Green coal? Process converts coal into diesel fuel

mongabay ^ | April 14, 2006

[dennisw]

Green coal? Process converts coal into diesel fuel
Coal-to-Diesel could reduced foreign dependence on oil
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
April 14, 2006


Making alternative fuel becomes more efficient with dual-catalyst system: UNC-Rutgers study

CHAPEL HILL – As the United States’ oil reserves dwindle, some say the nation will have to rely on synthetic petroleum fuel made from its large stores of coal.

A two-step chemical process augments a method of making cleaner-burning alternative fuel from coal and other carbon sources by transforming some of its waste products into diesel fuel, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, report.

"Two percent of the United States’ energy reserves is in oil, 3 percent is in gas, and 95 percent is in coal," said Dr. Maurice Brookhart, W.R. Kenan Jr. professor of chemistry in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. "Many people in the energy sector think that when oil starts to run out, coal will be a source of transportation fuel for some time before we perfect the science behind solar and hydrogen-based energy. Producing diesel fuels from coal is especially attractive since diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines."

The Fischer-Tropsch method of making synthetic liquid fuels from coal and other carbon sources has been used since the 1920s. Today, Fischer-Tropsch fuels power most large vehicles in South Africa, and American companies have expressed interest in these fuels, which emit fewer particulates and less carbon monoxide than conventional diesel fuels. Such fuels have been termed "green diesel."

The cost of making Fischer-Tropsch fuels has been considered prohibitive. "But right now, with oil this expensive, I think it will soon become a competitive process to make liquid fuels," said Brookhart, an author of the study, which is published Friday (April 14) in the journal Science.

Dr. Alan S. Goldman, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers, is the lead author of the study.

The Fischer-Tropsch reaction creates hydrocarbon compounds called alkanes. Methane and ethane are examples of alkanes. Some of the alkanes created by Fischer-Tropsch are desirable for use as fuel, but others have low molecular weights that make them unsuitable.

Current coal reserves. Source: US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration Cleaner, more efficient use of coal could play a key role in addressing climate change, especially with the growing importance of coal as an energy source as world crude oil supplies are diminished in the future. Coal presently supplies about two-thirds of China's energy and one-third of the energy demand in the United States but, due to its abundance, is forecast to become an increasingly important relative to petroleum around mid-century.

"The process we have developed allows one to convert more of these Fischer-Tropsch materials to usable diesel fuels," said Brookhart.

"It’s accomplished by a dual-catalyst system that allows us to take low molecular weight alkanes with between four and nine carbons in the chain and boost their weights up to a range appropriate for diesel fuel (10 to 19 carbons)," he added.

Brookhart said that in the dual-catalyst system, "one catalyst removes hydrogen, converting the alkane to a new material that contains carbon-carbon double bonds." Those double bonds make the new material more reactive, he added.

Then a second catalyst "scrambles" the carbon bonds, creating compounds with higher molecular weights. The first catalyst then returns the hydrogen atoms to the rearranged compounds, yielding alkanes that are usable as fuel.

Currently, a process termed hydrocracking is used to break down hydrocarbons with molecular weights too high for fuel use into lower molecular weight materials, but the process is not very selective.

"The catalyst system we used can combine very low molecular weight and very high molecular weight alkanes to produce alkanes in the diesel fuel range and, thus, may also prove useful for recovering value from high molecular weight materials," Brookhart said.

The investigations are in the early stages, and Brookhart added that "considerable improvements in the catalyst systems are required before they become practical. We are working hard on that."

The other authors of the study, in addition to Brookhart and Goldman, are Rutgers postdoctoral research associate Dr. Ritu Ahuja; postdoctoral research associate Dr. Amy H. Roy and research assistant Dr. Zheng Huang, both of UNC’s department of chemistry; and Dr. William Schinski, a chemist with Chevron Research and Technology Company.

The research was sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation Center for the Activation and Transformation of Strong Bonds (CATSB), of which Brookhart and Goldman are members.

The center, based at the University of Washington, is one of the first "chemical bonding centers" funded by the NSF to encourage groups of scientists to work together to tackle major problems in chemistry to benefit society. Its work focuses on finding new ways to transform strong chemical bonds, in hopes of creating environmentally friendly ways to synthesize materials on a large scale.

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[Cobra64]

"As the United States’ oil reserves dwindle,"

It would be more accurate to say, "As the United States cannot touch its own oil due to its gevernemnt..."

[Uriah_lost]

Glenn Beck just had the CEO of Jet Blue on talking about this. He claims to have a bunch of companies ready to jump in if the Govt(scary part) will protect them from losses should the price of oil drop below their cost of production.
A little scary to me but also seems worth taking seriously.

[Dog Gone]

The government shouldn't be guaranteeing any price floors. That's the same mistake we've made with farm subsidies.

[somemoreequalthanothers]

Exactly. I thought we had to start tapping it before it could dwindle. Such nonsense.

[RightWhale]

Gummint subsidy might be a lot cheaper way: to get free of Arab oil rather than what we are doing now to ensure flow of Arab oil. Let China ensure their own flow of Arab oil.

[Uriah_lost]

Beyond that, I really, really don't want to let the congress off the hook on this crap of not letting us access our own oil supplies.

[Dog Gone]

We haven't even begun to explore Alaska yet. Yes, we have Prudhoe Bay and the possibility of ANWR if the lunatics quit filibustering the legislation.

Divide Alaska into two states, and Texas would be the third largest state. Alaska is that big. I'm not saying there's oil under Fairbanks, but I don't think anyone has looked yet, either.

[dennisw]

I looked this up because of Glenn Beck show tonite. Please note that this coal conversion process extracts more diesel than previously

Diesel/kerosene/jet fuel are all about the same and will take care of lots of our energy needs. Automobiles will have to move to diesel engines. Technology marches on and cleaner and better diesel engines abound. Plus coal conversion has improved since South Africa and the Nazis did it

[donmeaker]

T-323 Pressure Hydrogenation of Dry Coal. Ludwigshafen, January 29, 1943, by Donath and Rotter. P5-62 TOM 273: 745-748

Old technology. I learned of it from E. Donath's son.

[dr_who_2]

Fools! That's not coal! That's kryptonite!

[pointsal]

Why are we not building these plants and building several nuclear generators????

[ketelone]

Wow... I didnt know the US had SO MUCH coal.

[stboz]

Let China ensure their own flow of Arab oil.

Interesting thought. Seen any suicide bombers in China?

[timer]

MHD(MagnetoHydroDynamics)is some 60%+ efficient with coal plasma(pure oxygen assisted). The PROBLEM is that coal slag builds up on the throat walls, quickly gumming it up. 5 years ago I came up with a possible solution, thus making MHD-coal practical. My senator got my idea to the DOE where it got the one-soldier-at-attention finger-salute, typical response from a government cocaine-addicted to fuel taxes. So, keep on paying those $3/gal gas prices...they've mosquito-got you right where they want you...

[Uriah_lost]

Environmental scare mongers, Democrat opponents of "Big Business"(note scare quotes) and years of cheap oil.
I see these as the big three causes of the current energy troubles.
I could be wrong, but not by much IMHO.

[Holicheese]

I heard on Art Bell that a guy's friend has a generator that ran on water. 1 gallon a month will run a house. Home Depot has a secret contract with the guy for a million units. Why waste our time with this crap when there is a silent running water house generator. (For those of you who think that I believe this crack pot that is really claiming this, check the sarcasm lamp. Its ON!)

[RS]

The Germans did this in WWII -

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/39212/

[dennisw]

The Germans did this in WWII - ......

But this process gets a much beater yield of diesel/kerosene/jet fuel from coal.

German coal conversion was 60 years ago and Cadillacs had tail fins 45 years ago

[MainFrame65]

" == Automobiles will have to move to diesel engines. == "

Actually, I think the model will be electric drive using better batteries, with an auxiliary diesel generator to keep it running for long trips. Just like a locomotive, except for the batteries.

In fact, electrification of railroad tracks, which would put all of our rail transport on the grid instead of on on diesel, would save more oil than we get from Saudi Arabia.

The breakthrough technology, if it ever happens, would be some kind of trolley or slot connection on major roads for trucks and private vehicles. It would have to both distribute and meter electric power to operate all of those hybrid vehicles off the (expanded, nuclear powered) grid.