http://www.osti.gov/scitech/
As we reported in:
West Virginia Coal Association | USDOE Demonstrates Economic Feasibility of Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning the USDOE-financed research project:
"Feasibility Of Direct Coal Liquefaction (DCL) In The Modern Economic Climate; Final Report for the period June 25, 2008, through June 30, 2009; U.S. Department of Energy; National Energy Technology Laboratory; Pittsburgh, PA; Prepared by: Benjamin G. Oster, et. al.; University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND; Cooperative Agreement Number DE-FC26-08NT43291 (Subtask 3.3)";
wherein it was concluded, that: "cost data support the hypothesis that a DCL (Direct Coal Liquefaction) facility could be competitive with petroleum and profitable";the United States Department of Energy has been financing a research project at the University of North Dakota that, among other things, focuses on the direct conversion of Coal - - in combination, as we will see in at least one report to follow, with carbon-recycling biomass - - into cost-competitive synthetic petroleum.
The "Cooperative Agreement Number DE-FC26-08NT43291", of which "Subtask 3.3" was a part, is actually a broad energy research undertaking that extends well beyond the conversion of Coal, in combination with Biomass, into synthetic petroleum. Some components of the project don't deal with Coal, but still might have interest for us here since they treat, among other things, the capture of Carbon Dioxide.
However, as we've documented, for one example in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | North Dakota & China Collaborate on CoalTL | Research & Development; concerning: "Trip to China Brings ND Closer to Coal-to-Liquid Plant; Trade mission delegates say a trip to China has brought North Dakota closer to building a coal-to-liquid plant that could create about 700 jobs.
The delegates, including Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, visited the world`s only commercial-scale, coal-to-liquid energy plant on the trip. American Lignite Energy is studying the feasibility of building a similar plant in North Dakota. The state`s Industrial Commission has committed $10 million to assist with the study. The cost of the plant is about $ 4 billion and would produce more than 30,000 barrels of gasoline a day";
North Dakota does have an established and open institutional interest in Coal liquefaction industry, and that does seem to be the core of the University of North Dakota's execution of the contract.
We'll be bring some more info on that to your in our own future reports; but, the University of North Dakota has recently applied for patent protection of some of the Coal-to-Petroleum technologies they have developed under "Cooperative Agreement Number DE-FC26-08NT43291"; and, herein, we wanted to provide some of their project reportage that provides more complete explanation of their Coal conversion technologies, and how they were developed.
The file which the initial link in this dispatch should take you to is quite large. But, we will attempt separate transmission of it to the West Virginia Coal Association, should they wish to archive it and make it separately available on their own web site - - just in case the link proves unreliable.
And, we caution that the report might not be all that enlightening, much of it is given over to tables and graphs of experimental results. However, it should serve as a useful background for understanding the reports of United States Patent Applications that will be forthcoming, and, as much as anything, it should stand as witness for you, for all of us, that the technology for directly converting our abundant domestic United States Coal into a perfectly-suitable substitute for the stuff we squander our national treasure - - and sacrifice the lives of far too many, with just one, from our point of view, being far too many, young Americans in uniform - - to continue buying from the foreign powers of OPEC, is real, established, economically viable, and, available.
That said, comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to:
"SUBTASK 3.9 – DIRECT COAL LIQUEFACTION PROCESS DEVELOPMENT
Final Report (for the period of March 1, 2010, through July 31, 2012)
Prepared for: National Energy Technology Laboratory; U.S. Department of Energy; Pittsburgh, PA
Cooperative Agreement No.: DE-FC26-08NT43291
Prepared by: Ted R. Aulich (and) Ramesh K. Sharma
Energy & Environmental Research Center; University of North Dakota; Grand Forks, ND
July, 2012
Abstract: The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Accelergy Corporation, an advanced fuels developer with technologies exclusively licensed from ExxonMobil, undertook Subtask 3.9 to design, build, and preliminarily operate a bench-scale direct coal liquefaction (DCL) system capable of converting 45 pounds/hour of pulverized, dried coal to a liquid suitable for upgrading to fuels and/or chemicals. Fabrication and installation of the DCL system and an accompanying distillation system for off-line fractionation of raw coal liquids into 1) a naphtha–middle distillate stream for upgrading and 2) a recycle stream was completed in May 2012.Shakedown of the system was initiated in July 2012. In addition to completing fabrication of the DCL system, the project also produced a 500-milliliter sample of jet fuel derived in part from direct liquefaction of Illinois
No. 6 coal, and submitted the sample to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright–Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, for evaluation. The sample was confirmed by AFRL to be in compliance with all U.S. Air Force-prescribed alternative aviation fuel initial screening criteria.
This subtask was funded through the EERC–DOE Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-08NT43291. Nonfederal funding was provided by Accelergy Corporation.
(Note that we have previously reported on "Accelergy Corporation", and their Coal liquefaction expertise, and their commercialization of it overseas, as in:
West Virginia Coal Association | China Coal Conversion Plant Recycle CO2 | Research & Development; concerning: "China Coal-to-Liquid Plant Will Use Algae-based CO2 Capture; 2011; A partnership in China that will bring together a Houston-based coal-to-liquids company and a major Chinese coal and construction firm will utilize a CO2 capture system powered by algae. Accelergy Corporation will provide the Yankuang Group with its trademarked TerraSync terrestrial sequestration system to capture carbon from the future facility in Erdos, an area in China’s Inner Mongolia Province. Along with the TerraSync system, Accelergy will also create a hybrid configuration of a microcatalytic coal liquefaction system in conjunction with a Fischer Tropsch system provided by Yankuang. The algae-based carbon system captures the CO2 produced from the CTL process and then passes the carbon to a series of photobioreactors that grow concentrated algae strains sourced from the region. When the algae growth cycle is complete, the algae is harvested and blended with other additives (proprietary) and used as a fertilizer. Accelergy states that for every ton of CO2 removed in the TerraSync process, many more tons are removed from the atmosphere due to the initial capture and use of the gas".)Executive Summary: The Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) and Accelergy Corporation, an advanced fuels developer with technologies exclusively licensed from ExxonMobil, undertook Subtask 3.9 to design, build, and preliminarily operate a bench-scale direct coal liquefaction (DCL) system capable of converting pulverized, dried coal to a liquid suitable for upgrading to fuels and/or chemicals.
The primary objectives of Subtask 3.9 were to:
- Finalize the design of a continuous-mode bench-scale DCL reactor system based on a preliminary design developed by the EERC and Accelergy.
- Construct and shake down the DCL reactor system.
- Use the DCL system to initiate production of a jet fuel derived from Illinois No. 6 coal, with the subsequent objective of submitting a sample of the jet fuel to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright–Patterson Air Force Base for analysis to assess compliance with key selected fuel property requirements cited in MIL-DTL-83133F, the U.S. military specification for JP-8 jet fuel.
Over the course of the approximate 30-month project, EERC design and engineering staff worked in partnership with Accelergy-provided design consultants on:
- Improving the overall DCL system design.
- Integrating the design into existing and project-developed EERC facilities and infrastructure.
- Assessing and developing strategies for mitigating the operational risks associated with the DCL system, which, because system operation necessitates the use of high pressure, high temperature, and hydrogen, were of critical importance to maximizing the safety of the operational staff.
Fabrication and installation of the DCL system and an accompanying distillation system (for off-line fractionation of raw coal liquids into a naphtha–middle distillate stream for upgrading and a recycle stream) was completed in May 2012. Shakedown of the system was initiated in July 2012. In addition to completing fabrication of the DCL system, the project also produced a 500-milliliter sample of jet fuel derived in part from direct liquefaction of Illinois No. 6 coal, and submitted the sample to AFRL (Air Force Research Lab) for evaluation. The sample was confirmed by AFRL to be in compliance with all U.S. Air Force-prescribed MIL-DTL-83133F-derived alternative aviation fuel initial screening criteria.
DCL Process Overview: DCL refers to a process by which coal is directly converted - via an essentially one-step process - to a liquid. Subsequent distillation and hydroprocessing is typically required to fractionate the raw liquid and convert its “naphtha–middle distillate” fraction to fuel and/or chemical products.
DCL processes typically utilize ground (to about -100 mesh) and dried (to about 2% moisture content) coal and operate at temperatures and pressures of about 400 - 500 C and 2000–3000 psi, respectively, in the presence of hydrogen, solvent, and a liquefaction catalyst. A “start-up” solvent (typically a coal-derived creosote liquid or anthracene oil) is needed to initiate liquefaction.
(Note that "coal-derived" solvents are often specified for use in direct Coal liquefaction processes, as seen, for just one example, in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU May 28, 2013, Carbon-recycling Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,449,632 - Sewage Material in Coal Liquefaction; 2013; Inventor: Alfred H. Stiller, Morgantown, WV; Assignee: West Virginia University; Abstract: The present disclosure provides methods and systems for coal liquefaction using a sewage material. A method of obtaining a de-ashed coal extract includes exposing a coal to a sewage material in the presence of a coal-derived solvent to form a slurry, elevating the temperature of the slurry to facilitate liquefying the coal and liberating a volatile matter, and separating the insoluble components from the slurry to obtain a de-ashed coal extract, wherein the coal extract is suitable for downstream processing. The method ... wherein the coal-derived solvent is selected from a group comprising recycled liquefied coal, coal tar distillate, and coal tar pitch".One primary Coal oil, or tar, which can be used in Coal liquefaction processes is "anthracene"; and, keeping in mind this report's introductory comments, above, concerning "technologies licensed from ExxonMobil", we remind you, for just one possible example, of our report:
West Virginia Coal Association | Esso/Exxon Liquefies Coal with Coal Oil & Water | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 3,488,280 - Catalytic Hydrogenation of Coal with Water; 1970;
Assignee: Esso Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: The hydrogenation of coal is enhanced in both reaction conversion and selectivity by maintaining in the reaction zone from 0.05 and 0.30 pound of water per pound of coal. The present invention relates to the ... hydrogenation of coal (wherein) a greater quantity of liquid products is obtained at a lower hydrogen consumption. The solvent which is used... is preferably a hydrogen-donor solvent such as tetralin or partially hydrogenated ... anthracene".)
DCL process outputs include a gas product comprising about 10% of dried coal input and a raw liquid product comprising about 90% of dried coal input. The raw liquid product is distilled to yield naphtha and middle distillate products for hydroprocessing based upgrading, a heavy oil for recycle, and a tar-like “vacuum bottoms” material (which includes unreacted and partially reacted coal, ash, and catalyst) for recycle.
Process Summary: Generating raw coal liquids from a target coal is a three-step procedure comprising
1) target coal preparation, 2) preparation of target coal-derived VGO and vacuum bottoms in sufficient quantities (50 pounds each) to initiate a liquefaction run, and 3) liquefaction for production of target coal raw coal liquids. Procedures for the three steps are described below.
Step 1 – Target Coal Preparation: It is important that as-received and prepped coals are stored under nitrogen in airtight containers. Since the as-received coal is in the form of large lumps and contains a significant amount of water (5%–40%) depending on the coal type, it is necessary to predry the coal to save
energy needed to heat water in the coal. The lump coal will be floor-dried to remove any surface moisture and any easily volatilized inherent moisture. Also, to achieve a high degree of conversion, the coal needs to be pulverized to enable optimal coal–solvent–catalyst contact during liquefaction. Thus, the as-received coal is pulverized and sized using a 100-mesh screen in an automated classifier, collecting all coal passing through the screen. The pulverized coal will then be fed into a rotary kiln at 110°C under nitrogen flow until the water content of the coal is about 1%. The dried coal is then collected and stored under nitrogen in airtight containers prior to undergoing liquefaction.
(If all of the above is necessary, there would be a considerable energy cost to the Coal preparation; and, we're at this time uncertain that all of those costs were accounted for in UND's analyses.)
Step 2 – Preparation of Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO): Initial processing is designed to generate test coal-derived VGO and vacuum bottoms. The bottoms will be generated in the main reactor system and the VGO (recycle solvent) will be generated in the distillation unit. Initially, a start-up slurry consisting of coal, catalyst (100 ppm in coal–catalyst mix), and hydrogenated anthracene oil (1.6 solvent/coal mass ratio) will be premixed in a slurry mixing tank (feed mixing tank, Figure 4), and then transferred to a slurry feed tank with the help of a pump. The start-up slurry will then be fed into the tubular reactor housed in a fluidized bed-sand bath at a predetermined rate using a high-pressure pump (Figure 4). The volatile products will be condensed to form a liquid using a series of condensers, and remaining slurry (vacuum bottoms) will be collected and transferred to a freezer for storage. The frozen slurry will be pulverized to –100-mesh size and transferred into the mixing tank for recycle. The uncondensed gases will pass through a scrubber for removal of acidic gases, and the
remaining gas will be sent to the flare system. The condensed liquid will be collected every 6 hours, transferred to a distillation unit located near the DCL system, and batch distilled to yield about 4.2 liters of VGO and 3 liters of distillate comprising naphtha, water, and a “middle distillate cut” (which will necessarily contain a significant amount of start-up slurry-derived coal tar distillate). The VGO obtained from distillation (along with the previously collected vacuum bottoms) will be used for recycle.
The purpose of the initial processing is to generate enough test coal-derived vacuum bottoms and VGO to start the liquefaction process, and thereafter the process will be self-sustaining and generate bottoms and VGO on a continuous basis. After sufficient amounts of vacuum bottoms and VGO needed to initiate the liquefaction process are produced, further processing will be conducted to produce test coal-derived raw middle distillate for upgrading to jet fuel or other fuel. Middle distillate upgrading will be conducted in a separate EERC hydroprocessing facility.
Step 3 – Liquefaction (production of middle distillate) After generating sufficient quantities of test coal-derived solvent VGO and vacuum bottoms, the liquefaction of test coal will be conducted to generate distillate fuel referred to as middle distillate for upgrading to produce synthetic fuels.
Coal Liquids Distillation Procedures As Of 25 July 2012:
A semiautomatic distillation system was installed at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) to support direct coal liquefaction (DCL) process development activities. The system was designed to enable performance of relatively simple as well as complex ASTM International methods such as D2892 and D5236. Since the system was designed for the distillation of crude oil and petroleum products, its use in coal liquids distillation requires some tailoring of standard methods for efficient and safe operation.
Objectives:
1. Production of recycle solvent: The primary objective of the unit is to separate the coal liquids produced by the DCL unit into light distillate (<600°F) and heavy distillate (600°–1000°F). The light distillate will be sent to an upgrading facility to convert the coal liquids into usable fuels, and heavy liquid will be used as a recycle solvent for the continuous operation of the DCL unit.
2. Production of fuel samples: The liquid distillate will be upgraded by hydroprocessing comprising hydrotreating and hydrogenation to produce clean fuels. The hydroprocessed distillate will be fractionally distilled in this distillation system according to ASTM standards D86 or D2892 to produce transportation fuels such as naphtha, aviation fuel, and diesel."
-------------------------
The above "naphtha", we'll note in passing, is a major component, or constituent, of gasoline blending and formulation stock.
There is significantly more to this report than might be indicated by our excerpts. Keep in mind that the University of North Dakota was working with lab-, and pilot-, scale equipment; but, by examination of the included photographs and charts and graphs, it's fairly easy to conceptualize the scale-up of their described process to truly industrial scale.
The potentials should become more apparent in reports to follow, where it will be seen that the University of North Dakota has formalized some of their Coal liquefaction technology, developed by them in the course of their work under Cooperative Agreement No.: DE-FC26-08NT43291 with the United States Department of Energy; technology which also includes elements of carbon recycling and enhanced sustainability.
Until then, if anyone, especially any of the Coal Country journalists who are among the primary addressee's of these dispatches, have any interest, note that the conduct of this agreement is being managed and supervised close to home, by the USDOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh, PA.
Tough as times are, you still ought to be able to afford those long-distance charges, if not the drive, to find out more about these very current, still-ongoing developments focused on improving even more the practicality of converting our abundant Coal into seemingly-needed products, like "aviation fuel and diesel".