Production of fuel gases
As we have many times documented, there are some inefficiencies seemingly inherent in most processes for the indirect conversion of Coal into hydrocarbons; that is, in technologies wherein Coal is first converted into a synthesis gas, "syngas", which is subsequently catalyzed and condensed.
One of the inefficiencies is that not all of the syngas is, for various reasons, converted into hydrocarbons during initial passes over one of the multiple catalysts suitable and effective for promoting such conversion.
The petroleum companies, who, after WWII, began to further develop and refine the already-proven German and Japanese Coal liquefaction technologies, addressed that inefficiency. And, they established ways to profit from it, in the, for them, unhappy eventuality they might actually be forced into utilizing America's vast domestic reserves of Coal to supply liquid fuel to the American market, rather than the, again for them, more profitable sources of cheaper natural petroleum becoming available in Venezuela and Arabia.
As evidenced by the following excerpts from the above link and attached file, with comment appended:
"United States Patent 2,527,154 - Production of Fuel Gases
Date: October, 1950
Inventor: Walter Scharman, NJ
Assignee: Standard Oil Development Company, DE
Abstract: The present invention relates to the production of fuel gases of high heating value and more particularly to the production of high B.t.u. fuel gases from the tail gases of low heating value obtained in the catalytic synthesis of normally liquid hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds from carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
The hydrocarbon synthesis may be operated on the basis of using either natural gas or carbonaceous solids such as coal, etc., for the production of synthesis gas containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. ... the process utilizing coal has not yet advanced to a state of development at which synthetic oils would be economically competitive with natural mineral oils.
(Note that the immediately foregoing was written in October, 1946 - the date of the actual patent application. Our guess is that things have changed just a bit, since then, and the "competitive" situation might now, 60+ years later, look somewhat different.)
This situation has stimulated considerable research activity aiming at the improvement of the process as well as product yields and quality. Previous attempts in this direction have been concentrated largely on the valuable liquid or readily liquefiable synthesis products such as fuels for internal combustion engines ... .
However, the hydrocarbon synthesis yields substantial amounts of a further by-product in the form of tail gas (which) has the great advantage of being nearly sulfur free (but has) low B.t.u. value.
As a result, (such) gas ... has either been vented (to the atmosphere) or used for heating purposes within the synthesis plant.
(If you recall, we have previously documented such internal recycling and use of CoalTL process tail gas, referring to it as "autothermic" or "self-powered" Coal conversion.)
It is ... the principal object of this invention to improve the economics of the catalytic synthesis of hydrocarbons ... by increasing the heating value of synthesis tail gas.
A more specific object of the invention is to produce a marketable pipeline fuel gas of high heating value from the low B.t.u. tail gas of the synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO and H2 produced by the gasification of carbonaceous solids such as coal."
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The point is: When we convert Coal into liquid "fuels for internal combustion engines", we can also make, as a "marketable" by-product, a "pipeline fuel gas of high heating value".
What, would you suppose, the profitable sale of such by-product "marketable ... high value ... pipeline fuel gas" do to the effective costs of producing, primarily, those "fuels for internal combustion engines" from "carbonaceous solids such as coal"?
Standard Oil, and their cohorts, knew darned-well what it would do more than half a century ago; and, as embodied in the Patent Office, so did our United States Government.
