Pittsburgh 1953 Liquid Fuel from Coal

Process for preparing liquid hydrocarbon fuel from coal

 

We have documented the achievements of Pittsburgh, PA's, old Gulf Oil Corporation, and their Pittsburg (KS) and Midway, "P&M", Mining subsidiary, in furthering the advancement of Coal liquefaction technology.

 

Herein, we present an early example of their CoalTL work, which we don't believe we have previously reported. Given it's vintage, we'll suppose it related to the rather extensive post-WWII efforts undertaken by our Government, and it's Oil Industry "partners", to transfer the Axis powers' success in converting Coal into liquid hydrocarbon fuels to the United States.

 

CoalTL technology has advanced in the more than half a century since this US Patent was issued, and there are, there very probably were, even then, better, and easier, ways to go about transforming Coal into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

 

Comment follows excerpts from:

 

"United States Patent 2,654,695 - Preparing Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuel from Coal

 

Date: October, 1953

 

Inventor: William Gilbert, et. al., Oakmont, PA

 

Assignee: Gulf Research and Development Company, Pittsburgh, PA

 

Abstract: This invention involves an improved combination of steps for preparing liquid hydrocarbon fuels from coal.

 

This invention has for it's object to provide an improved procedure for converting coal into liquid hydrocarbons suitable as fuel."

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We make our excerpts brief, since this is early United States work; and, in the full Disclosure, Gulf specifies the use of free, pressurized Hydrogen, in what we perceive as a "brute force", and, in terms of energy requirements, high-cost direct-hydrogenation process.