We have presented evidence that algae can, on a commercial basis, be used to "clean up" the Carbon Dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and coal-to-liquid fuel facilities, and that the algal biomass could then be used as an additional raw material for the liquid fuel conversion process. In further support of that contention, we present this research, from Japan, where, we would remind you, they were converting coal into liquid fuels, in the 1940's, at Kobe, to support their war efforts. The excerpt: "Co-liquefaction of Micro Algae with Coal Using Coal Liquefaction Catalysts Na-oki Ikenaga, Chiyo Ueda, Takao Matsui, Munetaka Ohtsuki, and Toshimitsu Suzuki* Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kansai University, Suita, Osaka 564-8680, Japan
Abstract
Co-liquefaction of micro algae (Chlorella, Spirulina, and Littorale) with coal (Australian Yallourn brown coal and Illinois No. 6 coal) was carried out under pressurized H2 in 1-methylnaphthalene at 350-400 °C for 60 min with various catalysts. Co-liquefaction of Chlorella with Yallourn coal was successfully achieved with excess sulfur to iron (S/Fe = 4), where sufficient amount of Fe1-xS, which is believed to be the active species in the coal liquefaction, was produced. The conversion and the yield of the hexane-soluble fraction were close to the values calculated from the additivity of the product yields of the respective homo-reactions. In the reaction with a one-to-one mixture of Chlorella and Yallourn coal, 99.8% of conversion and 65.5% of hexane-soluble fraction were obtained at 400 °C with Fe(CO)5 at S/Fe = 4. When Littorale and Spirulina were used as micro algae, a similar tendency was observed with the iron catalyst. On the other hand, in the co-liquefaction with Illinois No. 6 coal, which is known to contain a large amount of sulfur in the form of catalytically active pyrite, the oil yield in the co-liquefaction was close to the additivity of the respective reaction with Fe(CO)5-S, even at S/Fe = 2. Ru3(CO)12 was also effective for the co-liquefaction of micro algae with coal."
Note that the use of algae as a co-feed for coal-to-liquid conversion factories would not only provide a way through which Carbon Dioxide emissions could be profitably dealt with, it might also help to resolve some other pollutant issues as well.