United States Patent Application: 0130331616
Astonished. Dumfounded. Dismayed.
Gotta be honest folks, relative to our Coal Country press and other news media:
Their ongoing silence in the face of revolutionary news related to our economically essential use of Coal in the generation of genuinely abundant and truly affordable electric power, that news pertaining to the amazing potentials that have now been demonstrated for recycling the byproducts of our Coal use in ways that could end our economic enslavement to the global money masters of OPEC, cannot do anything but call to mind a famous quote that we've used in this, and another somewhat more personal, connection previously:
"A time comes when silence is betrayal." - Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967, NYC.
We've documented for you many, many times that Carbon Dioxide - - as it is co-produced by our generation of electricity through the use of Coal in only a very small way relative to some all-natural and un-taxable sources of CO2 emission, such as the Earth's inexorable processes of planetary volcanism - - is a valuable raw material resource.
Carbon Dioxide can be converted, recycled, through now numerous processes, some of them biologically mediated, into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels.
And, as we discussed in our most recent report concerning the topic:
Mandated Geologic Sequestration of CO2 Is Theft by Deception | Research & Development | News; concerning, primarily: "Methanogenic Conversion of CO2 Into CH4: A Potential Remediation Technology for Geologic CO2 Storage Sites; Prepared for : US Department of Energy; Office of Science; Chicago, IL; DE-FG02-03ER83596; May 6, 2012; OSTI ID: 1041046; Report Number: DOE-ER83596- Final Report; DOE Contract: FG02-03ER83596; This SBIR project evaluated the potential to remediate geologic CO2 sequestration sites into useful methane gas fields by application of methanogenic bacteria. Such methanogens are present in a wide variety of natural environments, converting CO2 into CH4 under natural conditions. We conclude that the process is generally feasible to apply within many of the proposed CO2 storage reservoir settings. CO2-destroying methanogenesis takes place on a vast scale in a diversity of settings in the Earth’s crust -- including those similar to proposed geologic sequestration sites -- generating billions of tons of methane annually. Consequently, natural processes support our overall concept of employing methanogens to remediate CO2 sequestration sites";
the widely-promoted concept of - - all at the expense of Coal-fired power generation facilities and their customers - - capturing Carbon Dioxide as it is emitted at Coal-fired power plants and then piping it to depleted or nearly-depleted natural oil and natural gas reservoirs for "geologic sequestration", could well-be, in some quarters, a well-crafted and deceptive ploy to actually, for want of any more polite a term, steal what is, in essence, a valuable raw material resource from which hydrocarbon fuels can be regenerated.
As we've also seen in numerous reports concerning him and his University of Southern California colleagues, as, for example, in:
Even More California 2009 CO2 to Methanol | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 7,605,293 - Efficient and Selective Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol, Dimethyl Ether and Derived Products; 2009; Inventors: George Olah and G.K. Surya Prakash, CA; Assignee: University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: An environmentally beneficial method of producing methanol from varied sources of carbon dioxide including flue gases of fossil fuel burning powerplants",
Nobel Laureate chemist George Olah has developed numerous, practicable and purely chemical technologies whereby Carbon Dioxide, as could be extracted from the "flue gases of fossil fuel burning powerplants", can be efficiently consumed in the synthesis of valuable liquid fuels and hydrocarbon manufacturing raw materials, such as the fuel alcohol "Methanol".
So effective are Olah's University of Southern California Carbon Dioxide utilization, CO2-to-hydrocarbon fuel technologies, as seen in our report of:
US Gov Confirms Coal Can Be A CO2-Neutral Source Of Power | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 8,461,215 - Rendering Coal As An Environmentally Carbon Dioxide Neutral Fuel And A Regenerative Carbon Source; June 11, 2013; Inventors: George Olah and G.K. Surya Prakash, CA; Assignee: The University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: The invention provides a method for rendering coal as an environmentally essentially carbon dioxide-neutral fuel. Carbon dioxide produced from coal combustion is captured, purified, combined ... with hydrogen, and reacted under reaction conditions sufficient to form methanol and/or dimethyl ether, which can be used as fuel or feedstock for derived synthetic hydrocarbons and products";
our United States Government publicly agreed, almost a year ago, that, if applied to the "flue gases of" our "coal combustion" power plants, we could make Coal a "carbon dioxide-neutral fuel", all while we stuck a big old grimy finger, with Coal dust crammed under its nail, into OPEC's eye.
But, given that we info-deprived peons laboring away in dark hills and hollers of Coal Country have been apparently destined to remain under-informed, and will likely fall prey to the geologic sequestration straw of salvation seemingly being tendered to us, relative to our artificially-inflicted Carbon Dioxide woes, George Olah and his fellow USC genius, Surya Prakash, have devised the technological concept whereby we can withdraw Carbon Dioxide from such geologic sequestration, and convert it, too, into hydrocarbon fuels.
Comment follows excerpts from the initial link in this dispatch to the recent:
"United States Patent Application 20130331616 - Recycling Carbon Dioxide Via Capture and Temporary Storage to Produce Renewable Fuels and Derived Products
Date: December 12, 2013
(Note: The University of Southern California apparently sees this evolution of George Olah's Carbon Dioxide utilization technologies to be of some special significance. Although we won't make separate report of them, patent applications for the technology disclosed herein were also submitted simultaneously to at least the Canadian government, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the European Union.)
Inventors: George Olah and G.K. Surya Prakash, CA
Assignee: University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Abstract: A method for recycling a carbon-containing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane (natural gas) or a hydrocarbon homolog thereof. The method includes the steps of capturing the emissions, sequestering them in an underground or undersea storage area, withdrawing them from the storage area after storage therein, and converting them to carbon-containing compounds such as methanol, dimethyl ether and derived products. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are chemically recycled to provide a permanent and inexhaustible supply of carbon-containing fuels or products, which subsequently can be combusted or used without increasing the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. The method is thus effective in neutralizing or reducing the carbon footprint due to human activities related to combustion or use of carbon-containing fuels while providing a repeatedly sustainable carbon source.
(As we've previously documented, and won't dwell on here, Methane is a much, much more potent greenhouse gas than is Carbon Dioxide. But, given its value as a fuel, it seems unlikely that there would be any proposal made to "sequester" it underground.
However, scenarios like that disclosed in our above-cited report concerning: "Methanogenic Conversion of CO2 Into CH4: A Potential Remediation Technology for Geologic CO2 Storage Sites; Prepared for : US Department of Energy; Office of Science; Chicago, IL; DE-FG02-03ER83596; May 6, 2012; OSTI ID: 1041046; Report Number: DOE-ER83596"; could result in a blend of Methane, CH4, and unconverted Carbon Dioxide becoming available for withdrawal at geologic sequestration sites. So, the technology being disclosed herein might feasibly be applied to such a product.
On the other hand, the technology disclosed herein by our subject, "United States Patent Application 20130331616", can, according to our read of it, be applied to either Carbon Dioxide or Methane, alone or together, to generate an "inexhaustible supply of carbon-containing fuels".
Since waste Carbon Dioxide would, we presume, be of most interest to our faithful Coal Country readers, our remaining excerpts from "United States Patent Application 20130331616" will be edited to reflect only how the process and technology applies to Carbon Dioxide.)
Claims: A method for controlling, neutralizing or decreasing the human carbon footprint of an entity by recycling carbon-containing gas emissions which have been captured and sequestered in an underground or undersea storage area, which method comprises withdrawing the gas from the storage area after sequestration or storage therein; and converting the gas to carbon-containing compounds to provide a renewable energy source while avoiding any unintended escape or release of the gas from the storage area, thus controlling, neutralizing or decreasing the carbon footprint of the entity.
The method ... wherein the renewed carbon-containing compounds (made from the carbon-containing gas emissions) are carbon-containing fuels or synthetic hydrocarbons (such as) methanol, dimethyl ether, or products derived therefrom.
(Note, that, as seen for one example in our report of:
ExxonMobil Coal to Methanol to Gasoline | Research & Development | News; concerning both: "United States Patent 4,348,486 - Production of Methanol via Catalytic Coal Gasification; 1982; Assignee: Exxon Research and Engineering Company; Abstract: Methanol is produced by gasifying a carbonaceous feed material with steam ... (and) wherein said carbonaceous feed material comprises coal"; and: "United States Patent 4,035,430 - Conversion of Methanol to Gasoline; 1977; Assignee: Mobil Oil Corporation; Abstract: The conversion of methanol to gasoline boiling products ... . This invention relates to the method and system for converting methanol to gasoline boiling components";
one of the products which can be "derived" from "methanol" - - no matter which of our natural resources, whether, as in the above "United States Patent 4,348,486 - Production of Methanol via Catalytic Coal Gasification", Coal, or, as in the process of our subject herein, "United States Patent Application 20130331616 - Recycling Carbon Dioxide", CO2, we make the Methanol from - - is Gasoline).
The method ... wherein the carbon-containing gas emission is carbon dioxide (and) wherein the carbon dioxide is emitted from combustion or use of carbon-containing fuel (and, wherein)the carbon dioxide is captured from flue or off-gases of coal or other fossil fuel burning plants, geothermal power facilities, cement, aluminum or other industrial plants or factories, industrial or agricultural wastes or byproducts of natural gas production.
The method ... wherein the carbon dioxide is captured from the air or atmosphere (and) which further comprises adsorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide on an adsorbent and treating the adsorbent to release the adsorbed carbon dioxide therefrom.
The method ... which further comprises chemically converting the withdrawn carbon dioxide into methanol by hydrogenative reductive processes (and) which further comprises dehydrating the methanol under conditions sufficient to produce dimethyl ether ... wherein the dimethyl ether is used as a substitute for diesel fuel, natural gas or LPG for household heating.
The method ... which further comprises converting the methanol or dimethyl ether to ethylene or propylene in the presence of a suitable catalyst (and) which further comprises converting the ethylene or propylene to higher olefins, synthetic hydrocarbons or aromatics, or products therefrom, for use as feedstocks for chemicals or as transportation fuels.
The method ... which further comprises hydrating the ethylene or propylene to form ethanol, propanol or isopropanol.
A method for recycling a supply of captured carbon emissions comprising carbon dioxide ..., which supply is stored or sequestered in an underground or undersea storage area, which method comprises recycling the captured carbon emissions for conversion into carbon-containing compounds to provide a renewable energy source while avoiding unintended escape or release of the captured carbon emissions from the storage area during long term storage.
Background and Field: The invention relates to recycling of sequestered carbon-containing gases by converting the gases to renewable fuels such as methanol and dimethyl ether, and products derived therefrom.
A major environmental concern today is the increase of the "carbon footprint" of human activities. The "carbon footprint" is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by an entity due to the use of carbon-containing fuels or the like. The carbon dioxide that is inevitably formed from the combustion or degradation of carbon-based fuels, materials or any live processes is a major concern ... . When any carbon-containing compound is combusted or degraded, carbon dioxide is formed.
The use of coal or other fossil fuels, and power plants burning such fuels, cement plants, breweries, transportation sector, etc., produce annually in excess of 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. Various other activities such as agriculture, live processes and discharge of varied natural sources also produce large amounts of carbon dioxide.
(An) essential aspect of our carbon future is the fact that fossil fuel resources are limited and will be used up by increasing demand of population growth and industrialization.
Relatively easily accessible oil and natural gas may only last this century, whereas more abundant coal another two centuries.
In the foreseeable future, however, fossil energy sources will continue to be utilized because of its ready availability and relatively low cost compared to the alternatives.
One way to address ... human-generated carbon dioxide emissions is the capture and sequestration (or storage) of carbon dioxide in depleted oil and gas fields or coal mines, at the bottom of the sea or underground in caverns or other sealed cavities. This is generally referred to as carbon capture and sequestration ("CCS"). There are, however, obvious limitations of this approach.
Sequestration is a costly process that does not provide any economic benefit and at best is only a temporary solution.
Volatile carbon dioxide can leak out from subterranean or under-the-seas storage facilities even in the best selected geological formations and location, such as depleted oil fields or the bottom of the seas or lakes.
Sequestered (or stored) carbon dioxide also is very susceptible to geological disturbances, such as earthquakes, slides, and volcanic eruption. Geological disturbances can cause the instant release of huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide on a massive scale and have a deadly effect, since carbon dioxide is heavier than the air and can suffocate living creatures in the proximity of large scale releases of carbon dioxide.
Also, even if stored carbon dioxide does not leak and converts to carbonates over time (which is how limestone is formed in nature over eons), the extremely long time needed for such carbonation renders carbon dioxide sequestration only a temporary storage solution on the human time scale. Furthermore, CCS renders a significant part of the Earth's carbon resources lay dormant and of little use. Thus, improved solutions to address and reduce carbon dioxide emissions are needed.
Summary: The invention relates to a method for recycling a carbon-containing exhausts such as carbon dioxide or methane or its homologs after their capture and sequestration (CCS) making them renewable while at the same time mitigating their environmental harm. The method comprises withdrawing the carbon containing gas from the storage or sequestration points and converting them to carbon-containing fuels and compounds. The method provides a safe, environmentally adoptable renewable energy source. The carbon-containing compounds are preferably synthetic hydrocarbons, such as methanol, dimethyl ether, or derivatives thereof. By converting such stored gas into carbon-containing fuels and compounds, there becomes less of a concern of the unintended escape of gas that could occur if the gas were otherwise subjected to such long term storage.
In an embodiment, the recycled carbon-containing gas is carbon dioxide emissions produced by the combustion or use of carbon-containing fuel, or carbon dioxide captured from flue or off-gases of coal or other fossil fuel burning plants, geothermal power facilities, cement, aluminum or other industrial plants or factories, industrial or agricultural wastes or byproducts of natural gas production. The recycled gas can also be carbon dioxide captured from the air or atmosphere, such as by adsorption on an adsorbent followed by treatment, e.g., heating, of the adsorbent to release the adsorbed carbon dioxide.
In an embodiment, carbon dioxide is captured and recycled to produce methanol by any suitable method such as by hydrogenative reductive processes.
Methanol can be further reacted or processed to form dimethyl carbonate or dimethyl ether. Methanol and dimethyl ether also can be converted to ethylene or propylene by acidic-basic or zeolitic catalysis. Ethylene and propylene, in turn, can be converted to any hydrocarbon products such as ethanol, propanol or isopropanol, or higher olefins, or aromatics, or products therefrom, such as for use as feedstocks for chemicals or as transportation fuels.
These can replace fossil fuel derived transportation and industrial fuels and feed-stocks.
The invention also relates to recycling carbon-containing gases to control or reduce the overall carbon footprint of the planet. Thus, the current lifestyles that rely extensively on conventional carbon containing fuels and products can continue indefinitely by substituting the new carbon-containing compounds or products obtained by recycling of carbon-containing gases without harming the environment to preserve and even improve the atmosphere for the benefit of future generations.
Another embodiment of the invention relates from moving from CCS to carbon capture and recycling ("CCR") for producing methanol from carbon dioxide ... from a sequestered supply in an underground storage facility avoiding escape of the gas from the underground storage facility.
Also, the invention relates to the use of a supply of carbon dioxide or methane gas which is sequestered in an underground storage facility for the production of methanol to recycle the gas into a useful product while avoiding escape of the gas from the underground storage facility.
Description and Preferred Embodiments: A feasible way of chemical carbon recycling of carbon dioxide or CCR derived from natural or industrial sources is to react the carbon dioxide with hydrogen derived from water using any available source of energy, and preferentially using solar or other alternate energy ... .
Carbon dioxide emissions are increasingly stored underground or under the seas and this provides a plentiful supply of carbon dioxide for such reactions. Thus, the present invention now fills an essential gap in making the chemical carbon cycle practical by combining carbon capture and optional storage by the permanent process of subsequent chemical recycling of withdrawal of stored carbon dioxide to form hydrocarbon fuels and derived products. This renders carbon dioxide a renewable inexhaustible carbon source while also mitigating the environmentally harmful build up of excessive CO2 emissions.
One embodiment of the present invention relates to the new use of captured and temporarily stored carbon dioxide or methane (as well as of any other hydrocarbon sources) as withdrawable raw materials for their conversion to methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) and derived products. This process uses the chemical approaches to produce methanol and its derived products and materials as disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,605,293 and 7,608,743.
(We cited our report concerning US Patent "7,605,293", entitled "Efficient and Selective Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol, Dimethyl Ether and Derived Products", in our introductory comments. Concerning US Patent "7,608,743", see:
California Patents CO2 Recycling | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 7,608,743 - Efficient and Selective Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol, Dimethyl Ether and Derived Products; 2009; 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 from varied 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 secondary treatment to produce essentially methanol, dimethyl ether and derived products").
This new approach combines temporary carbon capture and storage with recycling to make carbon containing fuels and products renewable in an environmentally carbon neutral way. It also provides a feasible economic and safe way to mitigate the environmentally harmful effects of carbon dioxide, considered until now only a harmful greenhouse gas, as an inexhaustible carbon source of the future. This is an alternative or adjunct to the capture and recycle of atmospheric carbon dioxide disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,378,561 and 7,459,590. All of these can be used to provide an inexhaustible carbon source for future generations. Consequently, dependence on fossil fuels will be replaced by economical and efficient chemical carbon recycling.
(Regarding the above patent citations, see our report of:
California Recycles More and More Carbon Dioxide | Research & Development | News; concerning, among others related, both:
"United States Patent 7,378,561 - Producing ... Synthetic Hydrocarbons from Carbon Dioxide and Water; 2008; Inventors: George Olah and Robert Aniszfeld, CA; Assignee: University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: A method for producing methanol and dimethyl ether using the air as the sole source of materials is disclosed. The invention relates to a method for separating the water (i.e., the moisture in the air) and carbon dioxide content of atmospheric air for their use in the subsequent production of methanol, dimethyl ether and derived synthetic hydrocarbons as products. The method includes the conversion of carbon dioxide and water under conditions sufficient to produce methanol and/or dimethyl ether. Methanol and/or dimethyl ether can be used as fuel or fuel additives or further converted to synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. Carbon dioxide is captured on a suitable absorbent, preferentially polyethyleneimine supported on nano-structured fumed silica. The process can also involve hydrogenation with hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water obtained from the air or from any other water source. Methanol can be dehydrated to produce dimethyl ether or further processed to produce synthetic hydrocarbons, polymers, and products derived from them by other known methods"; and:
"United States Patent 7,459,590 - Producing Methanol ... from Carbon Dioxide and Water; 2008; Inventors: George Olah and Robert Aniszfeld, CA; Assignee: University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: A method for producing methanol and dimethyl ether using the air as the sole source of materials is disclosed. The invention relates to a method for producing methanol by removing water from atmospheric air, obtaining hydrogen from the removed water, obtaining carbon dioxide from atmospheric air; and converting the carbon dioxide under conditions sufficient to produce methanol. Thereafter, the methanol can be dehydrated to produce dimethyl ether or further processed to produce synthetic hydrocarbons, polymers, and products derived from them".)
Thus, the invention provides a process in which a captured or sequestered carbon-containing gas, such as carbon dioxide, after temporary storage, is withdrawn for chemical recycling. The withdrawn carbon-containing gas is chemically recycled by being converted into carbon-containing compounds such as methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), or their derived chemical products.
All these processes are generally known from the prior patent documents mentioned herein, but the generation of fuels and products from sequestered carbon dioxide is a novel concept that will prevent further environmental damage while not requiring reduced use of carbon-based materials or changed lifestyle.
The present invention thus achieves mitigation of the harmful generation of carbon dioxide that adds to the carbon footprint of human activities by utilizing sequestered carbon dioxide and chemically recycling it, preferably by using a suitable form of conversion to methanol or dimethyl ether, making the human carbon footprint neutral or even negative. The materials produced through the present chemical recycling of carbon dioxide can then be used as convenient energy source or medium and in various uses, e.g., transportation materials, fuels (including for internal combustion or fuel cells), household and industrial gases (for heating, cooking, etc.), and renewable raw materials for producing synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. By mitigating the harmful excessive carbon footprint of human activities, no excessive carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, allowing the continued environmentally friendly renewable use of carbon-containing fuels and materials while also diminishing or neutralizing the harmful environmental effect of excessive carbon dioxide discharge into the atmosphere that causes global warming. At the same time, the invention also provides an inexhaustible, renewable and environmentally benign carbon source, namely, carbon dioxide, that is the starting point for making the fuels and products that are heavily and commonly used.
The invention also provides a method for controlling, neutralizing or decreasing the human carbon footprint of an entity, which comprises capturing and sequestering a carbon containing gas in an underground or undersea storage area; withdrawing the gas from the storage area after sequestration or storage therein; and converting the gas to a carbon-containing compound to provide a renewable energy source while avoiding any unintended escape of the gas from the storage area and while controlling, neutralizing or decreasing the carbon footprint of the entity.
The entity can be a power plant or other facility, which generates carbon dioxide emissions, with the emissions gas captured and sequestered in the underground or undersea area. Thereafter, the gas is accessed and withdrawn for use as a reactant as described herein."
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In one passage excerpted above: "A feasible way of chemical carbon recycling of carbon dioxide or CCR derived from natural or industrial sources is to react the carbon dioxide with hydrogen derived from water using any available source of energy, and preferentially using solar or other alternate energy"; Olah and Prakash genuflect in the direction of using environmental energy to extract the needed hydrogen from water; and, as seen in our report of:
USDOE Hydrogen from Sunlight and Water | Research & Development | News; concerning: "United States Patent 4,476,105 - Process for Photosynthetically Splitting Water; 1984; Inventor: Elias Greenbaum, Oak Ridge, TN; Assignee: The United States of America; Abstract: The invention is an improved process for producing gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from water. A process for producing gaseous hydrogen, comprising: providing a reactor containing a body of water, said water containing biophotolytic material incorporating hydrogenase as a hydrogen-liberator, said reactor being isolated from atmosphere and having a volume for receiving gases evolved from said water, exposing said material in said reactor to light to effect photosynthetic splitting of said water into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen ... . This invention relates generally to processes for the production of gaseous hydrogen and/or oxygen by photosynthesis";
such is certainly a feasible proposition.
But, the main point of it all is this:
We can let ourselves be buffaloed into paying much higher electric bills so that the Carbon Dioxide which is co-produced from Coal along with abundant electricity can be extracted and pumped, all at the expense of the consumers of Coal-based electric power, into leaky old oil and gas wells.
If we do that, you can bet your bottom dollar that someone armed with a license to the United States Patent our subject herein, "United States Patent Application 20130331616 - Recycling Carbon Dioxide Via Capture and Temporary Storage to Produce Renewable Fuels and Derived Products", will eventually evolve into, and start extracting the Carbon Dioxide we paid someone to collect and haul away, and pump down a geologic sequestration rat hole, for us, and, using the processes defined by "United States Patent Application 20130331616", which have already been established, some as separate United States Patents, by George Olah and his colleagues at the University of Southern California, will start converting that extracted Carbon Dioxide into fuel alcohol Methanol, substitute Diesel fuel Dimethyl Ether, and "Products" "Derived" from them, which "Products" would include Gasoline.
Now, as Nobel Laureate Olah himself explained, in our above-cited report concerning:
"United States Patent 8,461,215 - Rendering Coal As An Environmentally Carbon Dioxide Neutral Fuel And A Regenerative Carbon Source; June 11, 2013; Inventors: George Olah and G.K. Surya Prakash, CA; Assignee: The University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Abstract: The invention provides a method for rendering coal as an environmentally essentially carbon dioxide-neutral fuel. Carbon dioxide produced from coal combustion is captured, purified, combined ... with hydrogen, and reacted under reaction conditions sufficient to form methanol and/or dimethyl ether, which can be used as fuel or feedstock for derived synthetic hydrocarbons and products";
we could actually start doing the same thing ourselves, right here in Coal Country, with Carbon Dioxide taken, as it were, hot off the griddle, as opposed to paying someone to haul it off first and put it into the geologic sequestration refrigerator, and then letting them convert that CO2 into "methanol" and "derived products".
Now, we, here, know what we would prefer. And, we suspect we know what most of the hardworking folks in United States Coal Country would prefer.
But, that, folks, gets us back to the few sentences we opened this dispatch with, which concerned "our Coal Country press and other news media".
When it comes to the Carbon Dioxide that is co-produced by our essential use of Coal in the generation of abundant and affordable electric power, we have some potentially quite profitable options available to us.
We can't profit from those options in United States Coal Country, though, until someone finds the charity and the honesty within themselves to tell us, openly and forthrightly, all about them.
We, here, pray that someone soon does, for all our, and our children's, sakes.