As preamble, we feel compelled to briefly emphasize the bona fides of the inventor named in this United States Patent, wherein is revealed - as we have, from other sources, earlier documented to be practical and feasible - a technology wherein Coal can, in a single integrated system, be made to produce both liquid and gaseous fuels, and, as a co-product, electrical power.
The inventor is one Shang-I Cheng, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at the very prestigious, but, outside more cloistered intellectual circles, not-so-publicly-well known, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in the Lower Manhattan borough of New York City. Cooper Union, as we learn from the Wikipedia: was "founded in 1859 (and) established a radical new model of American higher education. Its mission reflects Peter Cooper's fundamental belief that education of the highest quality should be as ""free as air and water"" and should be available to all who qualify, independent of race, religion, sex, or social status. For 150 years, the College has admitted students based on merit alone and provided each with a full-tuition scholarship. Cooper is considered to be one of the most prestigious schools in the nation, with all of its member schools ranked among the highest in the country."
In any case, Chemical Engineering Professor Emeritus Cheng, a standout even in the Cooper Union refuge for certified craniums, directed his considerable genius to the subject of Coal conversion, and devised the following, as excerpted from the enclosed link:
"United States Patent 4,594,140 - Integrated Coal Liquefaction, Gasification and Electricity Production
Date: June, 1986
Inventor: Shang-I Cheng, NJ
Abstract: Methods for the physical and operational integration of a carbonaceous gasification plant, a gaseous fuel synthesis plant and a power generation station to economically produce synfuel and electrical power comprising producing gases comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen from carbonaceous raw materials in a gasification unit wherein the gasification unit utilizes exhaust steam from a power generating unit to provide various energy needs for producing synthesis gas, utilizing the hydrogen derived from the gasification unit in the liquefying and hydrogenation of coal or hydrogenation of natural gas in a fuel synthesis unit wherein the heat generated from the exothermic reactions in the fuel synthesis unit is employed to generate high pressure steam which is fed to a power generation unit to drive electrical power producing turbines wherein the exhaust steam from the turbine is used in the gasification unit as a heat source during gasification and collecting of steam condensate from the exhaust steam and recycling condensate to provide water to the fuel synthesis unit.
In preferred embodiments, steam utilized in the gasification processes is condensed in the gasification unit, collected, and pumped into the fuel synthesis unit for use in removing the reaction heat by the conversion of water to high pressure steam. Additionally, water gas shift reactions are advantageously carried out in the fuel synthesis unit to increase the supply of hydrogen gas available for the fuel synthesis process.
Background: In order to make the United States energy independent, economically plausible means must be found to synthesize high heating value fuels such as synthetic natural gas, methanol and liquid hydrocarbons.
Summary: A need exists for economically advantageous methods and apparatus for producing synthetic fuel (synfuel). It is possible to lower the operation costs of fuel synthesis by utilizing cheaper raw material gases and the inherent energy derived from energy producing (exothermic) operations such as the fuel synthesis in other related or integrated operations.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for the economical production of synfuel. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process for the simultaneous production of synfuel and electrical power. It is a more particular object of the invention to provide an integrated method for the economical production of synfuel and electrical power whereby energy produced from a component of the fuel synthesis system can be utilized in other processes within the system and to provide an improved manner for disposing of waste heat in the form of low pressure exhaust steam from the turbines of a cogeneration power plant and utilizing such waste heat in an economically beneficial manner.
In accordance with the method of the invention, carbon monoxide, hydrogen gases and some low molecular weight hydrocarbons are produced from carbonaceous raw materials in a gasification unit. These gases are generally substantially nitrogen-free. Several commercially available processes such as those developed by Shell, Lurgi, or Texaco exist for deriving Syngas. In addition to these methods any other method for the gasification of coal which is adaptable to the present invention can be used. It is also specifically contemplated to utilize other carbonaceous materials in combination with the coal for gasification such as sludge and other waste materials.
The synthesis fuel production can take place according to any of several known methods such as for the conversion of coal to methanol. Another method would be the indirect liquefaction of coal using fluidized bed (Synthol) or fixed bed (Argre) catalytic reaction to convert a carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas mixture into hydrocarbons, (now in commercial operation) as explained in Energy Technology Handbook, Ed. D. M. Considine, McGraw Book Company, 1-285, which reference is incorporated herein by reference. Another method is the direct liquefaction of coal by catalytic hydrogeneration as exemplified by Exxon'donor solvent (EDS) process which is described in Coal Handbook, Ed. R. A. Myers, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1981."
---------
Again, as we have reported from other sources to be feasible, the Hydrogen needed to hydrogenate the primarily carbonaceous materials derived from Coal can be manufactured as an integral function of the total process, as in: "water gas shift reactions are advantageously carried out in the fuel synthesis unit to increase the supply of hydrogen gas".
Moreover, and again as we have earlier, from other sources, documented to be feasible, Carbon-recycling resources can be added to the basic Coal feed, as, for instance, in: "It is also specifically contemplated to utilize other carbonaceous materials in combination with the coal for gasification such as sludge and other waste materials". And, thus, elements of both Carbon reduction and sustainability, with attendant environmental benefits from the recycling of wastes, is entrained in a fuel and power co-production process that must, because of the economies of scale, be based on Coal.
Further, the system described herein, as in others we've documented, is able to provide most of the energy, if not all the energy, or fuel, needed to drive all of the reaction steps, as in: "energy produced from a component of the fuel synthesis system can be utilized in other processes within the system".
We note, in closing, that Cheng's technology is related in concept, if not in all the exact specifics, to other Coal-based "polygeneration" technologies we have documented, and will further document, wherein, via an integrated process, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, and electrical power, can all be generated, concurrently, in one facility, with the only raw materials needed being Water and Coal.
