Coal Liquefaction Coal Combustible black or brownish sediment

Coal Liquefaction

Coal • Combustible black or brownish sediment rock • Layer and layer of dead plant remain annually • Largest source of energy for electricity worldwide

Utilizing Coal • Steam power boats • Generate electricity • Liquefy into gasoline

Coal Power Plant 54% of U. S electricity generated from coal Yet, it’s the largest air polluter 500 megawatts=1. 4 million tons of coal annually Coal plants require billions of gallons of water to cool the system • Mining pollutes water, land air • •

Why Liquefaction? • Alternative to importing petroleum in China’s case because abundant coal supply • Many different types of fuel like methanol, diesel, gasoline, H 2 and dimethyl ether • Fuel trucks, planes and other machines in where petroleum is limited

Methods • Direct – Coal + Hydrogen (H 2) Linear + Ring Type Hydrocarbons ( Cx. Hy Catalyst ) • Indirect – Gasification: Coal + Oxygen + Steam �� Syngas (H 2 + CO) – Syngas Conversion: H 2 + CO Linear Hydrocarbons (Cx. Hy) or Chemicals

Direct Coal Liquefaction

Hydrogenation • A chemical reaction that results in the addition of hydrogen (H 2) • Usually to reduce or saturated the organic compounds • At high temperatures the addition of hydrogen to hydrocarbons does not require a catalyst • Under 480 C the catalyst are platinum, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium

Carbonization • Converting organic substance into carbon or residue by pryolysis (heating) • Convert coal to coal gas or tar • Also used to turn biomass to coal/ biodiesel

Indirect Coal Liquefaction

Gasification • Combusting the substances and reacting them with CO and H, which forms syngas or synfuel • Expose the coal with high heat with a controlled amount of O 2; allows combustion • Char reacts with CO 2 and steam to make the syngas, but some of the CO 2 is locked in char

Synfuel Production • Sasol’s the only company producing 150, 000 barrels per day in South Africa • They use the indirect method to produce synfuel • No engine modification is required

China’s Project • • Planned 5 million tons of oil product per year Demo about one million tons of oil Located Inner Mongolia Direct and Indirect methods of Liquefaction

Shenhua Group

Pro’s of Coal to Liquid • U. S has more coal than any other country; almost as cheap as dirt • Concept has been used since 1913 and during WWII with the Nazi • New catalyst improve the process of liquefaction • Make natural gas out of dirty coal

Great Point company Andrew Perlman showing how coal can be converted to natural gas.

Con’s of Coal to Liquid • Air pollution, lots of CO 2 is released in the making of synfuel • Destroying mountains for coal pollutes the environment and release more CO 2 • Car’s will still produce CO 2 from synfuel • Expensive to transport coal and convert to liquid/useable fuel

Resources • http: //www. mpowerfuels. com/projects. html • http: //www. wisegeek. com/what-is-coal-liquefaction. htm • http: //www. covol. com/data/up. Files/moreinfo/DCL%20 Technology %20 Presentation%203. 31. 09. pdf • http: //www. ucsusa. org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c 01. html • http: //www. princeton. edu/pei/energy/publications/texts/indirect. pdf • http: //blogs. princeton. edu/chm 333/f 2005/group 2/panflute%20 flo wchart%20151. JPG • http: //members. tripod. com/comb_group/cl. html • http: //www. nrdc. org/global. Warming/coal/liquids. pdf • http: //www. npr. org/templates/story. php? story. Id=5356683