Process for producing liquid fuels from coal
We do regret, that, over the past four or five years, we really haven't been able to do a good job of, by using the abundantly available evidence, drawing out for you a complete and organized picture of how our domestic Coal, or, more precisely, the Carbon content of Coal, can be thoroughly and efficiently converted into hydrocarbons; that is, into anything, quite literally anything, we now allow ourselves to be extorted by the pushers of foreign OPEC petroleum for the supply of.
More precisely, we haven't been able to, in a coherent narrative, plot for you the ongoing development of those Coal and Carbon conversion technologies, as they have progressed among certain enlightened groups in the decades following World War II.
Our efforts have been handicapped by, first and foremost, rather severe personal disabilities, and related hardships, that prevent our direct interaction and exchange with people genuinely knowledgeable.
But, be assured that there are people genuinely knowledgeable, not only of the plain fact that Coal and other, renewable, Carbon resources, including Carbon Dioxide itself, can be efficiently converted into gaseous and liquid substitutes for natural petroleum products; but, as well, of the complete ways and means of effecting such conversions.
Herein, we touch again on processes developed by Consolidation Coal Company's award-winning Coal conversion scientist, Everett Gorin, since the technology we address herein has, we believe, direct precedent bearing on Coal utilization processes more recently refined by, among others, West Virginia University.
As we have begun to document, as in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU Coal Liquefaction Yields $50 Oil | Research & Development; concerning, primarily, the article: "Quantex targets coal-to-liquids conversion at less than $50 per barrel; Gordon Eberth, COO of Quantex Energy Inc., admits that his company’s coal-to-liquids (CTL) process seems too good to be true. Could there really be a CTL technology that converts low-grade raw coal to synthetic crude and high-value green coke at a break-even operating cost under US$50 per barrel? A conversion process that generates less CO2 per barrel than Arab light crude? The Quantex technology involves making a partially refined synthetic crude oil from coal, which is then further refined into synthetic gasoline and diesel as well as liquid propane gas and other hydrocarbon fuel products similar to hydrocarbon fuels derived from petroleum crude oil. This CTL process was discovered at West Virginia University, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE was actually looking to manufacture coke and got crude as an unexpected byproduct. Further research indicated that a higher volume of oil was produced from lower grades of coal, another welcome surprise. Chalifoux acquired the rights and launched Quantex in 2007. About two-thirds of the treated coal becomes crude, the rest green coke. The latter can be used as synthetic metallurgical coke or Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) coal as well as anode and needle coke. These fuels are used in steel blast and electric furnaces, and aluminum smelters";
what we have been occasionally calling the "West Virginia Process" for the direct liquefaction of Coal, as explained above by their technology licensee, Quantex, evolved from, or was developed coincident with, a technology intended perhaps initially and primarily as a way to manufacture premium Carbon products from Coal, such as those described in:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU Makes "Plastic" Coal Foam | Research & Development; concerning:
"United States Patent 5,888,469 - Method of Making a Carbon Foam Material and Resultant Product; 1999; Inventors: Alfred Stiller, Peter Stansberry, John Zondlo; Assignee: West Virginia University"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | Wheeling, WV, Coal-based Carbon Foam | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "United States Patent 6,656,238 - Coal-based Carbon Foam; 2003; Inventors: Darren Rogers and Janusz Wladyslaw, Wheeling and Glen Dale, WV; Assignee: Touchstone Research Lab, Triadelphia, WV; Abstract: A method for the manufacture of coal-based carbon foams from a coal particulate starting material that comprises blending from 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch with the coal particulate before foaming. Blends of coal-based particulate with 1 to about 10% by weight of pitch as well as coal-based carbon foams manufactured from such blends are also described".
Our take on the those sorts of technologies, evolving from the earlier technology for the solvent refining of Coal, as described, for just two examples, in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Solvent Refined Coal | Research & Development; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | USDOE Funds Pennsylvania Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "United States Patent 4,510,040 - Coal Liquefaction Process; 1985; Assignee: International Coal Refining Company, Allentown (PA); Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for the production of liquid carbonaceous fuels and solvents from carbonaceous solid fuels, especially coal. The claimed improved process includes the hydrocracking of the light SRC mixed with a suitable hydrocracker solvent. The recycle of the resulting hydrocracked product, after separation and distillation, is used to produce a solvent for the hydrocracking of the light solvent refined coal. The Government of the United States of America has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC05-780R03054 (as modified), awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. This invention relates to the process for the liquefaction of carbonaceous solid fuels, particularly coals with respect to enhanced production of liquid carbonaceous fuels and solvents. The present invention involves a solvent coal refining process in which, following liquefaction and light gas separation, the coal slurry is subjected to vacuum distillation, the bottom stream of which is solvent deashed. This solvent deashing includes a sequence of separation steps at elevated temperature and pressure. The present invention involves an improvement in the process wherein "Light SRC" is the favored product, the "Heavy SRC" being recycled almost to extinction. Such Light SRC is, in turn, hydrocracked on a fixed catalyst bed to yield commercially useful liquid fuels";
is that, as the Disclosure of "United States Patent 4,510,040 - Coal Liquefaction Process" goes on at length to explain, such solvent refining processes result initially in both a light liquid suitable for direct refining into conventional hydrocarbon fuels and a heavier liquid, or semi-solid, the "Heavy SRC" which can, as noted, be recycled back into the process "almost to extinction" in the production of more "Light SRC" liquids; or, as was the intent and focus of the original USDOE-sponsored WVU research, into "coke", and subsequent premium carbon products.
There are economic trade-offs in all of that, however, as indirectly indicated in the above citation of our earlier report concerning the company "Quantex", and their licensing of West Virginia University's Coal conversion technology. And, we'll be addressing some of those issues in reports to follow, concerning WVU's own further development of technologies arising from and related to, as cited above, their "United States Patent 5,888,469 - Method of Making a Carbon Foam Material and Resultant Product".
However, those technologies did evolve from earlier Coal solvent dissolution processes whose sole purpose was, in fact, to make Gasoline from Coal, as evidenced in our report more than a few years ago of:
West Virginia Coal Association | Consol 1962 Hydrogen-enriched Coal Liquid | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 3,018,242 - Production of Hydrogen-Enriched Hydrocarbonaceous Liquids; 1962; Inventor: Everett Gorin; Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company; Abstract: (A) process for the conversion of bituminous coal to a hydrogen-enriched hydrocarbonaceous liquid suitable as feedstock to a gasoline refining plant. Another object of this invention is to provide a process for the conversion of bituminous coal to a gasoline refining plant feedstock at a cost comparable to that of producing an equivalent petroleum-derived material. Suitable solvents for the coal in the extraction step are predominantly polycyclic hydrocarbons, preferably partially or completely hydrogenated aromatics ... derived from the intermediate or final steps of this invention."
And, herein we see that Everett Gorin and Consol went on to improve such technology in the years immediately following issuance of "United States Patent 3,018,242", perhaps laying more groundwork for the Coal conversion technology later developed by WVU and now being licensed to companies like Quantex, who, though not reflected in the above excerpts from our earlier report, have partnered with the Australian Coal company, New Hope Mining, to help bring the technology to commercial practice.
Comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent 3,162,594 - Process for Producing Liquid Fuels from Coal
Date: December, 1964
Inventor: Everett Gorin, Pittsburgh, PA
Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh
Abstract: This invention relates to an improved process for producing liquid fuels such as gasoline from coal.
More particularly, this invention relates to an improved process for producing distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid from ash-containing, non-distillable extract obtained by solvent extraction of coal.
As described in ... my U.S. Patent No. 3,018,242 (as in our earlier report, cited above), valuable liquid products such as gasoline may be derived from coal by initially subjecting the coal to solvent extraction, whereby a mixture of coal extract and undissolved coal residue is obtained.
After separating the extract from the residue, the extract is catalytically hydrocracked to yield an ash-free, distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid (which) is suitable for refining to gasoline... .
The extract obtained by the solvent extraction of coal, after being separated from the undissolved coal residue, contains a minute, unfilterable amount of metallic contaminants, commonly referred to as ash (which, if left untreated, as explained, has adverse effects on the following catalytic hydrogenation processes).
(We'll note that the bulk of the "ash" would be left behind in the "undissolved coal residue". More on that issue follows additional excerpts from our subject.)
Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide an improved process for minimizing the deleterious effect of coal-extract ash ... on hydrocracking catalyst during the production of ash-free, distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid from ash-containing coal extract.
In accordance with my invention, ash-containing coal extract ... is subjected to hydrogenation.
(We've condensed in the extreme the full explanation provided by Gorin and Consol. What they disclose is, simply, a variation on the sequence of various processing steps, "hydrocracking" versus "hydrogenation", generally speaking, which are just variants, really, of pretty-much now-standard and conventional petroleum refinery techniques.. And, unless you're a petroleum refinery engineer, the distinctiona will likely be unintelligible.
Some grounding in the subject matter can be had via review of the information provided via:
Refining Flow Scheme | Honeywell UOP;
Refining of Petroleum (from the Australian Institute of Petroleum);
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/industries_technologies/petroleum_refining/pdfs/bandwidth.pdf;
and, in an article which indirectly, and perhaps surprisingly, reveals that some modern petroleum refinery techniques seem actually to have evolved from early developments in the conversion of Coal into liquid hydrocarbon fuels:
Bergius process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "The Bergius Process is a method of production of liquid hydrocarbons ... by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure. It was first developed by Friedrich Bergius in 1913 (and) in 1931 Bergius was awarded the Nobel Prize".
See:
West Virginia Coal Association | CoalTL Wins Nobel Prize - in 1931 | Research & Development.)
During hydrogenation of the coal extract, hydrogen is added to the extract under conditions such that a product comprising a minor amount of an ash-free, distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid, which is completely soluble in benzene, and a major amount of an ash-containing, non-distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid is obtained.
At least a portion of the non-distillable liquid subsequently is catalytically hydrocracked to produce additional ash-free, benzene-soluble, distillable liquid. The distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid ... from both hydrogenation and hydrocracking is suitable for refining to gasoline.
The essence of my invention is that I have found that about 80 weight percent of the soluble ash and the insoluble ash ... which is contained in coal extract is associated with the benzene insoluble portion of the coal extract.
If the benzene insolubles are ... converted to benzene solubles, substantially all of the ash ... is correspondingly removed or agglomerated to insoluble ash particles (of larger size).
In order to convert benzene insolubles to benzene solubles, the extract needs only to be hydrogenated; preferably in the presence of a catalyst so that lower pressures and temperatures may be used.
The hydrogen used for hydrogenating the coal extract may be supplied by extraneous hydrogen gas, by hydrogen-transfer from a hydrogen-transferring solvent such as tetralin, or both."
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Most of the Ash, thus, is transformed into a recoverable form, making it available for consumption and use in another process, such as that seemingly developed by WVU in concert with their Coal liquefaction licensee, Quantex, as we reported in:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU & Canada Cement from Coal Liquefaction Residues | Research & Development; concerning: "US Patent Application 20120090510 - Forming Cement as a By-Product of Coal Liquefaction; 2012; Inventor: Alfred H. Stiller, Morgantown, WV; Assignee: Quantex Research Corporation; Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and systems for coal liquefaction and obtaining a cement by-product".
And, that brings us to the crux of our discussion herein. There are economic tradeoffs in the options for dealing with what Gorin and Consol describe as the "benzene insolubles", which remain after the first cut of Coal liquids, which are immediately, perhaps after being "catalytically hydrocracked", "suitable for refining to gasoline".
They can, as Gorin posits, be converted into "benzene solubles" by further hydrogenation with "hydrogen gas, by hydrogen-transfer from a hydrogen-transferring solvent such as tetralin, or both", much as in what we have described as WVU's "West Virginia Process" for the direct liquefaction of Coal, as nicely summarized in the thesis enclosed in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU Hydrogenates Coal Tar | Research & Development; concerning: "Hydrogenation of Naphthalene and Coal Tar Distillate over Ni/Mo/Al2O3 Catalyst; Abhijit Bhagavatula; 2009; Abstract: The hydrogenation of naphthalene and coal-tar distillates has been carried out in a Trickle Bed Reactor, in which the liquid is allowed to flow through the catalyst bed in the presence of hydrogen. The operating conditions employed for the hydrogenation of naphthalene (were varied, and the results monitored, and a) unique peak for naphthalene was observed ... (as was) the peak for the hydrogenated product, tetralin (1,2,3,4 Tetrahydronaphthalene). the importance of alternate sources of fuel and chemical feedstocks. The process of converting solid coal to liquid is called liquefaction. Coal is liquefied by reacting with hydrogen. ... Therefore, the process of producing liquid fuels from solid coal necessitates increasing the ratio of hydrogen to carbon. This can be done either by removing carbon or by adding hydrogen.Direct liquefaction, the direct reaction between coal and hydrogen, involves the conversion of coal to refinable crude hydrocarbons, from which liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc., can be produced".
And, Abhijit Bhagavatula's full thesis does disclose how the various options for thus "hydrotreating" Coal and Coal liquids removes potential pollutants from the resultant Coal-derived products; that is, Coal-derived products "from which liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc., can be produced".
Free, elemental Hydrogen is required for all of this, and Hydrogen is routinely employed in conventional petroleum refineries, who have their own means of making it, some not so environmentally-friendly. But, we do have available to us some "clean" and economical ways of making our own Hydrogen, here in Coal Country, as we documented most recently, for just one example, in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Penn State Bugs Make Hydrogen for Hydrocarbon Synthesis | Research & Development; concerning, primarily: "US Patent Application 20090159455 - Bio-Electrochemically Assisted Microbial Reactor That Generates Hydrogen Gas and Methods of Generating Hydrogen Gas; 2009; Assignee: The Penn State Research Foundation; Abstract: Systems and processes for producing hydrogen using bacteria are described".
But, keep in mind that what Gorin is disclosing herein is a way in which only a portion of the Carbon content in Coal can be accessed and converted into a relatively ash-free "distillable hydrocarbonaceous liquid ... suitable for refining into gasoline".
There remains a still-carbonaceous "undissolved coal residue" in his process, which still has value, and which, as Consol themselves explain, as in our reports of:
West Virginia Coal Association | Consol Converts Coal Extraction Residue | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 3,920,418 - Making Liquid and Gaseous Fuels from Caking Coals; 1975;
Inventor: Charles Rice; Assignee: Consolidation Coal Company, Pittsburgh; Abstract: An improvement in the process for converting coal to liquid and gaseous fuels wherein solvent extraction is used for the recovery of a liquid-rich fraction and a solids-rich fraction. The latter (solids-rich fraction) is converted by carbonization to an extremely finely divided char which is formed into agglomerates that are then further carbonized and finally gasified"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | Consol Hydrogasifies CoalTL Residues | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,248,605 - Gasification of Coal Liquefaction Residues; 1981; Inventor: Michael Lancet, Pittsburgh; Assignee: Conoco, Inc.; Abstract: A method for gasifying the bottoms fraction from a coal liquefaction process ... . A method for gasifying the bottoms fraction from a coal liquefaction process wherein coal is liquified by extraction of said coal by a distillable solvent ...";
can be further processed and converted into a synthesis gas blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen suitable for catalytic condensation, as via, for one example, the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, into more liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
And, in fact, Gorin himself established a process which would better prepare the residues from Coal liquefaction for such follow-on, secondary gasification processes, as we documented in:
West Virginia Coal Association | Consol Recycles CoalTL Residue | Research & Development; concerning:
"United States Patent 4,138,224 - Production of Fixed-Bed Gasifier Feedstock and Fuel from Coal; 1979;
Inventor: Everett Gorin; Assignee: Continental Oil Company;
Abstract: A two-step process for the production of fixed bed gasifier feedstock from a coal liquefaction effluent slurry is provided ... . The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for the conversion of coals to fuels; and in its preferred embodiment, to provide a solution to the problem of using the residue from solvent extraction of coal as a feedstock to gasifiers ... ".
What we don't know here, and what no one in the general public will know until someone intellectually competent and resourceful enough to go ask the fully-informed folks at WVU about it all does so, is, whether or not it is more economical, as via the Consol processes, to convert Coal into liquid hydrocarbon fuels, such as "gasoline", via combined processes of solvent extraction, as explained by Gorin, with subsequent hydro-gasification of the carbonaceous residues; or, by recycling of the residues via the process disclosed in "United States Patent 4,510,040 - Coal Liquefaction Process", by the "International Coal Refining Company"; or, as seems to be recommended by WVU and their licensee's, a process that converts "raw coal to synthetic crude and high-value green coke at a break-even operating cost under US$50 per barrel".
And, look, our even posing the above choices no doubt represents a rather dismal lack of understanding on our part here of the full details of the various Coal liquefaction and conversion technologies referenced.
The point of it all is, that, there are people who obviously do know; accomplished and educated people likely willing to pass along their education in these matters; education that the rest of us struggling, uninformed troglodytes in US Coal Country need - so that we can start informing our elected representatives what it is exactly we really want to see them start devoting their public-paid time and energies to the support and promotion of.
The technologies are there, in one form or another, that would not only enable us to start economically converting our abundant Coal into such seemingly-needful things as "gasoline", and/or some other "premium carbon products"; but, in the process, also provide Coal Country, and the entire USA, with some badly-needed employment and income; and, freedom from our current economic enslavement to a collection of nations whose policies and ways of life maybe aren't things we should feel too good about supporting through our purchases of their exports.
It's far, far past time our Coal Country press got off their dead cans and started using their own God-given skills, and their resources, to help the rest of us sort all of this stuff out.