United States Patent Application: 0070149392
In an earlier dispatch, now accessible on the West Virginia Coal Association's web site via the link:
General Electric Recycles CO2 to Liquid Fuels | Research & Development;
we made report of technology that had been developed by one of our nation's more venerable corporations, General Electric, which embodies certain components of what might be a comprehensive system for the capture of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, and the subsequent conversion of that Carbon Dioxide into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Due either to our own many and varied insufficiencies, or, to what we now perceive to be the occasional glitch in service at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, web site, we believe we had to include, in that dispatch, a link to a secondary site's record of that General Electric invention.
In this report, we wanted to both present a new and functioning link to the USPTO's own, official published record of GE's Patent Application, and, via additional links and excerpts, demonstrate the fact that the specific exposition of that technology was, indeed, only a part of a more comprehensive and complete system of Carbon Dioxide capture and recycling that has been developed by GE.
First, as briefly excerpted from the initial link in this dispatch, and we do refer you to our earlier report as accessible via the above link to the West Virginia Coal Association's web site for a more complete exposition, we present:
"United States Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion
Date: June 28, 2007
Inventors: Anthony Yu-Chung Ku, et. al., NY
Correspondence Address (and presumed Assignee of Rights): General Electric Company, NY
Abstract: Disclosed herein is a multifunctional catalyst system comprising a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound. Disclosed herein is a method comprising reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in a first reaction catalyzed by a first catalyst; and reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in a second reaction catalyzed by second catalyst; wherein the first catalyst and the second catalyst are disposed upon a single substrate.
Claims: A multifunctional catalyst system comprising: a substrate; and a catalyst pair disposed upon the substrate; wherein the catalyst pair comprises a first catalyst and a second catalyst; and wherein the first catalyst initiates or facilitates the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide while the second catalyst initiates or facilitates the conversion of carbon monoxide to an organic compound.
(And, a) process that employs the multifunctional catalyst system ... .
A method comprising: reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide in a first reaction catalyzed by a first catalyst; and reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen in a second reaction catalyzed by second catalyst; wherein the first catalyst and the second catalyst are disposed upon a single substrate.
(And) wherein the reacting of carbon monoxide with hydrogen produces an organic compound (and) wherein the organic compound is an ... alcohol.
Summary and Description: Disclosed herein is a multifunctional catalyst system that extracts carbon dioxide from a gas stream and converts it to a product that does not comprise carbon dioxide. The multifunctional catalyst system can thus advantageously be used for reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. In an exemplary embodiment, the multifunctional catalyst system facilitates the simultaneous conduction of multiple reactions in series or parallel. The products that do not contain carbon dioxide are organic molecules. In one embodiment, the hydrocarbons are saturated hydrocarbons and/or unsaturated hydrocarbons. Examples of organic molecules are paraffins, olefins, oxygenates, or the like, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing organic molecules."
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Do note that "alcohols", aka "oxygenates", are not the only things GE can make from Carbon Dioxide. The "paraffins" and "olefins" might well be those that could serve as the raw materials for making other organic chemical products, such as plastics; and/or as blend stocks for more standard liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Also, note that "hydrogen" is required. And, as we will address in coming reports, we assure you that General Electric has that base economically covered, in several ways, as well.
We further assure you that GE's technology, and we hope that our limited capacities will allow us to eventually put it together for you in an organized and comprehensible way, is not only complete and comprehensive; but, it is, at it's roots, founded on the conversion of basic Carbon resources, and most especially Coal, into more versatile liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
For instance, one of the "gas stream"s from which GE intends to reclaim Carbon Dioxide, for recycling and conversion into "alcohols" and "saturated hydrocarbons", as via the process of their above "United States Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion", is likely raw hydrocarbon synthesis gas as it is generated from Coal.
As evidence of that, we refer you to our earlier report:
General Electric Reclaims Coal Syngas Sulfur, Recycles CO2 | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 7,655,213 - Direct Oxidation of Sulfur with Carbon Dioxide Recycle; 2010; Assignee: General Electric Company, NY; Abstract: A method for removing hydrogen sulfide to produce elemental sulfur from a synthesis gas feed stream containing hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and water";
wherein they describe how they intend to produce yet another profitable byproduct, "elemental sulfur", while they go about the business of making a purified hydrocarbon synthesis gas out of Coal.
In any case, following are two additional examples of the extraordinary suite of gas treatment technologies they have developed which actually center on the acquisition of Carbon Dioxide, we presume for utilization in their process of "United States Patent Application 20070149392", for conversion into "alcohols" and "saturated hydrocarbons".
And, we call your attention to one significant fact that crops up in nearly all of the specific innovations described by General Electric in their expositions of these technologies, and related technologies about which we will report in the future:
Nearly all of them were financed by the United States Government; and, we, all of us United States citizens, supposedly own a share of them.
Comments, and additional links and excerpts, follow:
"United States Patent: 7396382 - Functionalized Inorganic Membranes for Gas Separation
Date: July, 2008
Inventors: Anthony Yu-Chung Ku, et. al., NY and GA
Assignee: General Electric Company, NY
Abstract: A porous membrane for separation of carbon dioxide from a fluid stream at a temperature higher than about 200C ... . The porous membrane comprises a porous support layer comprising alumina, silica, zirconia or stabilized zirconia; a porous separation layer comprising alumina, silica, zirconia or stabilized zirconia, and a functional layer comprising a ceramic oxide contactable with the fluid stream to preferentially transport carbon dioxide.
Government Interests: This invention was made with Government support under contract number DOE NETL DE-FC26-05NT42451 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government may have certain rights in the invention.
Claims: A porous membrane for separation of carbon dioxide from a fluid stream at a temperature higher than about 200C ... ; said porous membrane comprising a porous support layer comprising alumina, silica, zirconia or stabilized zirconia; a porous separation layer comprising alumina, silica, zirconia or stabilized zirconia, and a functional layer comprising a ceramic oxide contactable with the fluid stream to preferentially transport carbon dioxide.
Background and Description: The invention relates generally to membranes and methods for separating a gas from a gas stream, and particularly for separating CO2 from a gas stream.
The separation of CO2 from a gas stream is a critical step in the reduction of greenhouse emissions from fossil fuel-based combustion processes."
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We'll close our excerpts there to emphasize that this is not just a process for efficiently extracting Carbon Dioxide "from fossil fuel-based combustion processes", although that is, in combination with the GE process of the above-cited "United States Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion", something that should be of rather immense interest to anyone who lives in a region of the country blessed with a concentration of Coal-fired power plants, and who might be interested in more jobs and an overall improvement in their economic environment - all accomplished by first capturing their byproduct Carbon Dioxide and then converting it into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Not reflected at all in our excerpts is the fact that GE emphasizes that this technology is especially adept at extracting Carbon Dioxide from other gas streams that also contain Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen.
And, as to just what such "gas streams" GE might intend, we refer you, by way of suggestion, to another of our earlier reports:
General Electric Converts China Coal | Research & Development; concerning: "GE Energy Licenses its Gasification Technology for Coal-to-Methanol Plant in China; "GE's gasification technology has been licensed by 38 facilities in China, allowing chemicals manufacturers to use successfully a variety of relatively inexpensive local coals to create a wide variety of industrial chemicals and fuels".
In any case, General Electric has continued to refine and improve their Carbon Dioxide separation and concentration technology, for the USDOE, as witnessed by:
"United States Patent: 7896949 - Membranes for Separation of Carbon Dioxide
Date: March, 2011
Inventors: Anthony Yu-Chung Ku, et. al., NY
Assignee: General Electric Company, NY
Abstract: Methods for separating carbon dioxide from a fluid stream at a temperature higher than about 200C ... include contacting a porous membrane with the fluid stream to preferentially transport carbon dioxide.
Government Interests: This invention was made with Government support under contract number DOE NETL DE-FC26-05NT42451 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
Claims: A method for separating carbon dioxide from a fluid stream comprising carbon dioxide and hydrogen with ... the fluid stream at a temperature greater than about 200C.
(And, there you have mention of "a fluid stream comprising" both "carbon dioxide and hydrogen". There would be essentially no Hydrogen in, as in the above "United States Patent 7,396,382 - Functionalized Inorganic Membranes for Gas Separation", "emissions from fossil fuel-based combustion processes".
There would, though, definitely be Hydrogen in a "fluid stream" generated by Coal "Gasification Technology" used in a "Coal-to-Methanol Plant".)
Description and Summary: It has been discovered that certain porous membranes, comprising a porous support layer and a continuous porous separation layer disposed on a surface of the porous support and extending between the fluid stream and the porous support layer, exhibit reverse selectivity in separation of CO2 from H2. Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention relates to methods for separating carbon dioxide from a fluid stream at a temperature higher than about 200C ... . The methods comprise contacting the porous membranes with the fluid stream to preferentially transport carbon dioxide. The porous support comprises alumina, silica, zirconia, stabilized zirconia, stainless steel, titanium, nickel-based alloys, aluminum-based alloys, zirconium-based alloys or a combination thereof."
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So, by utilizing the General Electric technologies herein, of "United States Patent 7896949" and "United States Patent 7,396,382", we could efficiently extract Carbon Dioxide from the gasses generated both "from fossil fuel-based combustion processes"; and, from "GE's gasification technology" as it might be applied to "a variety of ... coals" for the ultimate synthesis of "a wide variety of industrial chemicals and fuels".
And, once we have that Carbon Dioxide, we can use it as the raw material for another of General Electric's process technologies, that disclosed in our above-cited "US Patent Application 20070149392 - Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion", and convert that efficiently-captured Carbon Dioxide, through that process, into "paraffins, olefins" and "alcohol".
But, since, as in our excerpts, it's seen that our own US Government financed the development of these Carbon Dioxide collection technologies with tax money they collected from us, and, that, we, all of us, through our government, own a share of these Carbon Dioxide collection technologies; don't forget, that, again through our government, as seen in:
US Navy Awarded September, 2011, CO2 Recycling Patent | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,017,658 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; 2011; Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A method of: introducing hydrogen and a feed gas containing at least 50 % carbon dioxide into a reactor containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst; and heating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to a temperature of at least about 190 C. to produce hydrocarbons"; and, in:
More USDOE CO2 "Syntrolysis" | Research & Development; concerning: "Co-Electrolysis of Steam and Carbon Dioxide for Production of Syngas; 2007; Idaho National Laboratory, USDOE; A research project is underway at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to investigate the feasibility of producing syngas by simultaneous electrolytic reduction of steam and carbon dioxide ... . Syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, can be used for the production of synthetic liquid fuels via Fischer-Tropsch processes";
We the People, even without the help of GE's process of "US Patent Application 20070149392", also own other technologies that would enable us to convert such efficiently-collected Carbon Dioxide into such seemingly-needed things as "hydrocarbons" and "synthetic liquid fuels".