Herein, from the WWII-era birthplace of practical Coal liquefaction technology, we see that methods have been developed which would enable us to, if we wanted, preferentially synthesize a relatively greater proportion of Diesel fuel, as opposed to more volatile products, from Coal.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"United States Patent 4,675,102 - Diesel Fuel from Medium Heavy Oil obtained from Coal
Date: June, 1987
Inventors: Eckard Wolowski, et. al., Germany
Assignee: Ruhrkohle Aktiengesellschaft, Germany
Abstract: The invention provides an improvement to a process for producing a diesel fuel from a medium heavy oil obtained from coal. The invention increases the amount of medium oil which can be used to produce diesel fuel while keeping the total yield of oil from the coal about the same. Thus, the fraction of the medium oil recovered is greater without altering the total yield of oil from the coal, and now amounts to about 80 to 85 percent of the total oil yield. Accordingly, the amount of light oil derived in this process becomes correspondingly smaller. Thus, the total oil yield is increased by about 4 to 6 percent compared with previously obtained results.
Claims: An improvement to a process for manufacturing a diesel fuel ... from coal.
Background and Description: The invention generally relates to a process for the production of a diesel fuel (and) is directed to an improvement to a process for the production of diesel fuel (from) a medium-grade oil obtained from coal ... .
The conventional process includes the hydrogenation of the coal in the presence of grinding oil which oil is obtained from the process, which also yields hydrogen-containing circuit gas . More particularly, the invention is directed to a process for increasing the amount of medium oil which can be used as a diesel fuel. Thus, the total oil yield is increased by about 4 to 6 percent compared with previously obtained results.
The ... conventional process has associated therewith several drawbacks. Particularly, only 65 to 70 percent of the entire oil yield from the coal consists of the medium oil which is used to produce diesel fuel. As a result of the further processing of the medium oil to produce a diesel fuel, there is produced appreciable fractions, namely 60 to 65 percent of the products which boil below 185C and which are no longer suitable for use in diesel engines ... .
The present invention is directed to an improvement to a process for the production of diesel fuel in which the conventional process includes the steps in which a medium-grade oil obtained from coal is derived as a first runnings for the subsequent treatment in a refining and hydrocracking stage for the extraction of diesel fuel."
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Note, and we think this important: This is a process intended to improve "conventional" Coal-to-Diesel technologies, wherein "60 to 65 percent of the products" from Coal liquefaction, "boil below 185C and which are no longer suitable for use in diesel engines".
In other words, "conventional" Coal conversion processes, in addition to producing Diesel, also generate more volatile hydrocarbon products that, we submit to you, "boil" in the gasoline range.
And, that, we insist, is the purpose and thrust of this technology:
Avoiding, in a Coal conversion process, the production of Gasoline from Coal, so that more Diesel fuel can be produced from Coal.
An interesting problem to address, ain't it?
Do you suppose that any regular US citizen living in US Coal Country, and being extorted every day for the purchase of imported liquid fuels, would have any idea that the technologies for Coal conversion, into hydrocarbons just like those imported liquid fuels, was so advanced that those technologies could be further refined, so as to select what greater relative amounts of specific liquid fuels, Diesel or Gasoline, which would be produced from Coal?