Patent US3018241
We have earlier, several times, referenced Consol's activities in the research and development of Coal Liquefaction technology; and, we have identified for you one of the key scientists who led their CoalTL development efforts, Everett Gorin.
Gorin is named as the inventor of the Coal conversion process we report herein, and will figure in some additional reports about Consol eventually to follow.
The enclosed description of Consol's CoalTL technology, in the case of this specific patent, seems in some respects similar to that described, as we recently reported, by the FMC company, in their patent of a Coal conversion technique developed, under contract to the US Government, at their New Jersey "COED" pilot plant.
Additional comment about that FMC technology, as was detailed in our report of: "Pyrolysis of Coal - United States Patent 3,375,175; May 26, 1978; Assignee: FMC Corporation, NY", follows the excerpts from Consol's own:
"Production of ... Liquid Fuels from Coal - United States Patent 3,018,241
Date: January, 1962
Inventor: Everett Gorin; PA
Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company; Pittsburgh, PA
Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for converting coal to liquid hydrocarbons, and, more particularly, to the production of hydrogen-rich liquids suitable for use as feedstock in gasoline manufacturing operations.
(The) ... partial conversion of coal to liquid form offers attractive possibilities of making coal-to-gasoline plants a reality in the US economy.
The concept of partial conversion implies that optimum use is made of the hydrogen that is present in the gross coal whereby it is ... preferentially distributed to a portion of the carbon content, leaving a hydrogen depleted residue.
Claims: A combination process for the production of hydrogen-enriched liquid from coal ... . (And a) combination process for the production and recovery of hydrocarbons from coal ... ."
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If you do recall our report of FMC Corporation's Coal conversion patent as noted above, and our reports of their New Jersey, US Government-contracted, pilot plant operations, you will also recall that the carbonaceous residues from that process were shipped all the way to Spain for further "hydro-treating" and conversion.
It happens that, as we will document in a report concerning the University of Delaware immediately to follow, this Consol-patented technology might have been further developed and refined, three decades later, under the auspices, and in the course, of a US Government-sponsored research and development contract . And, the residues from this Consol technology for the "partial conversion of coal to liquid" could, as were those from FMC's pyrolysis process, be further processed to yield additional hydrocarbons.
But, the key point herein is: All the way back in 1962, Consol and our US Government knew that we could convert Coal into liquids "suitable for ... gasoline manufacturing".
