and CO2. The purified gas is then fed to the methanator for upgrading from 500 to 900 Btu per cu ft of gas, a satisfactory content for a substitute natural gas. The advantages of the tube-wall methanator developed by the Bureau are high throughputs, low pressure drop, excellent temperature control, long life, and good product yields.
The Synthane Process is a gasification system converting bituminous, subbituminous, or lignitic coal to a methane-rich gas of pipeline quality. The basic sequence of process steps in the system is: 1) coal pretreatment to destroy caking properties, 2) gasification of the pretreated coal properties, 2) gasification of the pretreated coal in a fluidized bed, 3) shift conversion of the product gas to a hydrogen-carbon monoxide ratio of product gas to a hydrogen-carbon monoxide ratio of 3:1, 4) purification of the product gas, and 5) catalytic conversion of the clean gas to methane."
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So, according to our United States Bureau of Mines, we can manufacture Methane from "any type of coal" with a technology that features "high throughputs ... and good product yields".
And, once we have the Methane, as we have amply documented, and as we will continue to document:
We can convert it directly into liquid fuels; or, we can use it to enhance the indirect liquefaction of additional Coal; or, we can use it in "Tri-reforming" processes, such as described by Song and Grimes at Penn State University, to recycle more Carbon Dioxide into liquid fuels and organic chemicals.
