We have already documented the fact that our USDOE, in its wisdom, has, in the past, hired major petroleum companies to develop Coal liquefaction technologies.
An example of our reportage concerning such issues would include:
USDOE Hires Exxon to Improve Low-Rank Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,304,655 - Liquefaction Process; 1981; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company, NJ; Abstract: Scale formation during the liquefaction of lower ranking coals and similar carbonaceous materials is significantly reduced and/or prevented by pretreatment with a combination of pretreating agents comprising SO2 and an oxidizing agent. Government Interests: The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. EF-77-A-01-2893 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy."
We've struggled to understand why our poor old Uncle, who's always begging us and his many creditors for money, would, by way of metaphorical characterization, think it a good idea to pay the wealthy owner of an ice cream factory to teach him how to make frozen yogurt, so that yogurt could then compete with the ice cream for space in grocery store freezer displays.
But, that is, in essence, what our poor Uncle Sam, who lives off of our handouts, did.
And, herein, we present evidence that such self-defeating behavior must be addictive.
The above-noted US Patent 4,304,655, which was the fruit of USDOE Contract No. EF-77-A-01-2893, actually followed the development of other Coal liquefaction technologies by Exxon, development we, through our tithes to Uncle Sam, paid for.
As seen, with comment inserted and appended, concerning some interesting phenomena and potentials we've earlier documented from other sources, in our excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 4,210,518 - Hydrogen-Donor Coal Liquefaction Process
Date: July, 1980
Inventors: Edward Wilson and Willard Mitchell, Texas
Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company, NJ
Government Interests: The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. E(49-18)-2353 awarded by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration.
Abstract: Improved liquid yields are obtained during the hydrogen-donor solvent liquefaction of coal and similar carbonaceous solids by maintaining a higher concentration of material having hydrogenation catalytic activity in the downstream section of the liquefaction reactor system than in the upstream section of the system.
Claims: A hydrogen-donor liquefaction process for converting coal or similar carbonaceous solids into lower molecular weight liquid hydrocarbons which comprises: contacting said carbonaceous solids with a hydrogen-donor solvent and molecular hydrogen (under specified conditions, so that) said carbonaceous solids are converted into lower molecular weight liquid hydrocarbons to form a liquefaction effluent;
(And) recovering liquid hydrocarbonaceous products from said liquefaction effluent.
(Note, once again, that the "hydrogen-donor solvent" they intend for use in this process, though unspecified, is likely to be the hydrogenated version of the primary Coal, or Coke Oven, oil, "Naphthalene", which is better known as "Tetralin"; and, about which more can be learned via:
Exxon 1982 CoalTL Uses WVU CoalTL Hydrogen Donor Solvent | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,345,989 - Catalytic Hydrogen-donor Liquefaction Process; 1982; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: Coal or a similar solid carbonaceous feed material is converted into lower molecular weight liquid hydrocarbons (with) a hydrogen-donor solvent".)
A process ... wherein said carbonaceous solids include mineral constitutents that are active in promoting the hydrogenation of aromatics to form hydroaromatics and said high concentration is maintained by withdrawing mineral constituents from said solids at a point upstream of the midpoint of said liquefaction zone and reintroducing said mineral constituents into said liquefaction zone at a point downstream of the midpoint of said liquefaction zone.
A process ... wherein said higher concentration is maintained by introducing an iron-containing mineral that is active in promoting the hydrogenation of aromatics to form hydroaromatics into said liquefaction zone at a point where the donatable hydrogen concentration of said solvent in said zone is below the thermodynamic equilibrium concentration at the temperature in said zone.
(The "iron-containing mineral" will, in other words, force the transfer of Hydrogen to the Coal-derived "aromatics" even after the Hydrogen content of the donor solvent has been somewhat depleted; sort of like squeezing grape skins. And, that fact is emphasized at least once again in the full Disclosure.).
A process ... wherein said mineral matter is derived from a coal which is different from the feed solids to said liquefaction zone (and) wherein said mineral matter is derived by the gasification of coke produced from liquefaction bottoms (and) wherein said mineral matter is contained in pyrolysis bottoms produced by the pyrolysis of liquefaction bottoms.
We are compelled to interrupt at this point. What Exxon is describing is a Coal conversion process which allows for the recovery of valuable metal and mineral-based catalysts from Coal conversion residues. In that, it is conceptually similar to other, albeit indirect, Coal conversion process developed by them, as seen in:
Exxon Recovers and Recycles Coal Conversion Catalyst | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,157,246 - Hydrothermal Alkali Metal Catalyst Recovery Process; 1979; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company, NJ; Abstract: In a coal gasification operation or similar conversion process carried out in the presence of an alkali metal-containing catalyst wherein solid particles containing alkali metal residues are produced, alkali metal constituents are recovered from the particles primarily in the form of water soluble alkali metal formates by treating the particles with a calcium or magnesium-containing compound in the presence of water ... and in the presence of added carbon monoxide."
Our subject invention, however, is a direct Coal liquefaction process which, like many others we've documented, does result in the formation of a still-carbonaceous residue, and, with acknowledgement that the year stated in the link is a misprint, as in:
Exxon 1997 Coal Liquefaction Residue Steam-Gasification | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,060,478 - Coal Liquefaction Bottoms Conversion by Gasification; 1977; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company, NJ; Abstract: Heavy bottoms produced by the liquefaction of coal ... are converted into more valuable products by ... pyrolyzing said bottoms in the presence of ... steam. (And) wherein said ... bottoms product (is) produced by the hydrogen donor solvent liquefaction of coal"; and, then, in:
Exxon 1981 Coal Liquefaction Process | Research & Development; which provides details of: "United States Patent 4,250,014 - Coal Liquefaction Process; 1981; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company;
Abstract: Particulate coal is contacted with a vapor phase hydrogen donor solvent to swell the coal particles and, thereafter, the swollen coal particles are subjected to coal liquefaction conditions in the presence of a liquid phase solvent. (And) the improvement which comprises the additional steps of separating the effluent of said coal liquefaction zone into a vapor phase product and a solid residue, and contacting said solid residue with steam and an oxygen-containing gas to produce a hydrogen-containing gas";
Exxon itself separately confirms that such still-carbonaceous residues, left by an initial direct Coal liquefaction, as in the process of our subject: "United States Patent 4,210,518 - Hydrogen-Donor Coal Liquefaction Process"; which results in the production of " lower molecular weight liquid hydrocarbons", can then be further gasified with Steam, and be made thereby to yield both the "mineral matter" that serves to catalyze the USP 4,210,518 process of Coal hydrogenation, and, even more hydrocarbon values, i.e., "valuable products", in the form of an Hydrogen-Carbon Monoxide synthesis gas blend, which, yet again, can be catalytically condensed via, for one example, the:
Fischer–Tropsch process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "or Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis) ... a set of chemical reactions that convert a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons".