We have, of course, many times documented the plain fact, that, the nation of South Africa has, for more than half a century, been - -
as confirmed by no less than the United States Environmental Protection Agency in our reports of:
West Virginia Coal Association | US EPA Confirms Coal Liquids Cheaper Than Petroleum | Research & Development; concerning: "Sasol: South Africa's Oil From Coal Story - - Background For Environmental Assessment; EPA-600/8-80-002;
West Virginia Coal Association | US EPA Recommends Coal Liquefaction as a Clean Alternative | Research & Development; concerning: "Clean Alternative Fuels: Fischer-Tropsch; United States Environmental Protection Agency; Transportation and Air Quality Transportation and Regional Programs Division; EPA420-F-00-036; March 2002; A Success Story (!) For the past 50 years, Fischer-Tropsch fuels have powered all of South Africa’s vehicles, from buses to trucks to taxicabs. The fuel is primarily supplied by Sasol, a world leader in Fischer-Tropsch technologies. Sasol’s South African facility produces more than 150,000 barrels of high quality fuel from domestic low-grade coal daily";
- - quite successfully converting their large domestic reserves of Coal into synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels that are not only cost-competitive with the same fuels as conventionally derived from natural petroleum, but, which synthetic Coal-derived liquid fuels are cleaner than those same fuels made the old fashioned way from natural petroleum.
As noted by the EPA, Sasol, or "South Africa Synthetic Oil Limited" as the name is by some accounted to mean, employs updated versions of the nearly ancient "Fischer-Tropsch technologies", wherein Coal is first gasified to form a blend of, primarily, Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen synthesis gas, or "syngas", which syngas is then chemically condensed over a catalyst to form both liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
We've many times documented the development and practice of Fischer-Tropsch Coal conversion and hydrocarbon synthesis; but, an illustrated, introductory overview of the technology is accessible separately via:
https://www.purdue.edu/
June 2007; Brian H. Bowen, et. al., The Energy Center at Discovery Park; Purdue University".
And, we'll note in passing, that, although Sasol are the primary practitioners of Fischer-Tropsch Coal conversion technologies in the world, they do focus almost totally on Coal and other fossil carbon resources as their primary raw materials, even though, as seen for a few examples in our reports of:
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 ... 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., NY; 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. ... A process for the partial oxidation of sewage sludge (by) heating a concentrated aqueous slurry of sewage sludge obtained from sewage and ... a supplemental solid fuel comprising particles of coal (and) reacting said pumpable aqueous sewage sludge-coal (slurry) in the reaction zone of a partial oxidation gas generator at (specified conditions of temperature and pressure) in the presence of a free-oxygen containing gas, thereby producing a hot raw effluent stream of synthesis gas";
it has long been known that elements of sustainability can be introduced into Coal conversion processes, since Carbon-recycling biomass, "cellulosic materials" and wastes, such as "sewage sludge", can be converted into hydrocarbon synthesis gas in a process based, because of its abundance and high Carbon content, on Coal.
In any case, as we've also documented a number of times, from a number of different sources, as in, for example:
West Virginia Coal Association | Eastman Chemical Coal Gasification Overview | Research & Development; concerning: "Eastman Gasification Services Company: Eastman Gasification Overview; March 22, 2005; Gasification 101: Just the Basics: C + O2 + H2O = CO + H2; The partial oxidation of carbon to produce a 'synthesis gas'; Coal + Water + Oxygen = Carbon Monoxide + Hydrogen; Syngas = Building Blocks for Chemical Industry + Transportation Fuels + Clean Electricity; Gasification-based Polygeneration: Syngas from Coal (to) Electricity, Chemicals, Synfuels, Fertilizers";
the potential exists to co-produce, in processes often called, as above, "polygeneration", a wide range of products from Coal, and other carbonaceous matter, such as and including "Synfuels" and "Electricity", by first gasifying Coal to produce the syngas blend of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen.
And, as we documented in our report of:
West Virginia Coal Association | South Africa Co-Produces Power and Hydrocarbons from Coal | Research & Development; concerning: "US Patent Application 20100022666 - Co-Production of Power and Hydrocarbons; 2010; Inventor: Jan Boshoff, et. al., Vaalpark and Johannesburg; Assignee: Sasol Technology Limited, South Africa;Abstract: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons includes in a wet gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a combustion gas at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; enriching a first portion of the combustion gas with H2 to produce an H2-enriched gas; and generating power from a second portion of the combustion gas. In a dry gasification stage, coal is gasified to produce a synthesis gas precursor at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO. At least a portion of the H2-enriched gas is mixed with the synthesis gas precursor to provide a synthesis gas for hydrocarbon synthesis, with hydrocarbons being synthesized from the synthesis gas";
South Africa Synthetic Oil Limited has, as well, recognized such polygeneration potentials, and begun to develop the technology to take fuller advantage of them and, in the process, to increase the value of Coal.
Herein, we see that the technical experts in the employ of our United States Government have agreed that such value exists, by their formal approval of the technology disclosed in "United States Patent Application 20100022666 - Co-Production of Power and Hydrocarbons", and in another, related application, and their issuance of, as in excerpts from the initial and one following link in this dispatch:
"United States Patent 8,247,462 - Co-production of Power and Hydrocarbons
Patent US8247462 - Co-production of power and hydrocarbons - Google Patents
Date: August 21, 2012
Inventors: J.H. Boshoff, et. al., South Africa
Assignee: Sasol Technology Limited, South Africa
Abstract: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons includes in a wet gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a combustion gas at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; enriching a first portion of the combustion gas with H2 to produce an H2-enriched gas; and generating power from a second portion of the combustion gas. In a dry gasification stage, coal is gasified to produce a synthesis gas precursor at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO. At least a portion of the H2-enriched gas is mixed with the synthesis gas precursor to provide a synthesis gas for hydrocarbon synthesis, with hydrocarbons being synthesized from the synthesis gas. In certain embodiments, the process produces a CO2 exhaust stream for sequestration or capturing for further use.
(Concerning the above "further use" of "CO2 exhaust", as we've seen now, in, for only one out of many, many examples in:
West Virginia Coal Association | WVU Battery Converts CO2 + H2O into Hydrocarbon Syngas | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent Application 20130122381 - High Temperature Rechargeable Battery For Greenhouse Gas Decomposition And Oxygen Generation; 2013; Inventors: Bruce S. Kang and Huang Guo, Morgantown, WV; (Presumed eventual Assignee of Rights: West Virginia University); Abstract: This invention shows a high temperature rechargeable battery system for energy storage, oxygen generation, and decomposition of oxygen-containing gases (e.g. CO2/H2O, NOx, SOx, in particular greenhouse gas (GHG)) ... . (It) can be anticipated that large amount of CO2 will become available for use as feedstock for innovative conversions into synthetic fuels. This invention shows a high temperature rechargeable battery system for decomposition of oxygen containing gases ... . During battery discharge, GHG such as CO2/H2O, NOx and SOx can be decomposed into syngas (CO+H2) ... . Whereas, solar, wind or other renewable energy can be used to charge the battery and generate oxygen. The energy consumption for GHG decomposition is self-sustainable with the integrated system and the byproducts (i.e. solid carbon, syngas (CO+H2), O2) have good market values. Syngas can ... be further processed into hydrocarbon and carbonaceous fuels, such as Diesel, Methanol, Ammonia, and so on";
we have some very intriguing options available to us for the profitable use of recovered Carbon Dioxide, including, as above, the use of freely-available environmental energies to convert that CO2, in conjunction with H2O, into even more of the hydrocarbon synthesis gas produced, from Coal, via the process of our subject,"United States Patent 8,247,462 - Co-production of Power and Hydrocarbons".)
Claims: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons, the process including in a wet gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a combustion gas at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; enriching a first portion of the combustion gas with H2 to produce an H2-enriched gas; generating power from a second portion of the combustion gas; in a dry gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a synthesis gas precursor at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; mixing at least a portion of the H2-enriched gas with the synthesis gas precursor to provide a synthesis gas for hydrocarbon synthesis; and synthesising hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas.
The process ... in which generating power from a second portion of the combustion gas includes combusting the combustion gas at elevated pressure in the presence of oxygen to produce hot combusted gas and expanding the hot combusted gas through a gas turbine expander to generate power and to produce hot exhaust gas, and recovering heat from the hot exhaust gas in a waste heat recovery stage which includes a waste heat boiler generating steam (and) in which the waste heat boiler is a co-fired waste heat boiler and in which the synthesising of hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas produces a fuel gas, the waste heat boiler being co-fired with the fuel gas to raise a pressure and/or a temperature of the steam generated by the waste heat boiler.
The process ... in which the synthesising of hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas includes Fischer-Tropsch synthesis using one or more Fischer-Tropsch hydrocarbon synthesis stages, producing one or more hydrocarbon product streams ... .
Background and Field: This invention relates to the co-production of power and hydrocarbons. In particular, the invention relates to a process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons.
Coal is used as a feedstock for production of power and for production of hydrocarbons. It is generally accepted that Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) processes have environmental advantages over conventional coal-fired power plants. In IGCC processes coal is first gasified to produce synthesis gas and the synthesis gas then serves as fuel source to a combined cycle power production stage. One route for production of hydrocarbons from coal is to gasify coal to produce synthesis gas and then to convert the synthesis gas to hydrocarbons.
It would be an advantage to provide an IGCC process integrated with a hydrocarbon production process which shows economic (i.e. capital and operating cost) benefits and environmental benefits.
Summary: According to the invention, there is provided a process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons, the process including: in a wet gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a combustion gas at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; enriching a first portion of the combustion gas with H2 to produce an H2-enriched gas; generating power from a second portion of the combustion gas; in a dry gasification stage, gasifying coal to produce a synthesis gas precursor at elevated pressure comprising at least H2 and CO; mixing at least a portion of the H2-enriched gas with the synthesis gas precursor to provide a synthesis gas for hydrocarbon synthesis; and synthesising hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas.
(The) integration of a CTL facility and an IGCC facility allows capturing of CO2 from the off-gas of the IGCC facility. This is achieved by directing a portion of the CO2 produced in the CTL facility, to the compressor of the gas turbine expander of the IGCC facility, together with pure oxygen from an air separation unit, thereby avoiding the introduction of nitrogen into the combustor of the IGCC facility. This allows the gas turbine to be run using a mixture of oxygen and CO2 instead of a conventional mixture of oxygen and N2 when air is used. The final off-gas from the IGCC facility will thus be a relatively pure combination of CO2 and water vapour, which can be combined with the remaining CO2 produced by the CTL facility for export, allowing the CO2 processing and compression facilities to benefit from an increased economy of scale
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And, as seen in one more example:
West Virginia Coal Association | More USDOE CO2 "Syntrolysis" | Research & Development; concerning, in part: "'Co-Electrolysis of Steam and Carbon Dioxide for Production of Syngas'; Fifth International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference; July, 2007; J.E. O'Brien, C.M. Stoots, et. al.; Idaho National Laboratory, USDOE; and Ceramatec, Inc., Utah; Abstract: An experimental study has been completed to assess the performance of single-oxide electrolysis cells ... simultaneously electrolyzing steam and carbon dioxide for the direct production of syngas. Introduction: A research project is underway at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to investigate the feasibility of producing syngas by simultaneous electrolytic reduction of steam and carbon dioxide. Syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, can be used for the production of synthetic liquid fuels via Fischer-Tropsch processes";
such a "relatively pure combination of CO2 and water vapour", as recovered from the hydrocarbon synthesis process of "United States Patent 8,247,462 - Co-production of Power and Hydrocarbons", can then be itself converted into even more "synthesis gas" for the production of even more hydrocarbons.
Again, keep in mind that this represents an advancement on Coal conversion and liquefaction technology about which, as seen for yet another example in:
West Virginia Coal Association | USDOE Assesses South Africa Coal Liquefaction | Research & Development; concerning: "Foreign Coal Liquefaction Technology Survey and Assessment: SASOL - The Commercial Experience; Prepared for Chemical Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Subcontract Number 62b-1383C; 1980; OSTI ID: 12195973; Report Number: ORNL/Sub--79/13837/4; DOE Contract: W-7405-ENG-26; Sponsoring Organization: United States Department of Energy; Work sponsored by the International Energy Technology Assessment Project, directed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (for) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy";
our own US Government has been well aware for many decades.
Sasol was, in addition, more recently awarded a second United States Patent for closely similar and closely related Coal conversion technology, wherein both hydrocarbons and electric power are produced, as in:
United States Patent: 8552073 - Co-production of Power and Hydrocarbons
Patent US8552073 - Co-production of power and hydrocarbons - Google Patents
Date: October 8, 2013
Inventors: J.H. Boshoff, et. al., South Africa
Assignee: Sasol Technology
Abstract: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons includes gasifying coal to produce a synthesis gas and a combustion gas both comprising at least CO, H2 and CO2 and being at elevated pressure, separating CO2 from the synthesis gas, and synthesizing hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas. Power is generated from the combustion gas, including by combusting the combustion gas in the presence of oxygen and in the presence of at least a portion of the separated CO2 as moderating agent to produce a hot combusted gas which includes CO2. The CO2 is recycled or recovered from the combusted gas. In certain embodiments, the process produces a CO2 exhaust stream for sequestration or capturing for further use.
Claims: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons, the process including gasifying coal to produce a synthesis gas and a combustion gas both comprising at least CO, H2 and CO2 and being at elevated pressure; separating CO2 from the synthesis gas; synthesizing hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas; generating power from the combustion gas, including combusting the combustion gas in the presence of oxygen and in the presence of at least a portion of said separated CO2 as moderating agent to produce the combusted gas which includes CO2; and recovering or recycling the CO2 from the combusted gas or a gas derived therefrom.
Background and Field: This invention relates to the co-production of power and hydrocarbons. In particular, the invention relates to a process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons.
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) processes have environmental advantages over conventional coal-fired power plants. Synthesis gas produced by a gasifier of the IGCC process can also be used as a feedstock for co-production of liquid hydrocarbons and/or chemicals. In view of environmental pressures to reduce CO.sub.2 emissions to the atmosphere, a hydrocarbon synthesis process integrated with an IGCC process that provides the opportunity for capturing of CO2 for sequestration would be desirable.
Summary: A process for co-producing power and hydrocarbons, the process including gasifying coal to produce a synthesis gas and a combustion gas both comprising at least CO, H2 and CO2 and being at elevated pressure; separating CO2 from the synthesis gas; synthesizing hydrocarbons from the synthesis gas; generating power from the combustion gas, including combusting the combustion gas in the presence of oxygen and in the presence of at least a portion of said separated CO2 as moderating agent to produce the combusted gas which includes CO2; and recovering or recycling the CO2 from the combusted gas or a gas derived therefrom."
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As in the above "recycling the CO2", we take it to mean they are using at least some of the captured CO2 in a way like that disclosed, for only one example, in our report of;
West Virginia Coal Association | Texaco 1951 Coal + CO2 + H2O + O2 = Syngas | Research & Development; concerning; "United States Patent 2,558,746 - Carbon Monoxide and Other Gases from Carbonaceous Materials; 1951; Assignee: The Texas Company; Abstract: This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the generation of gases comprising carbon monoxide from carbonaceous materials. In one of its more specific aspects it relates to a process and apparatus for the generation of a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, suitable as a feed for the synthesis of hydrocarbons, from powdered coal. The synthesis of hydrocarbons by the interaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is well known. A number of processes are known to be effective for liquid hydrocarbon synthesis. The present invention is concerned with the generation of a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (and) is particularly suited to the production of a feed gas for the synthesis of hydrocarbons. Liquid or solid carbonaceous fuels may be used, e.g., ... coal; the method and apparatus is especially useful when powdered coal is used as the feed material. In the gasification of carbonaceous material with oxygen, particularly solid fuels, the reaction between oxygen and fuel results in the production of carbon dioxide ... . The oxidation reaction, being highly exothermic, releases large quantities of heat. The carbon dioxide, so produced, in contact with hot carbon, in turn, reacts with the carbon to produce carbon monoxide. Steam also reacts with heated carbon to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen";
wherein some of the captured CO2 can be used as one of the agents for the gasification of Coal, with the hot Coal, "C", and the "CO2" reacting to form more of the reactive and desired Carbon Monoxide, "CO".
And, again, any excess CO2 can be directed to a separate process like that disclosed in our above-cited report concerning West Virginia University's "United States Patent Application 20130122381 - High Temperature Rechargeable Battery For Greenhouse Gas Decomposition And Oxygen Generation", for the production of even more hydrocarbon synthesis gas.
Herein, the world's premier manufacturer of liquid hydrocarbon fuels from Coal is explaining how the value of such a Coal-to-Hydrocarbon synthesis process can be maximized, by incorporating certain power generation facilities in the syngas production and hydrocarbon synthesis cycle.
There are, as we've otherwise documented, and as we will further document in the future, other ways as well to approach such "polygeneration", with the end result being that we can produce both hydrocarbon fuels, direct replacements for those we now mortgage our nation to the foreign powers of OPEC for the supply of in the here and now, and electricity, from, as the basic raw material, some of our abundant US Coal.
Far past time US Coal Country was deemed worthy enough to be told all about that, don't you think?