Production of liquid products from solid or liquid carbonaceous materials
A number of things are demonstrated by the enclosed and attached United States Patent, which was issued nearly eighty years ago.
First, again and obviously, our United States Government, through this official acknowledgement, has known for at least that long that Coal can be effectively converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Second, it should have been obvious to our military planners, as Germany grew more and more aggressive during that time frame, that she, and her Axis allies, all as we have thoroughly documented, were making ready their own strategic domestic reserves and supplies of liquid fuel, to be manufactured from Coal.
Third, the technology demonstrates, yet again, that, in addition to Coal, renewable and Carbon-recycling raw materials can be utilized concurrently in a liquid hydrocarbon synthesis process based on Coal.
Finally, and far more important for our purposes, the technology disclosed herein further illustrates that the Hydrogen necessary to hydrogenate primarily carbonaceous raw materials, such as Coal, to synthesize liquid hydrocarbons, can be efficiently generated, as an integral procedure within the total Coal conversion process, from plain old Water.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"United States Patent 1,936,819 - Liquid Products from Carbonaceous Materials
Date: November, 1933
Inventor: Richard Bayer, Germany
My invention refers to the decomposition of petroleum, tar, bituminous matter of all kinds ... with a view to the production of liquid hydrocarbons of low boiling points.
I have now found that it is possible to convert mineral oil, tar oil, bituminous matter, carbon, wood, etc. into liquid products of low boiling point without the use of compressed hydrogen gas by causing these materials to react ... with a mixture of water and a finely divided or spongy metal capable of reacting with water to form nascent hydrogen ... .
As spongy metal I prefer using finely divided iron (prepared) by the reduction of iron oxide.
In this reaction ... hydrogen is formed (which) will readily and quickly combine with the carbonaceous compounds ... .
I claim: A process for converting carbonaceous materials into lower boiling hydrocarbon oils."
