Last summer, as accessible via:
Mobil Co-Liquefies Coal & CO2-Recycling Wastes | Research & Development | News;
we sent you information concerning Mobil Oil Corporation's development of Coal liquefaction technology as disclosed by:
"US Patent 4,089,773 - Liquefaction of Solid Carbonaceous Materials; 1978; Mobil Oil Corporation, NY", wherein "an improved process for solubilizing coal and other solid carbonaceous materials" was disclosed in which not only Coal, but Carbon-recycling organic wastes, including "municipal refuse (and/or) sewage sludge (and/or) cellulosic waste", could all be liquefied together - - with or without the addition of a Hydrogen donor solvent selected from "phenanthrene, dihydrophenanthrene, tetralins, hydropyrenes or mixtures thereof"; any and all which were stated to themselves be "a product of coal liquefaction".
Herein, via the initial link in this dispatch, we see that Mobil continued to develop and refine such technology, wherein Coal and Carbon-recycling materials could be liquefied together, in the same reaction, using a Hydrogen donor solvent based on Coal liquids, and, thus made to produce hydrocarbon liquids which could serve as direct substitutes for any of the products we currently derive from naturally-occurring petroleum.
In this case, however, only a relatively small amount of the botanically-derived material "lignin" is specified to be utilized.
It's utilization, though, is specified not just because it can, as a renewable resource, be so utilized, but, because, in confirmation of other of our reports concerning similar findings from other sources, the inclusion of such Carbon-recycling raw materials actually improves the hydrogenation and liquefaction of the Coal.
Comment follows brief excerpts from:
"United States Patent 4,303,496 - Coal Liquefaction Process
Date: December, 1981
Inventor: Leslie Rudnick, NJ
Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation, NY
Abstract: The invention is directed to undertaking the liquefaction of coal in the presence of lignin.
Claims: A process for the liquefaction of coal comprising admixing the coal to be subjected to liquefaction with lignin ... .
Field: In the last two decades there has been a resurgence of interest in coal as a source of synthetic crude oil. Accordingly, the art relating to the liquefaction of coal has developed significantly in the last two decades. However, substantially all of the art relating to coal liquefaction relates to optimizing coal liquefaction processes from an engineering point of view.
Optimization of coal liquefaction and other coal chemistry has not been approached as extensively from a chemical point of view.
Summary: The invention is directed to improving coal liquefaction processes by a chemical approach.
The invention involves the addition of lignin to coal during the solubilization stage of liquefaction.
Addition of the lignin is to accelerate coal liquefaction under the conditions of liquefaction. Use of the lignin in this way is advantageous as it is quite inexpensive and available in large quantities."
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That really is the gist of the thing. The technical process involves design and chemistry very similar to that disclosed in the prior art of "US Patent 4,089,773"; as above.
But, herein, lignin is directly specified as an organic material to be used in the Coal liquefaction process, since it actually helps to speed up the liquefaction of the Coal itself; and, because it's inexpensive.
Finally, it is interesting to see, yet again, just how sophisticated our knowledge concerning the efficient conversion of our abundant Coal into anything we now derive from petroleum, had, so long ago, in certain circles, become, isn't it?