United States Patent: 8202913
We begin herein to attempt correction of a perhaps egregious lapse in our reportage on the advanced technology being developed in some corners for the conversion of our abundant Coal, in concert with sustainable and Carbon-recycling Biomass resources, into the liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons we continue to debase our nation's economy, and our own citizens' standard of living and quality of life, to keep ourselves supplied with from those lovable gangs of allied multinational bandits, OPEC and Big Oil.
We have previously reported on the company we bring to your attention herein, but did so in such an offhand and secondary way, in such a cavalier fashion, that we are unable at this time to find that earlier reference among our now thousands of prior reports.
But, our United States Department of Energy, through their National Energy Technology Laboratory website, does a fair job of introducing them, via:
NETL: Gasifipedia: "GreatPoint Energy, founded in 2005, is commercializing a fluidized-bed, catalytic gasification process, called Bluegas (TM), to covert coal and other carbonaceous materials to synthetic natural gas (SNG). In contrast to conventional coal-to-SNG process (e.g., the Great Plains Synfuels Plant), which is based on non-catalytic coal gasification to first generate a syngas, then followed by water-gas shift(WGS) and methanation reaction to produce methane, catalytic gasification offers the opportunity to combine these processes into a single step with improved thermal efficiency.
Catalytic gasification to SNG has been subjected to an extensive developmental effort by Exxon in the late 1970s to the early 1980s with funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). With the natural gas price collapsed in the mid 1980s, continued developmental efforts stopped. The original Exxon patents on the process have been expired. GreatPoint Energy has expanded on Exxon’s developments in its current technology commercialization development program.
(Accompanying illustrations show) an overview of the GreatPoint Energy’s Bluegas (TM) catalytic gasification SNG process. Partially dried coal and/or other carbonaceous feed (GreatPoint is marketing the technology for biomass ... application as well) is mixed/catalyzed with a proprietary catalyst solution. The catalyzed coal is then dried and transported to a fluidized-bed gasifier via a lock hopper system. Steam is also added. In the gasifer, the catalyst promotes the hydrogasification/WGS/methanation reactions to produce methane and carbon dioxide (CO2). The syngas leaving the catalytic gasifier undergoes a series of cleanup steps to remove particulates, water and acid gases followed by a separation step to recover the methane product gas. The syngas from the gasifier is not expected to contain tar, heavy oil byproducts, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and CO2 can be captured and sequestrated.
(One reason we have deferred making more extended report of GreatPoint Energy's technologies is because of the above-noted "blow-off" of the Carbon Dioxide issue. They're gasification technologies, though efficient, do result in the co-generation of greater or lesser amounts of Carbon Dioxide, which, as above, they tend to discount. The CO2 generated can be thought of as being offset, maybe more than offset, by, depending on amounts utilized, of the "biomass" that is gasified along with the Coal.
But, since, as seen in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Carbon Dioxide to Gasoline and Diesel | Research & Development; concerning: "US Patent 8,198,338 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Water; 2012; Assignee: CRI EHF, Iceland; Abstract: A process for producing high octane fuel from carbon dioxide and water is disclosed";
we can now start to treat Carbon Dioxide as a raw material resource from which we can profitably synthesize hydrocarbons, perhaps the co-generation of concentrated streams of CO2, that are easily captured and utilized, can be seen as a good thing.)
The char withdrawn from the gasifier is processed in the catalyst recovery unit, in which the catalyst is recovered and recycled to the process. Fresh makeup catalyst solution is used to supplement catalyst losses.
As the next stage of commercial development, GreatPoint Energy intends to accelerate its development from the 1-tpd demonstration facility to a 1,500-tpd commercial-scale plant. They recently announced an agreement with Datang Huayin Electric Power Company, a Chinese utility company, to develop a commercial-scale plant in Guangdong Province, China, with capacity to process 1500 tpd of feedstock. GreatPoint Energy also plans to build a plant of similar size in the United States."
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First, concerning the above mention of "the Great Plains Synfuels Plant", if you are unfamiliar with it, see:
West Virginia Coal Association | North Dakota Commercial Coal to Methane | Research & Development; concerning: "Practical Experience Gained During the First Twenty Years of Operation of the Great Plains Gasification Plant; United States Department of Energy; Office of Fossil Energy; April, 2006. Executive Summary: The Dakota Gasification Company’s (DGC) Great Plains Synfuels Plant (GPSP) in Beulah, North Dakota has operated successfully for 20 years as the only commercial coal-to-natural gas facility in the United States".
Again, one reason we didn't earlier prioritize our reportage on GreatPoint Energy is because, as noted by the NETL, and as with the Great Plains Synfuel Coal gasification and methanation facility, their Coal and Biomass gasification processes co-generate a fair amount of Carbon Dioxide, which they unfortunately, almost without fail in their discussions of it, suggest that it, as is being done with CO2 being generated at the Great Plains facility, be "sequestrated" underground by being injected into old oil and gas wells to improve production.
As noted above in our inserted comments, Carbon Dioxide can be chemically recycled in various profitable ways; and, we insist that fact should become a part of our thinking, with wasteful nonsense like geologic sequestration, despite it's popular, and thoughtless, currency, being summarily discounted.
In any case, GreatPoint, seen variously as "Greatpoint" and "Great Point", are a company composed of some folks with impressive resumes, as we will address as we go along, and, they have established an impressive body of Coal, and renewable Carbon, conversion technology which, due to it's size and extent, we will have to address in a sadly piecemeal fashion.
We're certain one of their principals could put it all together in a much more concise and coherent fashion, if they were ever asked to do so by a Coal Country journalist; but, since that is sadly an unlikely event, we will do our inadequate best to explain it to you, beginning with the very recent, as excerpted from the initial link in this dispatch:
"United States Patent 8,202,913 - Process for Gasification of a Carbonaceous Feedstock
(Processes for gasification of a carbonaceous feedstock - Greatpoint Energy, Inc.)
Date: June 19, 2012
Inventors: Earl Robinson, et. al., FL, IL and CA
Assignee: Greatpoint Energy, Inc., MA
(Another reason we were hesitant to make report of the Greatpoint technologies is because we have so far been unable to learn much about the credentials of some of their principals. However, as proclaimed by their own web site:
GreatPoint Energy; "GreatPoint Energy produces clean, low cost natural gas from coal, petroleum coke, and biomass utilizing its bluegas (TM) catalytic hydromethanation process. Bluegas (TM) operates at significantly higher efficiency than competing technologies and benefits from lower capital intensity, a superior environmental footprint, nearly complete carbon capture, and ultimately a much lower cost of production. The natural gas produced is far less expensive than liquefied natural gas (LNG) and can be transported through the existing pipeline infrastructure. It is interchangeable with drilled natural gas for all applications, including power generation, residential and commercial heating, and the production of chemicals. GreatPoint Energy is backed by the following strategic and financial investors: Dow Chemical; AES, Suncor Energy and Peabody Energy."
We'll assume Dow and Peabody to be familiar to the majority of our readers. As impressive as their participation might be, as can be learned via:
AES Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "The AES Corporation s a Fortune 200 company that generates and distributes electrical power. The company was founded on January 28, 1981, as Applied Energy Services by Roger Sant from the US Federal Energy Administration and Dennis Bakke from the Office of Management and Budget. AES is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and is one of the world's leading power companies, generating and distributing electric power in 27 countries and employing 28,000 people worldwide"; and:
Suncor Energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "Suncor Energy Inc. is a Canadian integrated energy company (that) ranks number 159 in the Forbes Global 2000 list. On March 23, 2009, Suncor announced the acquisition of Petro-Canada. This merger created a company with a combined market capitalization of C$43.3 billion. The merger ... was completed (in) 2009 (and formed) the second-largest company in Canada";
the other backers, and we only assume their inclusion and naming to be legitimate, lend some additional financial and technical credence to GreatPoint's claims.)
Abstract: The present invention relates to processes and continuous processes for preparing gaseous products, and in particular, methane via the catalytic gasification of carbonaceous feedstocks in the presence of steam. In one aspect of the invention, the processes comprise at least partially combusting a first carbonaceous feedstock with an oxygen-rich gas stream, a recycle steam stream, and an aqueous make-up stream in an oxygen-blown gasifier, under suitable temperature and pressure, to generate a first gas stream comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and superheated steam; and reacting a second carbonaceous feedstock and the first gas stream in a catalytic gasifier in the presence of a gasification catalyst under suitable temperature and pressure to form a second gas stream comprising a plurality of gaseous products comprising methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide. The processes can comprise using at least one catalytic methanator to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the gaseous products to methane and in certain embodiments do not recycle carbon monoxide or hydrogen to the gasifier. Heat energy recovered from the catalytic gasification can be used to generate the recycle steam stream.
Claims: A process for generating a plurality of gaseous products from a carbonaceous feedstock, and recovering a methane product stream, the process comprising the steps of:
(a) supplying to an oxygen-blown gasifier a first carbonaceous feedstock, an oxygen-rich gas stream and at least a portion of a recycle steam stream;
(b) optionally supplying to the oxygen blown gasifier a first aqueous make-up stream comprising one or both of water and makeup steam;
(c) at least partially combusting the first carbonaceous feedstock with the oxygen-rich gas stream in the oxygen-blown gasifier, at a first temperature and a first pressure to generate a first gas stream comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and superheated steam at a second temperature and a second pressure;
(d) optionally combining the first gas stream with a second aqueous make-up stream comprising one or both of water and makeup steam ... to generate a combined first gas stream comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and superheated steam at a third temperature and a third pressure;
(e) introducing a second carbonaceous feedstock, a gasification catalyst and at least a portion of a first stream to a catalytic gasifier (under specified optional conditions);
(f) reacting the second carbonaceous feedstock and the first stream in the catalytic gasifier in the presence of the gasification catalyst, at a fourth temperature and a fourth pressure, to produce a second gas stream comprising a plurality of gaseous products comprising methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide, the second gas steam containing heat energy available for recovery;
(g) recovering a portion of the heat energy from the second gas stream, wherein at least a portion of the recovered heat energy is utilized to generate a first steam recycle stream;
(h) if the molar ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in the second gas stream is less than about 3:1, optionally sour shifting a portion of the carbon monoxide in the second gas stream to generate heat energy and a hydrogen-enriched second gas stream having a molar ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide of at least about 3:1;
(i) optionally recovering a portion of the heat energy from step (h), if present, wherein at least a portion of the recovered heat energy is utilized to generate a second steam recycle steam;
(j) removing a substantial portion of the carbon dioxide and a substantial portion of the hydrogen sulfide from a second stream to produce an acid gas-depleted third gas stream comprising a substantial portion of the methane from the second stream ... ;
(k) reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen present in the acid gas-depleted third gas stream in a catalytic methanator in the presence of a methanation catalyst to produce heat energy and a methane-enriched third gas stream;
(l) optionally recovering a portion of the heat energy from step (k), wherein at least a portion of the recovered heat energy is utilized to generate a third steam recycle steam; and:
(m) recovering the methane-enriched third gas stream, wherein: ... the methane-enriched third gas stream is the methane product stream, or the methane-enriched third gas stream is purified to generate the methane product stream.
(The Claims, complicated as they appear in our excerpts, are far more complicated and dense in their full presentation in the Patent itself. A graphics presentation of the process, and process options, would be useful in understanding the complete system, which is all intended to achieve the maximum Methane production. Note the economies to be achieved, as in "recovering a portion of the heat energy" from some of the exothermic reactions and processes to drive other reactions within the system.)
Background and Field: The present invention relates to processes for preparing gaseous products, and in particular, methane via the catalytic gasification of carbonaceous feedstocks in the presence of steam, where there is no recycle of carbon monoxide or hydrogen to the catalytic gasifier. In view of numerous factors such as higher energy prices and environmental concerns, the production of value-added gaseous products from lower-fuel-value carbonaceous feedstocks, such as ... coal, is receiving renewed attention.
Summary: The processes and apparatus in accordance with the present invention can be useful, for example, for producing methane from various carbonaceous feedstocks. A preferred process is one which produces a product stream of pipeline-quality natural gas.
The term "biomass" as used herein refers to carbonaceous materials derived from recently (for example, within the past 100 years) living organisms, including plant-based biomass and animal-based biomass.
The term "plant-based biomass" as used herein means materials derived from green plants, crops, algae, and trees, such as, but not limited to, sweet sorghum, bagasse, sugarcane, bamboo, hybrid poplar, hybrid willow, albizia trees, eucalyptus, alfalfa, clover, oil palm, switchgrass, sudangrass, millet, jatropha, and miscanthus (e.g., Miscanthus.times.giganteus). Biomass further include wastes from agricultural cultivation, processing, and/or degradation such as corn cobs and husks, corn stover, straw, nut shells, vegetable oils, canola oil, rapeseed oil, biodiesels, tree bark, wood chips, sawdust, and yard wastes.
The term "animal-based biomass" as used herein means wastes generated from animal cultivation and/or utilization. For example, biomass includes, but is not limited to, wastes from livestock cultivation and processing such as animal manure, guano, poultry litter, animal fats, and municipal solid wastes (e.g., sewage).
The term "non-biomass", as used herein, means those carbonaceous materials which are not encompassed by the term "biomass" as defined herein. For example, non-biomass include, but is not limited to, anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal, lignite".
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GreatPoint's entire process is too complicated for us, especially with our limited capacities, to adequately summarize and explain for you. However, we wanted to again emphasize, that, as immediately above, a lot of things can be gasified along with the Coal, which, because of it's abundance and concentrated carbon energy density, is the cornerstone that enables all of this to happen on a meaningful scale.
Take, for instance, "municipal solid wastes (e.g., sewage)", much as in our earlier report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | Texaco Makes Methane from Coal & "Stuff" | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "United States Patent 3,888,043 - Production of Methane; 1975; Assignee: Texaco Incorporated; Abstract: Continuous process for the production of a gaseous stream comprising at least 90 mole % of methane (dry basis) from a sulfur containing hydrocarbonaceous fuel without polluting the environment ... . The product gas ... may be used as a substitute for natural gas or as a feedstock for organic chemical synthesis. The process ... wherein said hydrocarbonaceous fuel is a pump-able slurry of solid carbonaceous fuels selected from the group consisting of coal, ... concentrated sewer sludge in a vaporizable carrier such as water, liquid hydrocarbon fuel and mixtures thereof";
which, in a closely similar, but much older, technology to that disclosed herein, it's seen that Coal enables the manufacture of Methane, not just from Coal, but, from ubiquitous and unpleasant, maybe too renewable, Carbon-recycling wastes.
We're far from being technically competent to distinguish and explain what advances and advantages the technology of our subject, "United States Patent 8,202,913 - Process for Gasification of a Carbonaceous Feedstock", might represent, compared to earlier processes, such as the above Texaco technology of "United States Patent 3,888,043 - Production of Methane"; but, there are additional improvements in such technology, as well, which GreatPoint have claimed, as seen in:
"United States Patent: 8163048 - Catalyst-loaded Coal Compositions, Methods of Making and Use
(Catalyst-loaded coal compositions, methods of making and use - Greatpoint Energy, Inc.)
Date: April, 2012
Inventors: Alkis Rappas, et. al., TX and IL
Assignee: Greatpoint Energy, Inc., MA
Abstract: The present invention relates to catalyst-loaded coal compositions having a moisture content of less than about 6 wt %, a process for the preparation of catalyst-loaded coal compositions, and an integrated process for the gasification of the catalyst-loaded coal compositions. The catalyst-loaded coal compositions can be prepared by a diffusive catalyst loading process that provides for a highly dispersed catalyst that is predominantly associated with the coal matrix, such as by ion-exchange.
Claims: An integrated process for the steady-state gasification of an optimized reactor feed catalyst-loaded coal composition ... .
Background and Field: The present invention relates to integrated processes for making methane from coal. The present invention further relates to processes wherein catalyst is loaded onto coal. The invention further relates to improved catalyst-loaded coal compositions.
The production of gases from coal is receiving renewed attention in the present environment of high energy prices. Of particular interest is the catalytically enhanced gasification of coal with steam in a fluidized bed reactor. Such processes have the potential of being energy efficient and requiring lower investment costs.
Summary: The present invention is directed to catalyst-loaded coal compositions that result in an efficient, high-yielding gasification to methane, particularly when used in a steady-state integrated gasification process."
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In sum, the technology established, and being established, by Greatpoint Energy, for the efficient conversion of Coal and Carbon-recycling wastes into Methane, is rather vast.
We will attempt to make substantive report on the bulk of it as we go along; but, as herein, we will have to do so in too-brief sum; the mass, and complexity, exceeds our meager capabilities; and, it would be a darned nice, and now very surprising, blessing, if some competent Coal Country journalists finally stepped in and started to help out.
The point to take away herein, though, is:
We can convert our abundant Coal, along with some - even noxious - Carbon Dioxide-recycling wastes, such as "animal manure, guano, poultry litter, animal fats, and municipal solid wastes" and "tree bark, wood chips, sawdust, and yard wastes" efficiently into Methane.
And, we remind you, once we have the Methane, made, in part, from CO2-recycling wastes, in a process made feasible by our abundant Coal, we can then use that Methane, as seen, for just one example, in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Standard Oil 1987 CO2 + CH4 = Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,690,777 - Production of Synthesis Gas; 1987; Assignee: The Standard Oil Company; Abstract: Gas mixtures containing at least hydrogen and carbon monoxide are prepared by reforming hydrocarbons in the presence of a catalyst ... . In one embodiment of the present invention, methane is reformed in a process to produce a product gas mixture containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen ... . A process for reforming light hydrocarbons ... comprising contacting the light hydrocarbons with carbon dioxide ... (and) wherein the light hydrocarbon is methane. (Gas) mixtures containing carbon monoxide/hydrogen ... are particularly useful as feed gases in processes for producing higher hydrocarbons and oxygenated derivatives, such as Fischer-Tropsch and alcohol synthesis processes";
to directly consume and recycle more Carbon Dioxide, recovered from whatever handy source, in a process that results in the production of "higher hydrocarbons" and/or "alcohol".
