Energy Citations Database (ECD) - - Document #6704082
Herein, we see that the USDOE contracted with what we must, again, as in other of our reports concerning other US Government energy conversion contractors, characterize as something of a "skunk works".
Burns and Roe Corporation, despite the implication on this USDOE report's title page, is actually headquartered in New Jersey; and, an independent reference, as accessible via:
Burns and Roe - Related Articles - Burns and Roe Services Corporation Receives ISO 9001:2000 Certification; characterizes them thusly:
"Burns and Roe is a privately held, comprehensive engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance organization, with specialized expertise in technically complex facilities. With over 1,600 personnel worldwide, the Company serves private and governmental clients in the power, industrial, infrastructure and government service industries. The firm ... recently entered its fifth decade of providing contract operations and maintenance services to U.S. Government ... "; seems to describe them as being, primarily, a specialized US Government contractor.
Furthermore, a section on their own web site: Burns and Roe - A Legacy of People Building Success; explains how, since their inception as electrical power generation experts in the 1930's, they have been intimately involved with such sensitive issues as anti-missile defense systems and the clean up at Three Mile Island.
In any case, we see herein that our own USDOE, two decades ago, hired Burns and Roe to tell them what a simple phone call to Sasol, in South Africa, would have revealed:
Liquid hydrocarbons made from Coal can meet all existing petroleum specifications and can be processed into standard fuels in existing petroleum refineries.
Brief comment follows excerpts from the initial and following links to:
View Document or Access Individual Pages; DOI:10.2172/6704082
"Title: Assessment of coal liquids as refinery feedstocks
Date: February, 1992
DOE Contract: AC22-89PC88400; DOE Report Number: DOE/PC/88400-T1
Author: P. Zhou
Research Organization: Burns and Roe Services Corp., Pittsburgh, PA
Prepared for: U.S. Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center
Abstract: The R D of direct coal liquefaction has reached such a stage that current two-stage processes can produce coal liquids with high yields and improved quality at a reasonable cost.
Compared with typical petroleum oils, the current two-stage coal liquids are: Light in boiling range and free of resids and metals; very low in sulfur but relatively high in oxygen; relatively low in hydrogen and high in cyclics content; and essentially toxicologically inactive ... .
Despite these characteristics, the coal liquids are basically similar to petroleum (and) modern refining technology is capable of processing coal liquids into transportation fuels meeting all specifications ... .
Summary: (We have found that) coal liquids are basically similar to petroleum (and) modern refining technology is capable of processing coal liquids into transportation fuels meeting al! specifications.
Gasoline appears to be the most profitable fuel product from coal liquids, and its yield can be maximized ... .
A distillate of proper boiling range, after hydrotreating under medium-to-moderate severity and with the assistance of appropriate additives, can meet the specifications for light diesel fuels.
The gasoline-diesel product slate and all-gasoline-mode of production appear to be two realistic strategies for coal liquid refining.
Therefore, separate refining of raw (or straight-run) coal-liquid fractions -- as petroleum has been processed in refineries for decades -- is the preferred scheme.
This refining scheme has flexibility in product slate composition, selectivity in processing severity for different products, and better product quality.
Further studies ... are highly justified."
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Well, in point of fact, all the USDOE had to do, back in 1992, was make a long-distance call to South Africa, and talk to anyone at any of the several Sasol Coal liquefaction plants that had, by then, been in operation for multiple decades, to learn that "coal liquids are basically similar to petroleum (and) modern refining technology is capable of processing coal liquids into transportation fuels ... with high yields and improved quality at a reasonable cost".
And, speaking of multiple decades: This report was made to our own US Government two decades ago.
Where are the "further studies", concerning Coal liquefaction, that were, back then, "highly justified"?