How real is the technology for converting Coal into Gasoline, and other liquid hydrocarbon fuels?
Well, it is so real that, more than half a century ago, the United States petroleum industry was already improving the technologies it had in hand to refine the Gasoline that it made from Coal.
And, our own United States Government had sufficient confidence in it's own knowledge of such technology to determine whether or not genuine improvements could, and had, been made in the processes for the further refining of Gasoline made from Coal.
As witness, with we think important comment appended, we present excerpts from the following United States Patent, available via the enclosed link and attached document:
"United States Patent 2,615,036 - Treatment of Synthetic Gasoline
Date: October, 1952
Inventor: Harold Fleming, et. al., OK and MO
Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Company
Abstract: This invention relates to a process for the production and treatment of motor fuel. In one of it's more specific aspects, it relates to a process for the treatment of synthetic gasoline to improve it's qualities.
Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to the treatment of a Fischer-Tropsch type synthetic gasoline.
An object of the invention is to produce high quality motor fuel from hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
Another object ... is economy in the operation of a Fischer-Tropsch process to produce gasoline.
Claims: A process for the manufacture of an improved synthetic gasoline ... ."
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In point of fact, and to the point of absurdity, as with what are, like this, essentially other petroleum industry expositions of Coal-to-Gasoline technology, this US Patent manages to avoid entirely any use of that offensive four-letter word, Coal,.
However, their familiar and frequent dropping of the names Fischer and Tropsch, as if they were old family friends, is, we assert, and we think you'll agree, by now synonymous with "Coal liquefaction".
We have no further comment to add, nor technical points to emphasize, from this United States Patented technology "for the treatment of synthetic gasoline to improve it's qualities".
