United States Patent: 4105535
We have many times documented the decades-old Coal-to-liquid conversion expertise of both Mobil Oil and their current marriage partner, Exxon.
We have also documented that still-carbonaceous residues from some Coal liquefaction technologies can themselves be further processed to extract even more hydrocarbons of utility and value.
Mobil herein confirms that assertion; and, by extension, so does the United States Government, via the Patent Office, in this three-decades old US Patent for the conversion of solid residues left behind by the Solvent Refined Coal liquefaction process, which we have earlier documented, and which was developed primarily in the early and middle 1970's by companies operating under contract to the US Government.
Further, we believe the technology disclosed in this patent to be based the utilization of coal liquefaction residues, or "bottoms", arising from a Coal-to-liquid conversion technology, the "SRC", solvent-refined coal, Process, developed under contract to the US Government at several sites, including Kentucky and Alabama, by various contractors. They might also have arisen from FMC Corporation's pilot plant operation, for the Government, of the "COED" Coal char oil process, about which we have earlier reported, and regarding which we have further information that we intend to submit.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"Conversion of coal-derived liquids with a ... zeolite catalyst
Date: August 8, 1978
Inventor: Alan W. Peters
Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation
Abstract: Solvent refined coal bottoms which are solid at room temperature are converted to distillable liquids by blending the bottoms with recycle solvent and contacting the mixture in the presence of hydrogen over Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst.
What is claimed is:
1. An improved process for making liquid fuels from coal which comprises contacting a mixture of solvent refined coal bottoms with a solvent selected from the group consisting of coal-derived solvents obtained from a previous conversion of coal, make-up solvents recovered from a previous conversion of coal, and mixtures thereof ... .
2. The process of claim 1 wherein the solvent refined coal bottoms have been previously separated from undissolved residue.
3. The process of claim 2 wherein the solvent refined coal bottoms have been previously deashed.
4. A process for converting solvent refined coal bottoms to distillable liquids ... .
5. In a solvent extraction process for making liquid fuels from coal ... which includes ...blending the bottoms fraction with a solvent selected from the group consisting of coal derived solvents obtained from a previous conversion of coal ... and recovering a distillable, hydrogenated coal extract.