We've introduced the topic of maximizing the value of Coal through the co-production, in a single, integrated facility, of both synthetic hydrocarbons and electrical power in a number of previous reports, such as:
West Virginia Coal Association | USDOE Promotes Coal for the Coproduction of Power and Fuels | Research & Development; concerning report of the USDOE-sponsored research project: "Clean Coal Technology: Coproduction of Power, Fuels and Chemicals; 2001; United States Department of Energy; National Energy Technology Laboratories; Executive Summary: Coproduction of power, fuels and chemicals offers an innovative, economically advantageous means of achieving the nation’s energy goals. Coproduction involves the integration of three major building blocks: Gasification of coal ... fuels to produce synthesis gas (syngas); Conversion of a portion of the syngas to high-value products such as liquid fuels and chemicals; Combustion of syngas to produce electric power. In coproduction, the relative amounts of syngas used for power generation or converted to fuels and chemicals depend on market demands. The goal of coproduction is to fully utilize the feedstock and maximize revenue streams. By permitting operation of the gasifier at full capacity to make syngas for either power generation or fuels and chemicals production, coproduction makes more efficient use of capital than when producing power alone"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | September, 2012, Coal and CO2 to Liquid Fuel and Electric Power | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,268,896 - Co-production of Fuels, Chemicals and Electric Power; 2012; Assignee: Gas Technology Institute; Abstract: A method and system for co-production of electric power, fuel, and chemicals in which a synthesis gas at a first pressure is expanded using a stand-alone mechanical expander or a partial oxidation gas turbine, simultaneously producing electric power and an expanded synthesis gas at a second pressure after which the expanded synthesis gas is converted to a fuel and/or a chemical"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | Eastman Coal to Methanol and Electric Power | Research & Development; concerning: "US Patent Application 20060096298 - Method for Satisfying Variable Power Demand; 2006; Assignee: Eastman Chemical Company; Abstract: A process for satisfying variable power demand and a method for maximizing the monetary value of a synthesis gas stream are disclosed. One or more synthesis gas streams are produced by gasification of carbonaceous materials and passed to a power producing zone to produce electrical power during a period of peak power demand or to a chemical producing zone to produce chemicals such as, for example, methanol, during a period of off-peak power demand".
And, we remind you of a company, M.W. Kellogg, formerly of New York and New Jersey, who for many decades worked to develop more advanced technology for the innovative use of our Carbon resources, as seen, for a few examples, in our reports of:
West Virginia Coal Association | 1940 CO2 + H2O + CH4 = Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 2,198,553 - Making a Synthesis Gas Mixture of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen; 1940; Assignee: The M.W. Kellogg Company; Abstract: Our invention relates to a method of making synthesis gas and more particularly to a method of making a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide having a controllable ratio of hydrogen with respect to carbon monoxide from 1:1 to 3:1 by volume. Mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen are useful in synthesizing many organic compounds and these mixtures are known to the art as "synthesis gas". Synthesis gas may be made from methane, steam and carbon dioxide ... . ... Any ratio of carbon monoxide and hydrogen may be obtained (within the defined) limits by varying the relative proportions of carbon dioxide and steam that are reacted with methane"; and:
West Virginia Coal Association | 1960 Improved Coal Conversion | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 2,942,958 - Conversion of a Normally Gaseous Hydrocarbon to Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen; 1960; Assignee: The M.W. Kellogg Company, NJ; In one aspect the invention relates to the preparation of a feed gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide suitable for the synthesis of hydrocarbons. In the gasification of coal with oxygen and steam at elevated pressures by modern methods, as exemplified by the Lurgi process, considerable amounts of methane are produced along with hydrogen. Although this methane-containing gas is useful for many purposes, it is desirable to improve it considerably, particularly when used in a hydrogenation process of as a feed for the Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon synthesis (wherein) hydrogen and carbon monoxide are converted into hydrocarbons, including those in the gasoline range. Methane and other gaseous hydrocarbons are not polymerized in the Fischer-Tropsch process; therefore ... the process of the present invention is specifically disclosed in connection with modifying a coal gas into a synthesis feed".
As we explained in one or two other reports, the innovative M.W. Kellogg Company went on, as seen in:
KBR (company) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; "KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is an American engineering, construction, and private military contracting company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, headquartered in Houston. ... After Halliburton acquired Dresser Industries in 1998, Dresser's engineering subsidiary, The M. W. Kellogg Co., was merged with Halliburton's construction subsidiary, Brown & Root, to form Kellogg Brown & Root. KBR and its predecessors have received many contracts with the U.S. military including during World War II, the Vietnam War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom",to become part of a rather well-known major corporation with a number of rather intriguing interests, who are perhaps best, or prefer to be, known as a general petroleum industry services contractor.
In any case, we learn herein that KBR, or one of their subsidiaries, has gone on to improve the technology for Coal gasification, so that the resulting synthesis gas can be better and more efficiently used both in the synthesis of fuels or chemicals and in the generation of electrical power.
As seen in excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"United States Patent Application 20080081844 - Methods for Producing Synthesis Gas
Patent US20080081844 - Methods for producing synthesis gas - Google Patents
METHODS FOR PRODUCING SYNTHESIS GAS
Date: April, 2008
(This Application is becoming well-aged, and should be on the verge of transitioning into a US Patent. Should the links soon fail to function, we have downloaded a copy of the file which we can make available through the West Virginia Coal Association.)
Inventors: Philip Shires, et. al., TX
Correspondence (and presumed eventual Assignee of Rights): Kellogg Brown & Root, LLC; Houston
(Although it's very difficult to track down, since this is a huge company, "Kellogg Brown & Root, LLC" seems to be a component of "KBR Services", which is a division of:
KBR: A Global Engineering, Construction and Services Company; who tell us, via a subsidiary link:
Markets | KBR: A Global Engineering, Construction and Services Company; that, their areas of market interest and expertise include, among other things, "Coal Gasification".)
Abstract: A process for producing electrical power, chemicals, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen is provided. One or more feedstocks and one or more oxidants can be combined in a fluidized reaction zone heated to a temperature from about 1050 F to about 1900 F to provide a synthesis gas comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. In one or more embodiments, at least a portion of the synthesis gas can be used as a fuel source for one or more turbines to drive one or more electrical generators. In one or more embodiments, at least a portion of the synthesis gas can be introduced to one or more gas converters to provide methanol, alkyl formates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch products, derivatives thereof or combinations thereof.
(Gotta love the Texans. Note, above, the specification of "1050 F to about 1900 F", and the implied "Nuts to your danged government-imposed 'Celsius' baloney!". Remember that, as we've documented, "dimethyl ether" is a serviceable, with some engine mods, Diesel fuel; while both it and "methanol" can, as explained in:
"United States Patent: 3894102 - Conversion of Synthesis Gas to Gasoline; 1975; Mobil Oil Corporation; Contacting snythesis gas (mixed carbon monoxide and hydrogen) with a mixture of a carbon monoxide hydrogenation catalyst and an acid dehydration catalyst to produce a first stage product comprising dimethyl ether and contacting this first stage product, preferably in its entirety, with a crystalline aluminosilicate having a silica to alumina ratio of at least about 12 and a constraint index of about 1 to 12 to convert it to high octane gasoline"; and:West Virginia Coal Association | Mobil Oil Coal to Methanol to Gasoline | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,447,310 - Production of Distillates through Methanol to Gasoline; 1984;
Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation; A process for producing a wide slate of fuel products from coal is provided by integrating a methanol-to-gasoline conversion process with coal liquefaction and coal gasification";be converted into Gasoline.)
Claims: A process for producing electrical power, chemicals, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, comprising: combining one or more feedstocks and one or more oxidants in a fluidized reaction zone; heating the reaction zone to a temperature of from 1050 F to 1900 F to provide synthesis gas comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen; passing at least a portion of the synthesis gas to one or more turbines; and converting at least a portion of the synthesis gas to methanol, alkyl formates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch products, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.(Since "carbon dioxide" is one of the products, remember, that, as seen in:
West Virginia Coal Association | California July 2012 Efficient CO2 to Methanol | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,212,088 - Efficient and Selective Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol, Dimethyl Ether and Derived Products; 2012; Inventors: George Olah and G.K. Surya Prakash;
Assignee: University of Southern California; Abstract: An efficient and environmentally beneficial method of recycling and producing methanol fromvaried sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning powerplants, industrial exhaust gases or the atmosphere itself. Converting carbon dioxide by chemical or electrochemical reduction seconardy treatment to produce essentially methanol, dimethyl ether and derived products";
we can then convert it, too, into more of the desired "methanol" and "dimethyl ether".)
The process ... wherein the feedstock comprises coal which is ground to particles (of specified sizes).
The process ... wherein the oxidant comprises at least 70 volume % oxygen (and/or) 70 volume % air.
The process ... wherein the feedstock comprises a coal based material selected from the group consisting of high-sodium lignite, low-sodium lignite, subbituminous coal, bituminous coal, and anthracite (and/or) polymer, biomass, and coal (and combining them( with one or more oxidants in a reaction zone heated from 1050 F to 1900 F to produce synthesis gas comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly blends, other polyolefins, and poly-hydrocarbons limited to oxygen as an additional constituent; passing all or a portion of the synthesis gas to one or more turbines; and passing all or a portion of the synthesis gas to one or more gas converters to produce hydrogen, methanol, alkyl formates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch products, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
The process ... wherein at least one of the one or more combustion turbines is part of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle.
(http://www.netl.doe.gov/
A process for producing electrical power, chemicals, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, comprising: combining plastic, coal, ash and one or more oxidants in a fluidized reaction zone at a temperature of about 1050 F to about 1900 F, wherein the plastic comprises polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, derivatives thereof or combinations thereof; producing one or more synthesis gas streams comprising carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen; passing at least a portion of the one or more synthesis gas streams to one or more turbines; and passing at least a portion of the one or more synthesis gas streams to one or more gas converters to produce methanol, alkyl formates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, Fischer-Tropsch products, derivatives thereof, or combinations thereof.
The process ... wherein the synthesis gas stream is fed on demand to (either) the combustion turbine and gas converter.
A process for producing electrical power, chemicals, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, comprising: combining one or more feedstocks comprising one or more carbonaceous materials and one or more oxidants in a fluidized reaction zone; heating the reaction zone to a temperature of from 1050 F to 1900 F to produce errant oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen; and adding one or more materials capable of absorbing or consuming the errant oxygen at a rate and level sufficient to delay or prevent the errant oxygen from reaching a concentration sufficient to support uncontrolled reactions with the hydrogen.
Background and Field: The present embodiments generally relate to the gasification of hydrocarbons. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to the gasification of coal based feedstocks, waste polymer materials, and/or biomass materials.
Gasification is a high-temperature process usually conducted at elevated pressure to convert carbon-containing materials into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas. Since this gas is often used for the synthesis of chemicals or synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, the gas is often referred to as "synthesis gas" or, more succinctly "syngas". Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam and as a source of hydrogen.
Dry or slurried feedstock is reacted in the gasifier in a reducing (oxygen-starved) atmosphere at high temperature and (usually) high pressure. The resulting syngas typically contains about 85 percent of the feed carbon content as carbon monoxide, with the balance being a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane.
Three basic types of gasifiers are: fixed bed, fluidized bed and entrained flow.
The high temperature in the entrained gasifiers and in the lower zones of certain fixed bed gasifiers converts the inorganic materials in the feed into a molten vitrified material which solidifies when removed from the gasifier, producing a material resembling coarse sand and generally referred to as slag. Fluid bed gasifiers produce dry ash which is not vitrified but only consolidated or agglomerated. Depending on the gasifier, it is desirable either to remove ash at lower temperatures (non-slagging gasifiers) or as a low viscosity liquid at high temperatures (slagging gasifiers). This inert slag or ash has a variety of uses in the construction and building industries.
The raw syngas can be treated using proven commercial technologies to remove trace elements and other impurities for recovery or recycle to the gasifier. Sulfur can be recovered as marketable elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid. In addition to a fuel source, syngas can be used as a raw material in the production of fuels, chemicals, fertilizers, and industrial gases.
In one or more embodiments, at least one of the one or more gas converters can be used to produce one or more Fischer-Tropsch ("F-T") products, including refinery/petrochemical feedstocks, transportation fuels, synthetic crude oil, liquid fuels, lubricants, alpha olefins, waxes, and so on.
In one or more embodiments, at least one of the one or more gas converters can be used to produce methanol, alkyl formates, dimethyl ether, ammonia, acetic anhydride, acetic acid, methyl acetate, acetate esters, vinyl acetate and polymers, ketenes, formaldehyde, dimethyl ether, olefins, derivatives thereof, and/or combinations thereof."
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Our excerpts are very brief relative to the full Disclosure, which details how Coal and Carbon-recycling biomass and wastes of various sorts can be converted into hydrocarbon synthesis gas; which synthesis gas, at times of peak demand, can be cleanly combusted for the generation of power and, during times of low demand, can be directed to various "gas converters", and therein be transformed into such seemingly desirable stuff as "petrochemical feedstocks", "transportation fuels" and "methanol", among other things.
It is highly-developed and well-understood technology, consistent with the other examples about which we've already reported, as in the examples cited in our introductory comments.
It is a full, complete, adaptable use of Coal; one which enables elements of Carbon recycling and sustainability in the production of both electric power and hydrocarbons, hydrocarbons which can be directed to either the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbon "transportation fuels" or what we might think of as plastics, i.e., "acetate esters, vinyl acetate and polymers".
There seems to us only one thing left that needs to be said:
Coal can do that!