Process for preparing hydrocarbonaceous products from coal
Enclosed is yet another US Patent, awarded nearly one half of a century ago to our local Consolidation Coal Company, which further documents Consol's methodical development, which seemed to proceed, starting in the 1950's, until their acquisition by Continental Oil, and even for a short time thereafter, of technologies that enabled the efficient conversion of Coal into hydrocarbons.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"United States Patent 3,184,401 - Hydrocarbonaceous Products from Coal
Date: February, 1964
Inventors: Everett Gorin and Martin Neuworth, Pittsburgh, PA
Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh
Abstract: This invention relates to a process for the conversion of coal to valuable hydrocarbonaceous products.
One method which the Germans used to convert coal to valuable hydrocarbonaceous products is a process which includes a solvent extraction treatment.
Normally, essentially all of the coal is converted to extract ... (but) ... our process does not comprise extracting substantially all of the coal.
The extract is separated from the residue, and the residue is then subjected to treatment in a ... low temperature carbonization zone.
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We close our excerpts from the detailed disclosure here. It is explained that the solvent itself can be one of a number of primary Coal tars, or oils, including napthalene. Moreover, carbonaceous residues not dissolved are, via "low temperature carbonization" - the process developed, as we've documented, by the US Bureau of Mines' Lewis Karrick, and utilized in multiple Coal conversion pilot plants - subjected to further thermal treatment for the recovery of volatile hydrocarbon gasses, and, a "char", which can then be returned to the solvent extraction process.
In any case, this US Patent represents yet another Coal liquefaction technology that draws upon and combines, in a synergistic fashion, the features of two different Coal conversion processes, i.e., direct solvent liquefaction, or extraction, with indirect gasification and carbonization of the direct liquefaction residues. In that respect, it represents a mirror image of the FMC-ARCO "COED" process, developed, as we've documented, with US Government funding in New Jersey, wherein gasification and carbonization of raw Coal was, as in several of our earlier reports, followed by a liquid extraction of the carbonaceous residues.
Either way, we get a nearly-complete conversion of the Carbon, in Coal, to liquid, or liquefiable, hydrocarbons.
We know that the conversion of Coal can be complete. But, we don't know why the technology that exists to do so hasn't yet been implemented.