Energy Citations Database (ECD) - - Document #10102094
Similar in some respects to a report we recently sent you, wherein USDOE centers in Morgantown, WV, and Pittsburgh, PA, supported research by a New Jersey company, which was intended to improve the liquefaction of Coal from China, we see herein that a similar arrangement had been made relative to Canada.
And, the results were quite interesting.
In 1994, Canada was able to make synthetic crude oil, from Coal, for less than $30 per barrel.
Comment follows excerpts from the full report's "executive summary", as accessible via the initial and following links:
3 Mb View Document or Access Individual Pages; Document Number: 10.2172/10102094
"Title: Advanced direct coal liquefaction concepts. Executive summary, Volume 1
Author: D.J. Berger, et. al.; Canadian Energy Development, Inc., Edmonton, AB
USDOE Contract Number AC22-92PC91050; Report Number DOE/PC/91050--T8-Vol.1; July, 1994
Research Organization: Canadian Energy Development, Inc., and Alberta Research Council, Canada
Abstract: The economics and oil yields of advanced coal liquefaction are described.
Early in 1990, the US. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Request for Proposal to evaluate Advanced Direct Coal Liquefaction Concepts. The ultimate objective of these new approaches to liquefaction was to generate an all distillate product slate at a cost of about U.S. $25/barrel.
Canadian Energy Development Inc. (CED) and the Alberta Research Council (ARC) pooled their expertise to develop a process to meet the objective set by DOE.
The counterflow reactor (CFR) Advanced Coal Liquefaction concept proposed by CED/ARC is based on technical developments made by the two organizations in the areas of coal liquefaction, coal/oil coprocessing and heavy oil upgrading.
Key results: It was demonstrated that counterflow reactor technology could be successfully applied to coal liquefaction. The liquefaction of Black Thunder coal using this technology under the best tested conditions gave a coal conversion of 92.5 wt.%.
Economic Evaluation: Utilizing yield data ... , a preliminary economic feasibility study for a commercial facility (75,000 barrels per day of coal derived synthetic oil from Black Thunder subbituminous coal) concluded that in the Base Case scenario .. a (return on investment of) 15% can be achieved at a crude
oil equivalent price of just under U.S. $30 per barrel.
Based on an improved CFR Advanced Coal Liquefaction process, the conceptual design of the commercial coal liquefaction facility was configured, to the extent possible, similar to the improved Baseline Design developed by Bechtel Corporation and AMOCO Oil Company. With (those) financial parameters ... analysis showed that, using the CFR Advanced Coal Liquefaction concept, coal derived synthetic oil can be produced at prices as low as U.S. $25 per barrel."
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We are at something of a loss to formulate what seems to us appropriate summary comment.
In 1994, our US Department of Energy was reliably informed, by a trusted ally, in a report resulting from research that US tax dollars paid for, that oil "can be produced" from Coal for "$25 per barrel".