We've made several reports concerning the Coal conversion technology owned and being developed by Dow Chemical Company.
A recent example would be: DOW Chemical Coal to Methane | Research & Development | News .
Dow's interest in Coal conversion might have helped lead, as we've earlier speculated, to their 2001 acquisition of the old Union Carbide Corporation, who themselves operated, for at least a few years, a Coal hydrogenation facility in South Charleston, WV.
Carbide's work in West Virginia led to the development of several Coal conversion technologies, a later example of which we reported in:
Charleston, WV, Coal + Steam = Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development | News
Wherein is detailed: "USP 3,988,237 - Integrated Coal Hydrocarbonization and Gasification of Char; 1976;
Inventors: Hubert Davis, Charles Albright, et. al.; all of West Virginia; Assignee: Union Carbide Corp.;
Abstract: An integrated continuous process for the production of liquid and gaseous fuels wherein coal particles are (processed in) interconnected zones for combustion and gasification ... wherein char produced by the hydrocarbonization of the coal particles provides the feed for the gasification zone".
In any case, Dow Chemical scientists were also at work on Coal conversion technologies of their own, prior to the acquisition. And, the example we document in this dispatch relates to earlier of our reports, wherein we explained that, if we want and need Ethanol to be a component of our national transportation fleet's fuel supply, then there are better ways to go about making it than the uneconomical, and Carbon-emitting, charade of devoting agricultural land and food crops to it's fermentation and distillation.
Dow herein explains how we can manufacture Ethanol, and other higher, fuel-range, alcohols, by using Coal to modify the chemistry of the lower-energy-content Methanol, which has what could be seen as rather profound implications - which we elaborate, following excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 4,825,013 - Higher Alcohols from Lower Carbon Number Alcohols
Date: April, 1989
Inventor: George Quarderer, et. al., MI
Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI
Abstract: A process for forming an alcohol fraction boiling in the range of motor gasoline that is enriched in higher alcohols, comprises contacting a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and a lower alkanol with a (specified and detailed catalyst) ... under conditions sufficient to convert at least some of the one or more lower alcohols to higher alcohols.
Claims: A process comprising contacting a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and one or more lower alcohols with a heterogeneous catalyst ... under conditions sufficient to convert at least some of the one or more lower alcohols to higher alcohols (and) wherein the one or more lower alcohols contain methanol.
The hydrogen and carbon monoxide required for this process may be obtained by ... the ... gasification of hydrocarbonaceous materials such as coal."
--------------
To be clear: Dow demonstrates herein that we can make "motor gasoline"-range alcohols by reacting Methanol with a mixture of gases that can be generated by the "gasification of ... coal".
And, keep in mind that we can make, and in a few and various places around the world are making, as Eastman Chemical is doing in Kingsport, TN, as we have many times documented, the Methanol used herein to react with Coal syngas, from Coal.
Perhaps more intriguingly, we can, as we documented recently, in just one out of now a number of similar reports, posted as: Illinois Recycles CO2 to Methanol | Research & Development | News; also synthesize Methanol by using effluent Carbon Dioxide as one of the key raw materials.
Again: Once we have that Methanol, whether made from Coal or Carbon Dioxide, we can, as explained herein by Dow, react it with Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen made by the "gasification of ... coal", and convert that Methanol thereby into "motor gasoline".