We've made several prior reports concerning Germany's multi-national energy technology giant, Siemens AG; one of perhaps special interest in:
West Virginia Coal Association | August 2011, CO2-to-Gasoline US Patent Awarded | Research & Development; concerning:
"United States Patent 7,989,507 - Production of Fuel Materials Utilizing Waste Carbon Dioxide; 2011; Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Germany; Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method for utilizing CO2 waste comprising recovering carbon dioxide from an industrial process that produces a waste stream comprising carbon dioxide in an amount greater than an amount of carbon dioxide present in starting materials for the industrial process. The method further includes producing hydrogen using a renewable energy resource and producing a hydrocarbon material utilizing the produced hydrogen and the recovered carbon dioxide."
Herein, we learn that Siemens has, quiet recently, applied their extraordinary energy conversion expertise to our most favored raw material, Coal.
In brief, Siemens has developed a more sophisticated Coal gasification technology, one which not only results in the production of a blend of Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide synthesis gas, suitable for catalytic chemical condensation, as via, for one example, the Fischer-Tropsch process, into liquid hydrocarbon fuels, but, one which can operate with nearly equal effectiveness on all types and grades of Coal.
Comment follows, and is inserted within, excerpts from the initial link to:
"United States Patent 8,025,705 - Gasification of Coals of Widely Differing Degrees of Coalification
Date: September, 2011
Inventors: Bernd Holle, et. al., Germany
Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Munich
Abstract: A method for gasification of fuel in an entrained flow of a gasification reactor. The method includes jointly gasifying a mixture of at least two different fuels having different degrees of coalification, including those of differing coal qualities such as brown coals and stone coals. The method also includes pulverizing the coals forming the mixture in specific grain bands and drying the coals forming the mixture to a specific residual water content.
Claims: A method for gasification of fuel in an entrained flow of a gasification reactor, comprising: jointly gasifying a mixture of at least two different fuels with different degrees of coalification from the table shown below wherein the different fuels are fed to different drying and pulverizing systems to obtain the respective grain size distribution and moisture content specified therein; providing a plurality of sluices for conveying the mixture to a dispensing vessel wherein the sluices are operated to enable continuous operation of the dispensing vessel; and transporting the mixture from the dispensing vessel to a gasification reactor.
The method ... wherein the different fuels are fed to a common drying and pulverizing system (or) wherein the different fuels are separately dried and pulverized and are mixed homogeneously in a mixing system.
The method ... wherein the fuel mixture is put under an operational pressure in a pressure sluice and conveyed pneumatically as a dense gas or a pulverized fuel suspension to the gasification reactor.
The method ... wherein the gasification reactor is operated at a pressure between normal pressure and 8 MPa and at a temperature between 1200-1900C (and) wherein the gasified mixture of the different fuels is free of oxygen (and) wherein a gasification temperature is above a melting temperature of an ash.
The method ... wherein the ash is removed as a molten flow from the gasification reactor.
(Which "ash", by the way, could then be utilized in a process like that described in our report of:
Exxon Converts Coal Conversion Residues to Cement | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,260,421 - Cement Production from Coal Conversion Residues; 1981; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: Cement is produced by feeding residue solids containing carbonaceous material and ash constituents obtained from converting a carbonaceous feed material into liquids and/or gases into a cement-making zone and burning the carbon in the residue solids to supply at least a portion of the energy required to convert the solids into cement.
Although our read of "United States Patent 8,025,705" suggests that there won't be much "carbon in the residue solids", i.e., "ash", resulting from it's process. Even so, the with the addition of a little extra energy, we can still "convert the solids into cement".)
Background and Field: The invention relates to a method for simultaneous gasification of coals of widely differing degrees of coalification, such as brown coals and stone coals, in accordance with the method of entrained flow gasification. The invention allows coals pulverized into pulverized fuel to be converted into synthesis gases in a gasification plant with oxygen or with a gasification means mixture containing free oxygen in the entrained flow.
(There) is a specific relationship between the degree of coalification of the coals and the volatile component content and the surface structure. Less coalified coals possess a larger content of volatiles as well as a larger internal surface as a result of the pore structure. They are thus more reactive than strongly coalified coals. This characteristic is especially marked between brown coals and stone coals, but also within the stone coals if anthracite is regarded as the most coalified coal and high-volatile coal as the least coalified coal.
(Our West Virginia and Pennsylvania bituminous Coal falls into the higher mid-range of what they're talking about. Europeans use a slightly different terminology when describing grades of Coal than do we.)
For this reason for example brown coals and stone coals are not jointly gasified in accordance with the prior art. The technique of synthesis gas generation in accordance with the method of autothermic entrained flow gasification has been known for many years ... . With a dry pneumatic feed of the pulverized fuel to the gasification reactor ... eddying of the pulverized fuel in a dispensing vessel puts it into a fluid state and it is fed by application of a drop in pressure via a pipeline from the eddy layer of the dispensing vessel to the burner of the gasification reactor. The different densities of brown coal and stone coal also mean that their eddy and flow properties are different. To enable these different coals to be conveyed together, specific ranges of grain size of the coals are required.
Summary: Using this prior art as its starting point, the object of the invention is to create a gasification method in which, with a reliable and safe mode of operation, the simultaneous gasification of coals of different degrees of coalification such as brown coals and stone coals is allowed, with the pulverized fuel, consisting of a mixture of the different coals, being fed from a common dispensing system to the gasification reactor.
The coals forming the mixture are thus, to achieve the same speed of conversion, pulverized in the specific specified grain bands, and depending on their degree of coalification, dried to the specific given residual water content.
(Keep in mind that a certain amount of water is necessary, so that, as explained better in:
Texaco 1950 Coal + Steam = Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 2,516,974 - Gasifying Carbonaceous Material; 1950; Texaco Development Corporation; Abstract: The present invention relates to gasification of solid fuels and is more particularly concerned with the conversion of carbonaceous materials into a gaseous product of high heating value composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen ... . In accordance with the present invention a stream of combustible gases, predominantly hydrogen and carbon monoxide, is produced by the reaction of water vapor with carbon";
enough free Hydrogen can be generated from the water, H2O, through reaction with the hot carbon, so that the hydrocarbon synthesis gas will have the proper ratio of Hydrogen to Carbon Monoxide for, as seen in:
Fischer–Tropsch process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "The Fischer-Tropsch process ... is a set of chemical reactions that convert a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons";
the catalytic synthesis of desired liquid hydrocarbons.)
Because of their different characteristics, the coals of different degrees of coalification are brought to the corresponding water contents and ranges of granulation in separate drying and pulverizing systems
The lumps of coal dried and pulverized into dust according to the given specifications are mixed in a separate device and discharged to an operational bunker for storage, from the operational bunker pressure sluices are alternately filled with the pulverized fuel mixture and pressurized with an inert gas, such as nitrogen, at operating pressure for example, the pulverized fuel mixture under operating pressure is periodically discharged from the pressure sluices to a dispensing vessel, by feeding in an eddying and conveyor gas a thick eddy layer is created in the dispensing vessel, from which the pulverized fuel mixture is fed to the burner of the gasification reactor, by simultaneous feeding in of a gasification means containing free oxygen the pulverized fuel mixture is converted in the gasification reactor into raw synthesis gas.
(We submit, that, as in:
Shell Oil Coal + CO2 + H2O = Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 7,829,601 - Partial Oxidation Process of a Solid Carbonaceous Feed; 2010; Shell Oil Company; Abstract: The invention is directed to a process for preparing a mixture comprising CO and H2 by operating a partial oxidation process of a solid carbonaceous feed, which process comprises the steps of: (Supplying) the solid carbonaceous feed and an oxygen-containing stream to a burner, wherein a CO2 containing transport gas is used to transport the solid carbonaceous feed to the burner";
with some changes in the mix of gaseous reactants added to the process, it is also feasible to utilize Carbon Dioxide, recycled from whatever handy source, as the "inert gas" with which the "pulverized fuel (is) pressurized" and conveyed "to the burner of the gasification reactor". In such scenarios, given sufficient Oxygen to support the partial combustion and gasification of the Coal, the CO2 reacts with the hot Carbon to form more Carbon Monoxide.)
A method for gasification of pulverized fuels in an entrained flow gasification reactor at pressures between normal pressure and 80 bar, at temperatures between 1200-1900C, with an oxidization means containing free oxygen, with the gasification temperature lying so far above the melting temperature of the coal ash that the latter can be removed as a molten flow from the gasification chamber, with mixtures of coals of different degrees of coalification and thereby different reaction capabilities as well as different water content being gasified."
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In sum, it is just a more efficient means of gasifying Coal, to produce Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen, with some degree of control over the ratios of those components in the product synthesis gas; a means of gasification which can accommodate and consume Coals of all ranks and compositions.
As in our closing excerpts, it is specified that a certain amount of "free oxygen" is required to support the gasification process; and, we submit that such "free oxygen" might be obtainable from a process such as that described in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | Germany & Pennsylvania Hydrogen from Hydropower | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "United States Patent 6,864,596 - Hydrogen Production from Hydro Power; 2005; Assignees: Voith Siemens Hydropower Generation GmbH and Incorporated, Germany and York, PA; Abstract: A turbine installation configured for large scale hydrogen production includes a foundation structure separating an upper elevation headwater from a lower elevation tailwater. The foundation structure defines a water passageway extending therethrough between an inlet adjacent the headwater and an outlet adjacent the tailwater. A runner is supported for rotation by the foundation and disposed in the water passageway intermediate the inlet and the outlet so that water flowing through the passageway as a result of head differential causes rotation of the runner. A generator is supported by the foundation and connected to the runner by a rotary shaft for generating electrical power as the runner rotates. An electrolyzer is electrically coupled to the generator for receiving the electrical power and producing hydrogen. A control system is capable of sensing the remaining hydrogen storage capacity and performing an economic comparison analysis to determine whether operating the turbine to produce additional hydrogen or to supply a utility grid with power provides the highest economic return";
wherein a Siemens-related company tells us how we can make, in the course of generating Hydrogen from Water, H2O, by utilizing an abundant Coal Country environmental resource, hydro power, which Hydrogen could be added to the synthesis gas blend generated from Coal via the process of our subject, "United States Patent 8,025,705 - Gasification of Coals", to make that synthesis gas more suitable for catalytic condensation into a broader array of liquid hydrocarbons, we can also generate byproduct Oxygen, which could be utilized in the process of "United States Patent 8,025,705" to make the "Gasification of" all ranks of "Coals", and the subsequent chemical synthesis of hydrocarbons from the thus-produced synthesis gas more complete and more efficient.
"United States Patent 8,025,705 - Gasification of Coals of Widely Differing Degrees of Coalification" was officially issued, and the validity of the Coal conversion technology disclosed within it, which could help to lead us into a domestic self-sufficiency of liquid hydrocarbon fuels, thus confirmed by our own United States government technical experts, almost exactly six months ago.
How backwards, how isolated, are we, here, in the heart of United States Coal Country, that news of that event, of seemingly critical importance - - importance to the Coal industry; importance to the people who depend upon Coal for their livelihoods and their energy needs; and, importance to everyone, everywhere in the US who pays grudging tithes to OPEC and Big Oil every time they fill up their gasoline tanks - - has not yet found its way from the capitol city of the United States of America, Washington, DC, where the transaction occurred, to the newspapers, television screens and radio speakers of all the United States Coal Country public venues of communication and information?
Isn't it far, far past time we caught up with the rest of the civilized world, at least insofar as publicly acknowledging, even trumpeting, the importance, the critical importance, and versatility, of Coal?