We've previously documented the body of Coal conversion and Carbon recycling knowledge and expertise being established at the University of California, by scientist Joseph Norbeck and his colleagues.
A few of our previous reports about that work include:
West Virginia Coal Association | California Coal, Biomass and Waste Plastic to Hydrocarbons | Research & Development; concerning:
"US Patent 7,897,649 - Steam Methane Reformer (utilizing) Gas from Steam Hydro-Gasification; 2011; Inventors: Joseph Norbeck and Chan Seung Park; Assignee: The Regents of the University of California; Abstract: An improved, economical alternative method to supply steam and methane to a steam methane reformer (SMR) is accomplished by a combination of procedures, wherein product gas from a steam hydro-gasification reactor (SHR) is used as the feedstock for the SMR by removing impurities from the product stream from the SHR with a gas cleanup unit that operates substantially at process pressures and at a temperature above the boiling point of water at the process pressure, is located between the SHR and the SMR. Claims: A process for converting carbonaceous material to synthesis gas, comprising: heating a slurry, comprising water and carbonaceous material, with hydrogen in a steam hydrogasifier reactor, at a sufficient temperature and pressure to generate a stream of methane, carbon monoxide, and steam rich product gas; wherein the steam in the hydrogasifier is generated as the result of superheating the slurry water; removing sulfur impurities from the producer gas stream; and subjecting the resultant product gas to steam methane reforming, conditions; whereby synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide is generated at a ratio of between 2:1 and 6:1. The process ... wherein the carbonaceous material comprises municipal waste, biomass, wood, coal, or a natural or synthetic polymer. The process ... in which synthesis gas generated by the steam methane reforming is fed into a Fischer-Tropsch reactor under conditions whereby a liquid fuel is produced"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | California Hydrogasifies Coal & Carbon-Recycling Wastes | Research & Development; concerning:
"US Patent 7,500,997 - Steam Pyrolysis ... to Enhance the Hydro-Gasification of Carbonaceous Materials; 2009; Inventors: Joseph Norbeck and Collin Hackett; Assignee: The Regents of the University of California; Abstract: A process and apparatus for producing a synthesis gas for use as a gaseous fuel or as feed into a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce a liquid fuel in a substantially self-sustaining process. In one embodiment, a slurry of carbonaceous material in water, and hydrogen from an internal source, are fed into a hydro-gasification reactor to generate methane rich producer gases which are fed into a steam pyrolytic reformer to generate synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide. A portion of the hydrogen is used as the internal hydrogen source. The remaining synthesis gas is either used as fuel to produce electricity and/or process heat or is fed into a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to produce liquid fuel".
You'll note in our reports, and in the literature, if you search for and examine the available records of their work, that most of Norbeck's and his colleagues' research and development efforts focus on the conversion of biomass and organic wastes into hydrocarbons, with Coal appended in an "it, too" kind of way. We presume that to be primarily due to the fact that California mines no Coal; while, on the other hand, they are a very major agricultural state, with a huge farming industry, one that, as seen in:
ERS/USDA Data - State Export Data; and, in:
Total Agricultural Receipts Ranked by State from StuffAboutStates.com; wherein we're informed that, in terms of "total agricultural receipts", "California is this nation's most productive state followed by Texas and Iowa";
is far and away the largest in the United States of America; nearly twice the size, in fact, of its closest agribusiness competitor, Texas.
California, thus, also produces a lot of agricultural waste; and, has quite a lot of land, that, while perhaps not suitable for conventional farming, could be turned to the production of purpose-grown "fuel" crops.
Norbeck and the University of California recognize, however, that the same is not true in the rest of the nation; and, they have focused their research and development on advancing the technology for converting virtually any form of Carbon, including purpose-grown and photo-synthetically CO2-recycling crops and food crop wastes; and, forestry products and forestry wastes; and; synthetic organic wastes, such as scrap plastic; and, most especially and importantly, Coal, into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
Their concepts are clearly outlined in the following presentation:
http://www.ucop.edu/ott/
"Production of Synthetic Fuels from Carbonaceous Matter Using Steam Hydrogasification
Joseph M. Norbeck; Director of Environmental Research Institute; University of California Riverside
April, 2008
Slide 3: Thermo Chemical Process forProduction of Synthetic Hydrocarbon Fuels:
Carbon > Syngas Generation > H2 + CO > Fuel Process > Liquids > Upgrading > Clean Liquid Fuels
Slide 4: Steam Hydro-gasification:
Carbon, H2, H2O > SHR (Steam Hydrogasification Reactor) (at) 750C and 400 psi. = CH4, H2, CO, CO2, ash. Increase in steam (H2O/C ratio) enhances CH4 formation.
Slide 5: H2 + CO > Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Synthesizer > Liquid Fuel Product
(Note: The slides clearly show production of an excess of Hydrogen in a "Syngas ratio adjustment step", prior to the "Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Synthesizer, which Hydrogen is recycled back, and added to, the Hydrogen in the "Syngas Generation Stage". There is, it seems, an advantage to keeping and excess of Hydrogen in the system; and, which Hydrogen is, again it seems, all generated within the process.)
Slide 6: Any carbonaceous material can be converted ... into synthetic fuel: Biomass; Wood (and) forest clearings; Crop waste, agricultural residues; Energy crops (switchgrass, corn stover); Animal (and) municipal solid waste, food waste, biosolids; Plastic (PVC, PUF)–Polymers (rubber, tires); Coal (and) mine tailings.
(The "PUF" would be polyurethane foam, we believe, which would include scrapped foam padding from automobile interiors, and a lot of other things similar.)
Slide 13: Estimated synthetic diesel fuel from California waste streams can replace 74%of crude oil based transportation diesel.
(Coal from Utah, Colorado and New Mexico could be imported, we submit, to make up the remaining 26%. Would West Virginia, Kentucky or Pennsylvania have to import anything, from anyone?)
Slide 24: FT (Fischer-Tropsch) liquids:Ultra Clean FT Diesel; Clean burning, No sulfur, Low aromaticity, High cetane number, long chain paraffins, Gasoline, Jet Fuel, Solvents and waxes."
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We'll note that the full presentation offers some cost analyses in graphic form. Without explanatory text, we are reluctant to attempt analysis and summary of them for you. But, especially in the case of Coal as a stand-alone feedstock, the Fischer Tropsch fuels appear to be very, very competitive, in terms of cost, with natural petroleum sources. And, that is even without taking into account the true cost of imported oil, as we explained, for one instance, in:
wherein, based on the costs to our economy of actually buying petroleum from foreign suppliers, the real cost of gasoline to the US economy as a whole, and, thus, indirectly, to the individual US consumer, all the way back in 1987, was already Five Dollars per Gallon.
However, Norbeck does his cost analyses with an explicit "$1.00 per gallon subsidy" for the biological, and waste, feed stocks. He doesn't say where that subsidy comes from, though it could derive from avoided costs of disposal. And, it doesn't seem to be needed when those feeds stocks are combined with Coal. Further, the analyses were made back in 2008, when
And, on slide 16, Norbeck estimates the actual costs of production of liquid fuels from biomass, waste and Coal, in 2008, to "vary", based it seems on the mix of raw materials, "between $1.24 to $2.51 a gallon".
That sounds pretty darned competitive, to us. And, Coal is the real difference-maker.
In any case, Norbeck's and his colleagues' scientific basis for all of the foregoing was quite recently validated by our own US Government technical experts, in the issuance of two United States Patents directly related to the co-conversion of Coal and of various agricultural and commercial wastes into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
As seen, with an additional link and comment appended, in excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 8,143,319 - Steam Hydro-Gasification with Increased Conversion Times
Date: March 27, 2012
Inventors: Chan Seung Park and Joseph Norbeck, CA
Assignee: The Regents of the University of California, Oakland
Abstract: A method and apparatus for converting carbonaceous material to a stream of carbon rich gas, comprising heating a slurry feed containing the carbonaceous material in a hydrogasification process using hydrogen and steam, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to generate a methane and carbon monoxide rich stream in which the conversion time in the process is between 5 and 45 seconds. In particular embodiments, the slurry feed containing the carbonaceous material is fed, along with hydrogen, to a kiln type reactor before being fed to the fluidized bed reactor. Apparatus is provided comprising a kiln type reactor, a slurry pump connected to an input of the kiln type reactor, means for connecting a source of hydrogen to an input of the kiln type reactor; a fluidized bed reactor connected to receive output of the kiln type reactor for processing at a fluidizing zone, and a source of steam and a source of hydrogen connected to the fluidized bed reactor below the fluidizing zone. Optionally, a grinder can be provided in the kiln type reactor.
(Note the rapid "conversion time (of) between 5 and 45 seconds", which speaks to a very high production rate, and relates to a similar "flash" Coal "hydropyrolysis" conversion process explained in our earlier report:
California Rocket Scientists Liquefy Coal | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,243,509 - Coal Hydrogenation; 1981; Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation, CA; Abstract: Disclosure is made of a method and apparatus for reacting carbonaceous material such as pulverized coal with heated hydrogen to form hydrocarbon gases and liquids suitable for conversion to fuels".
Note, as well, that "a grinder can be provided", which relates to the second Norbeck, et. al. invention which we document following excerpts from "United States Patent 8,143,319".)
Claims: A process for converting carbonaceous material to a stream of carbon rich gas, comprising: heating a slurry feed containing the carbonaceous material in a hydrogasification process using hydrogen and steam, at a temperature between 700-900C and a pressure sufficient to generate a methane and carbon monoxide rich stream in which the conversion time in the process is between 5 and 45 seconds; and removing impurities from the stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas at a temperature above a boiling point of water at the pressure.
The process ... wherein the carbonaceous material is solid.
The process ... wherein the carbonaceous material is liquid or gas.
The process ... in which heating the slurry feed containing carbonaceous material is performed in a fluidized bed reactor at a temperature low enough and/or at a pressure high enough to enable the carbonaceous material to be fluidized.
The process ... in which heating the slurry feed containing carbonaceous material is performed in a kiln type reactor.
The process ... in which heating the slurry feed containing carbonaceous material is performed in a kiln type reactor before being fed to a fluidized bed reactor.
The process (wherein) the slurry feed is heated in the kiln type reactor at 300-600C and 150-400 psi.
(This is not, thus, a genuinely high-temperature or high-pressure, i.e., high-energy demand, process.)
The process ... in which the solid in the slurry feed has a residence time in the kiln type reactor of 10-200 seconds.
The process ... in which the impurities are removed from the stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas at substantially the pressure of the fluidized bed reactor.
The process ... including the step of subjecting the stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas to steam methane reforming under conditions whereby synthesis gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide is generated.
The process ... in which synthesis gas generated by the steam methane reforming is fed into a Fischer-Tropsch-type reactor under conditions whereby a liquid fuel is produced.
The process ... comprising using heat from the product output to heat the kiln type reactor.
(Thus, as in other, technically-related Coal conversion processes we have documented for you, some steps within the total system generate heat, which can be reclaimed and recycled into other stages of the process to achieve greater economies.)
Background and Field: The field of the invention is the synthesis of transportation fuel from carbonaceous feed stocks.
There is a need to identify new sources of chemical energy and methods for its conversion into alternative transportation fuels, driven by many concerns including environmental, health, safety issues, and the inevitable future scarcity of petroleum-based fuel supplies.
Since the resources for the production of petroleum-based fuels are being depleted, dependency on petroleum will become a major problem unless non-petroleum alternative fuels, in particular clean-burning synthetic diesel fuels, are developed. Moreover, normal combustion of petroleum-based fuels in conventional engines can cause serious environmental pollution unless strict methods of exhaust emission control are used.
A clean burning synthetic diesel fuel can help reduce the emissions from diesel engines.
The production of clean-burning transportation fuels requires either the reformulation of existing petroleum-based fuels or the discovery of new methods for power production or fuel synthesis from unused materials. There are many sources available, derived from either renewable organic or waste carbonaceous materials. Utilizing carbonaceous waste to produce synthetic fuels is an economically viable method since the input feed stock is already considered of little value, discarded as waste, and disposal is often polluting.
Liquid transportation fuels have inherent advantages over gaseous fuels, having higher energy densities than gaseous fuels at the same pressure and temperature. Liquid fuels can be stored at atmospheric or low pressures whereas to achieve liquid fuel energy densities, a gaseous fuel would have to be stored in a tank on a vehicle at high pressures that can be a safety concern in the case of leaks or sudden rupture. The distribution of liquid fuels is much easier than gaseous fuels, using simple pumps and pipelines. The liquid fueling infrastructure of the existing transportation sector ensures easy integration into the existing market of any production of clean-burning synthetic liquid transportation fuels.
The availability of clean-burning liquid transportation fuels is a national priority. Producing synthesis gas (which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) cleanly and efficiently from carbonaceous sources, that can be subjected to a Fischer-Tropsch type process to produce clean and valuable synthetic gasoline and diesel fuels, will benefit both the transportation sector and the health of society.
A Fischer-Tropsch type process or reactor, which is defined herein to include respectively a Fischer-Tropsch process or reactor, is any process or reactor that uses synthesis gas to produce a liquid fuel. Similarly, a Fischer-Tropsch type liquid fuel is a fuel produced by such a process or reactor. Such a process allows for the application of current state-of-art engine exhaust after-treatment methods for NOx, reduction, removal of toxic particulates present in diesel engine exhaust, and the reduction of normal combustion product pollutants, currently accomplished by catalysts that are poisoned quickly by any sulfur present, as is the case in ordinary stocks of petroleum derived diesel fuel, reducing the catalyst efficiency. Typically, Fischer-Tropsch type liquid fuels, produced from biomass derived synthesis gas, are sulfur-free, aromatic free, and in the case of synthetic diesel fuel have an ultrahigh cetane value.
Biomass material is the most commonly processed carbonaceous waste feed stock used to produce renewable fuels. Waste plastic, rubber, manure, crop residues, forestry, tree and grass cuttings and biosolids from waste water (sewage) treatment are also candidate feed stocks for conversion processes. Biomass feed stocks can be converted to produce electricity, heat, valuable chemicals or fuels. California tops the nation in the use and development of several biomass utilization technologies. Each year in California, more than 45 million tons of municipal solid waste is discarded for treatment by waste management facilities. Approximately half this waste ends up in landfills.
The carbonaceous components of this waste material have chemical energy that could be used to reduce the need for other energy sources if it can be converted into a clean-burning fuel. These waste sources of carbonaceous material are not the only sources available. While many existing carbonaceous waste materials, such as paper, can be sorted, reused and recycled, for other materials, the waste producer would not need to pay a tipping fee, if the waste were to be delivered directly to a conversion facility. A tipping fee, presently at $30-$35 per ton, is usually charged by the waste management agency to offset disposal costs. Consequently not only can disposal costs be reduced by transporting the waste to a waste-to-synthetic fuels processing plant, but additional waste would be made available because of the lowered cost of disposal.
Using fuels from renewable biomass sources can actually decrease the net accumulation of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, while providing clean, efficient energy for transportation. One of the principal benefits of co-production of synthetic liquid fuels from biomass sources is that it can provide a storable transportation fuel while reducing the effects of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. In the future, these co-production processes could provide clean-burning fuels for a renewable fuel economy that could be sustained continuously.
A number of processes exist to convert coal, biomass, and other carbonaceous materials to clean-burning transportation fuels, but they tend to be too expensive to compete on the market with petroleum-based fuels, or they produce volatile fuels, such as methanol and ethanol that have vapor pressure values too high for use in high pollution areas, such as the Southern California air-basin, without legislative exemption from clean air regulations.
Numerous gasification studies have demonstrated that partial oxidation (POX) of coal can produce energetic gases. The synthesis gas produced is used either as fuel to generate electricity in IGCC process or used as a feedstock to produce liquid fuels in gas-to-liquids (GTL) process. The partial oxidation process generally requires an oxygen generation plant, which requires high capital and operational cost. Another process was developed in the early 1930's where coal was gasified with hydrogen instead of air/oxygen. Hydro-gasification refers to the reaction of carbon and its char with hydrogen rich gas at 600-1000C., with the main product being methane. The hydro-gasification process requires hydrogen as a feedstock and the reactions are extremely slower as compared to partial oxidation process. Due to these reasons hydro-gasification is normally carried out with a catalyst and in a reactor with high gas residence time.
All gasification processes usually require a dry feed for the process. The drying of the feedstock increases the cost of the overall process. In some cases slurry feed is used. The slurry feed does not require the feedstock to be dried before the gasification process. A high-pressure slurry pump is used to feed the slurry inside the reactor instead of a complex and cumbersome lock hopper system in case of a dry feed. The disadvantage associated with slurry feed is that the process requires additional source of heat to provide the sensible heat to the water in the slurry feed. Hence the slurry feed system for a POX hydro-gasification process does not seem to be feasible, since the hydro-gasification process relies on the external source of heat instead of internal heat which is generated by the combustion of the fraction of the feedstock in POX.
Of particular interest to the present invention are processes developed more recently in which a slurry of carbonaceous material is fed into a hydro-gasifier reactor. One such process was developed in our laboratories to produce synthesis gas in which a slurry of particles of carbonaceous material in water, and hydrogen from an internal source, are fed into a hydro-gasification reactor under conditions to generate rich producer gas.
(Once again, note that any needed "hydrogen" is generated within and acquired "from an internal source" within the process itself.)
the present inventors realized that feedstocks used in hydro-gasification reactions, such as coal and biomass, can be sufficiently reactive to operate at the lower temperatures of fluidized bed processes.
This invention provides an improved, economical alternative method of conducting hydro-gasification, by increasing conversion times. These increased conversion time processes can be operated using fluidized bed or kiln type reactors; or using a combination of fluidized bed and kiln type reactors.
In one embodiment, a process for converting carbonaceous material to a stream of carbon rich gas is provided, comprising heating a slurry feed containing the carbonaceous material in a hydrogasification process using hydrogen and steam, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to generate a methane and carbon monoxide rich stream in which the conversion time in the process is between 5 and 45 seconds.
In a particular implementation of the above embodiment, heating carbonaceous material in the slurry is performed in a kiln type reactor.
In another implementation of the above embodiment, the process is performed in a fluidized bed reactor. Use of a fluidized bed to conduct hydro-gasification provides extremely good mixing between feed and reacting gases, which promotes both heat and mass transfer. This ensures an even distribution of material in the bed, resulting in a high conversion rate compared to other types of gasification reactors.
In a particular embodiment, to optimize the performance of the fluidized bed reactor, two stages are provided. In a first stage, the carbonaceous material is fed as slurry, along with hydrogen, to a kiln type reactor before being fed to the fluidized bed reactor. Optionally, a grinder can be provided in the kiln type reactor. In this two stage embodiment, the apparatus comprises a kiln type reactor, a slurry pump connected to an input of the kiln type reactor, means for connecting a source of hydrogen to an input of the kiln type reactor; a fluidized bed reactor connected to receive output of the kiln type reactor for processing at a fluidizing zone, and a source of steam and a source of hydrogen connected to the fluidized bed reactor below the fluidizing zone. In a more particularized embodiment, the slurry feed has a residence time in the kiln reactor of 10-200 seconds. The conversion time during the entire two stage process can be between 5 and 45 seconds.
In a particular implementation of the invention, the output of the fluidized bed reactor is used as feedstock for a steam methane reformer (SMR), which is a reactor that is widely used to produce synthesis gas for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals, for example in a Fischer-Tropsch type reactor (FTR).
More particularly in the present invention, carbonaceous material, which can comprise municipal waste, biomass, wood, coal, or a natural or synthetic polymer, is converted to a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas by heating the carbonaceous material in a fluidized bed reactor using steam and/or hydrogen, preferably both, as fluidizing medium at a temperature and pressure sufficient to generate a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas but at a temperature low enough and/or at a pressure high enough to enable the carbonaceous material to be fluidized by the hydrogen or by a mixture of hydrogen and steam."
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Again, all of the Hydrogen utilized appears to come from within the system itself, much of it from the steam reforming of Methane formed in the initial gasification of Coal, and the "biomass" and "carbonaceous waste material"; which steam reforming breaks the Methane, CH4, and H2O, down into more Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide. It is possible that an excess of Carbon Monoxide is produced, in which case, some of it could be subtracted and directed to a process such as that seen in our report of:
Standard Oil Carbon Monoxide + Water = Gasoline | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,559,363 - Process for Reacting Carbon Monoxide and Water; 1985; Inventors: Jeffrey Miller and Albert Hensley; Abstract: A process for reacting carbon monoxide and water in the presence of a cadmium-containing catalyst is disclosed ... for the direct production of gasoline".
Or. additional Hydrogen could be obtained from a process such as that seen in our report of:
NASA Hydrogen from Water and Sunlight | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,045,315 - Solar Photolysis of Water; 1977; NASA; Hydrogen is produced by the solar photolysis of water in a first photo-oxidation vessel with a transparent wall in the presence of a water soluble photo-oxidizable reagent and an insoluble hydrogen recombination catalyst. Simultaneously oxygen is produced in a second photo-reduction reactor with a transparent wall in the presence of an insoluble photo-reduction reagent catalyst. A method ... capable of photolyzing water to produce hydrogen";
and added to the process of our subject, "United States Patent 8,143,319".
In any case, you will have noted that a blend of Coal and the various other organic materials is to provided to the initial gasification reaction in the form of a solid particulate and liquid "slurry feed".
And, Joe Norbeck and his University of California colleagues applied themselves to that issue, as well, by designing a process that would efficiently produce just such a "slurry feed", as seen via the following link, with excerpts, to:
"United States Patent: 8118894 - Commingled Coal and Biomass Slurries
Date: February, 2012
Inventors: Joseph Norbeck, et. al., CA
Assignee: The Regents of the University of California, Oakland
Abstract: An energy efficient process for converting biomass into a higher carbon content, high energy density slurry. Water and biomass are mixed at a temperature and under a pressure that are much lower than in prior processes, but under a non-oxidative gas, which enables a stable slurry to be obtained containing up to 60% solids by weight, 20-40% carbon by weight, in the slurry. The temperature is nominally about 200C under non-oxidative gas pressure of about 150 psi, conditions that are substantially less stringent than those required by the prior art.
In another embodiment, the biomass water slurry can be mixed with a coal water slurry to further optimize the carbon content and pumpability of the biomass slurry.
Claims: A process for converting biomass into a higher carbon content, high energy density slurry, comprising: providing ground coal and a pretreated biomass slurry; and forming from the ground coal and the pretreated biomass slurry a coal-biomass slurry having a viscosity (as specified) and having a solid loading of at least 40 weight %; and wherein the pretreated biomass slurry is formed from a biomass slurry by heating the biomass slurry under a non-oxidative gas such that the heating allows use of at least 35% treated biomass in the coal-biomass slurry while maintaining the viscosity.
The process ... wherein the biomass slurry is formed from wood or plant material and water.
The process ... wherein the coal-biomass slurry has a water:carbon ratio of approximately 2:1.
In a process of hydrogasification of a biomass slurry in a hydro-gasification reactor, the improvement comprising: converting the biomass slurry into a higher carbon content, high energy density slurry by pre-treating the biomass slurry to form a pretreated biomass slurry, and by combining the pretreated biomass slurry with, an amount of a coal slurry to thereby form a coal-biomass slurry ... .
Field: The field of the invention is the synthesis of transportation fuel from carbonaceous feed stocks.
High solids content coal/water slurries have successfully been used in coal gasifiers in the feeding systems of pressurized reactors. A significant difference between coal/water slurries and biomass/water slurries is that coal slurries contain up to 70% solids by weight compared to about 20% solids by weight in biomass slurries. Comparing carbon content, coal slurries contain up to about 50% carbon by weight compared to about 8-10% carbon by weight in biomass slurries.
Summary: Provided is a steam hydrogasification process efficient for gasification of both coal and biomass feedstocks, either alone or commingled. The process can utilize water to provide an internal source of hydrogen and to control the synthesis gas ratio over a wide range [1]. This requires the formation of a slurry with a high carbon to water ratio, but with a viscosity to allow ease of handling during preparation, storage and transfer to the reactor.
The slurry of carbonaceous material resulting from the process of this invention can be fed into a hydro-gasifier reactor under conditions to generate rich producer gas. This can be fed along with steam into a steam pyrolytic reformer under conditions to generate synthesis gas ... ."
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And, which "synthesis gas", as stipulated herein by the related "United States Patent 8,143,319", can then be directed into a "Fischer-Tropsch reactor", and converted into "clean-burning transportation fuels".
Further, we feel compelled to note, yet again, that these concepts and technologies are well within the realm of economical reason.
As seen, for just two examples, in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Standard Oil Co-Gasifies Coal & Carbon-Recycling Biomass | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 2,633,416 - Gasification of Carbonaceous Solids; 1953; Assignee: Standard Oil Development Company; Abstract: The present invention relates to the production of gases from non-gaseous carbonaceous materials and, more particularly, to the production of gas mixtures containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen ... from such solid carbonaceous materials as ... various coals (and) cellulosic materials"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | Texaco Coal Conversion Recycles Carbon & Disposes of Waste | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,983,296 - Partial Oxidation of Sewage Sludge; 1991; Assignee: Texaco Inc.; Abstract: Municipal sanitary sewage sludge is disposed of by an improved partial oxidation process without polluting the environment. Aqueous slurries of sewage sludge are upgraded by hydrothermal treatment, preferably while being sheared, concentrated, and then mixed with a supplemental fuel, preferably coal";
it has long been known that Coal and various renewable organic materials can be processed together in ways that lead to the indirect production, via hydrocarbon synthesis gas, of synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
And, all those various technologies, as with our subjects herein, "US Patent 8,118,894 - Commingled Coal and Biomass Slurries" and "US Patent 8,143,319 - Steam Hydro-Gasification with Increased Conversion Times", represent ways in which we can begin to establish a sustainable, Carbon-recycling industry that would satisfy our domestic US needs for liquid hydrocarbon fuels, using domestic US resources and thereby freeing our US economy from enslavement to the less-than-amicable foreign powers of OPEC, by founding such a synthetic liquid fuel industry on the one raw material we currently have in enough abundance to help us realistically begin to develop such use of our renewable resources: Coal.