Process for producing hydrogencarbon monoxide gas mixtures
Since, in another, separate, dispatch we are sending along today, we document that our US Government and Standard Oil of Indiana knew, throughout WWII, that liquid hydrocarbon fuels could be made out of Carbon Dioxide, we thought to send along in this submission clear evidence that they both also knew, also during WWII and immediately thereafter, that we could make the same liquid hydrocarbons out of Coal.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"United States Patent 2,482,187 - Producing Hydrogen-Carbon Monoxide Gas Mixtures
Date: September, 1949
Inventor: Everett Johnson, Ill
Assignee: Standard Oil Corporation, Chicago
Abstract: This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the optimum utilization of the hydrocarbon values derived from ... coal.
It relates to the recovery of hydrocarbon values both as liquefiable hydrocarbons and as gases...
More particularly, the invention pertains to the production of gas mixtures comprising essentially hydrogen and carbon oxides suitable for the synthesis of hydrocarbons...
It is an object of this invention to provide improved method and means for producing mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide from (Coal) in an efficient and expeditious manner (and a) simple apparatus (for doing so) using a minimum of moving parts and critical materials.
(My) invention contemplates heating ... carbonaceous solids (thereby forming) carbon oxides and transferring the unconverted incandescent solids remaining to a ... zone wherein the solids serve both to supply heat and reactant material for endothermic decomposition of steam (to generate Hydrogen).
(In) this zone steam may be reacted with carbon in the form of coke or methane.
The exothermic oxidation of methane or the direct oxidation of carbon solids can be used to control the ratio of hydrogen to carbon oxide in the product gases and, to some extent, the heat balance in the system.
When methane and oxygen are both added ..., the methane may be directly oxidized ... to produce two volumes of hydrogen for each volume of carbon monoxide. ... When steam is present (there can be produced) three volumes of hydrogen and one volume of carbon monoxide. ... Steam and coke are converted directly into a 1:1 mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (and) these reactions (can be adjusted, and the) proportion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen in net mixture can (thus) be controlled.
I claim: The method of making gas mixtures consisting chiefly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide suitable for the synthesis of hydrocarbons (from) finely divided carbonaceous solids."
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Standard Oil's process for making an "adjustable" synthesis gas, of variable composition, from Coal is lengthy and complicated. It allows for quite a few variations that enable inclusion, and adjustment, of various feed materials.
Though not reflected in our excerpts, co-production of Carbon Dioxide is minimized via control of reactant proportions and conditions of reaction.
Any CO2 that is co-produced could be recycled back into one of the reaction zones and therein reduced to Carbon Monoxide by the "incandescent" carbon solids.
Further, all of the heat needed to drive all of the processes is, in Standard Oil's technology, derived from partial oxidation of the carbonaceous raw material, and of Methane.
Simply put, herein is established a process whereby an adjustable ratio synthesis gas, which can be made suitable for catalytic conversion into a range of hydrocarbon liquid and gaseous fuels, can be manufactured with the only required raw materials being Water and Coal.
And, that process technology was established, and its validity herein confirmed by our United States Government, well more than half a century ago.