United States Patent: 4152248
As we have documented, the number of Coal liquefaction and Carbon Dioxide recycling technologies developed for, and, through US patents, owned by, our own Federal Government, or by proxies of our Government, is really quite shocking.
We enclose herein yet another. And, like some documentation we've earlier presented, it validates the truth and existence of viable Coal liquefaction technology not by describing a method for Coal liquefaction, but, by establishing a technology for refining and upgrading, into liquid fuels, of Coal liquids once they are obtained from a primary Coal conversion process.
Without citation, we note that we have reported earlier publications by the inventors, Feder and Rathke, in one or two of our previous dispatches, although we do not know what their institutional affiliations might have been.
However, it is quite clear in the following statement, excerpted from the patent, who it was they were ultimately working for:
"Contractual Origin of Invention: The invention described herein was made in the course of, or under, a contract with the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY."
In any case, comment follows excerpts from:
"United States Patent 4,152,248 - Hydrogenation of coal liquid utilizing a metal carbonyl catalyst
Date: May 1, 1979
Inventors: Feder, Harold M. and Rathke, Jerome W. (Illinois)
Assignee: The United States of America
Abstract: Coal liquid having a dissolved transition metal catalyst as a carbonyl complex such as Co2CO8 is hydrogenated with hydrogen gas or a hydrogen donor. A dissociating solvent contacts the coal liquid during hydrogenation to form an immiscible liquid mixture at a high carbon monoxide pressure. The dissociating solvent, e.g. ethylene glycol, is of moderate coordinating ability, while sufficiently polar to solvate the transition metal as a complex cation along with a transition metal, carbonyl anion in solution at a decreased carbon monoxide pressure. The carbon monoxide pressure is reduced and the liquids are separated to recover the hydrogenated coal liquid as product. The dissociating solvent with the catalyst in ionized form is recycled to the hydrogenation step at the elevated carbon monoxide pressure for reforming the catalyst complex within fresh coal liquid.
Claims: The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A method of hydrogenating a coal liquid through use of a transition metal, carbonyl catalyst dissolved as a complex molecule in said coal liquid."
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There are additional claims, with, of course, a much fuller description of the technology; but, those are all beyond our scope in this dispatch.
The point is: Our own US government, more than three decades ago, used our US tax money to develop processes for refining carbonaceous liquids, derived from Coal, into hydrocarbon liquids; hydrocarbon liquids suitable, we must presume from the technology described in Patent 4,152,248, for further processing into liquid fuels.