1915 CO2 Recycling | Research & Development | News
This dispatch will be cumbersome to read and, perhaps, somewhat redundant, since we're including, in addition to the initial link, which leads to one of our reports already posted on the West Virginia Coal Association's web site, an additional four links, with excerpts, one or two of which you might, as well, have already seen.
We think it important to put them all together in this fashion, since, taken as a whole, they illustrate quite clearly one pathway in which a potential we have several times documented can be made real, which potential being, that:
Carbon Dioxide, reclaimed from whatever source, and Coal, can be combined and reacted together; and, the products of their interaction can then be recombined in a coordinated sequence of additional reactions that will lead to the synthesis and production of hydrocarbons.
First, from the initial link, we wanted to again confirm a fact which is, apparently, so self-evident that, aside from some documented work by Texaco we earlier reported to you, it isn't well-established or much discussed in the available modern literature, i.e.:
Carbon Dioxide can be converted into Carbon Monoxide by blowing it through red-hot Coal.
In what should be unneeded confirmation of that fact, following are brief excerpts from the initial link, above:
"United States Patent 1,163,922 - Producing Carbon Monoxid from Carbon Dioxid; 1915; Charles Hillhouse, NYC, NY; Abstract: This invention relates to the production of carbon monoxid (CO) gas and the controlling method embraces mixing powdered carbon and carbon dioxid (CO2) gas under sufficiently high temperature to cause a carbon molecule to combine with one of the oxygen elements of the CO2, resulting in 2CO.
The quantity of powdered carbon mixed with the CO2 gas or gases a constituent of which is CO2, will be sufficient to change in a suitable reaction virtually all of the CO2 to CO."
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Of course, the "powdered carbon" which could be brought to a "sufficiently high temperature" so as to convert "all of the CO2 to CO" could, plainly, be red-hot Coal.
Thus, we can convert Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide by reacting Carbon Dioxide with Coal.
Once we have that Carbon Monoxide, there are some interesting things we can do with it.
As ExxonMobil, via one of their precedent companies, detail in the following four documents, Carbon Monoxide can then be utilized in processes that convert even more Coal into valuable hydrocarbons.
Comment follows links to, and excerpts from:
"United States Patent: 5026475 - Coal Hydroconversion Process; 1991; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: An improved process for the hydroconversion of coal comprising pretreating coal in an aqueous carbon monoxide-containing environment, followed by extracting a soluble hydrocarbon material from the coal ... .
United States Patent: 5151173 - Conversion of Coal with Carbon Monoxide Pretreatment; 1992; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: This invention is directed to a process for pretreating coal preliminary to a primary liquefaction ... . In the process, a coal feed, slurried in a solvent, is reacted with carbon monoxide (thus enhancing) the ... hydrogenation of the coal.
United States Patent: 5200063 - Coal Hydroconversion Process Comprising ... Pretreatment with Carbon Monoxide; 1993; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: This invention is directed to a staged process for producing liquids from coal or similar carbonaceous feeds combining a pretreatment stage and a liquefaction stage. In the process, the feed is dispersed in an organic solvent and reacted with carbon monoxide at an elevated temperature and pressure.
United States Patent: 5336395 - Liquefaction of Coal with Carbon Monoxide Pretreatment; 1994; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: This invention is directed to a staged process for producing liquids from coal or similar carbonaceous feeds combining a pretreatment stage and a liquefaction stage. In the process, the feed is reacted with carbon monoxide and water at an elevated temperature and pressure (and then further reacted) to produce valuable liquid fuels."
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Thus, in brief sum:
We can convert "all of" our "CO2 to CO", by reacting it with Coal at a "sufficiently high temperature"; and, we can then react even more Coal "with (that) carbon monoxide ... to produce valuable liquid fuels."
We note that study of the above-referenced Exxon patents reveals, again in confirmation of earlier of our reports, that any "organic solvent", as referred to once or twice above, which might be needed can itself be a product of the Coal liquefaction process; or, it can be a primary Coal oil as could be produced, for instance, in a Coke oven. Further, it is seen that the Hydrogen needed to hydrogenate the primarily Carbon content of Coal can, at least in part, be extracted and derived from Water or Steam entrained in the processes.