Comparative Analysis of Costs of Alternative Coal Liquefaction Processes - Energy & Fuels (ACS Publications)
Questions have arisen of late, from interested readers, concerning the costs of liquefying our domestic Coal, as a means to provide replacements for the transportation fuels which we are now being extorted, by largely unfriendly foreign powers and multinational oil corporations, for the supply of.
The general, public misperception, which we believe to be no doubt fostered by those same foreign powers and multinational oil corporations, is that converting Coal into Gasoline is too expensive to be considered.
It most definitely is not.
Although up to 60% of the cost at the pump of imported gasoline is, for various reasons, simply, lost to the US economy, as earlier analyses we provided to the WV Coal Association indicated, which is just money lost out of all of our pockets, we do understand that the public sees only that pump price; and, that is what the public focus, until some effort is made at public re-education, would be.
And, the situation ain't bleak. Some comment follows excerpts from the above link to:
"Comparative Analysis of Costs of Alternative Coal Liquefaction Processes
Energy Fuels; American Chemical Society; March, 2005
Qingyun Sun, et. al., West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, and Shenhua Corp., Beijing, China
Abstract: As the cost of production is a key determinant of long-term viability, developing methods that reduce the cost of direct coal liquefaction has posed a challenge to scientists and industrial organizations worldwide. This paper summarizes recent developments in technology and processes and explores the overall economic competitiveness of direct coal liquefaction using the China Shenhua Group Corp. (Shenhua) project as a case study. A comparative analysis of the costs and economic competitiveness of the Shenhua approach and a variety of conceptual designs outlined in U.S. studies is presented. The comparison shows that the economic competitiveness of direct coal liquefaction is dependent on production costs that consist primarily of raw material, operation and management, and capital costs. Capital cost is shown to be a primary determinant of the cost of production. The relative competitiveness of the plant and supporting facilities depends heavily on the economic alternatives relevant to a particular plant site. Initial results indicate that the Shenhua direct coal liquefaction plant is relatively competitive given the cost allocation assumptions made. Long-term financial markets as well as safety and environmental factors are all issues that may affect the analysis and ultimate conclusions."
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The Abstract makes it seem as if they were only comparing the costs of alternative Coal liquefaction technologies. But, until someone of public note and voice is motivated enough to look deeper into the situation, we won't, until then, actually know what "the Shenhua direct coal liquefaction plant is relatively competitive" with.