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January 16, 2009, by Lyno Sullivan

1127 Coal to Liquid Fuel, Plastics, and Concrete

This document researches the important topic of the role of coal, as a strategic raw material of America’s destiny.

This survey of field work follows the process flow from the inputs of coal, bio-mass, and human waste, through the gasification process, and all the way through to the outputs of pure diesel fuel, the emergence of an associated plastics industry, concrete as a useful byproduct, asphalt for roadways, heat for industrial purposes, electricity production, and a continuing list of quantifiable benefits.

. . . The Alarm . . .

Much has been written about the USA’s growing dependence on foreign oil, the limits of oil reserves in the world, the fuel economy of today’s vehicles, and so on and so forth. Depending on who you want to believe, we’re either running out of oil at an alarming rate or technology will save us as it always has.

And there are practical considerations too. Nobody wants a flyash lake spilling over their property. Something useful must be done with the flyash–as a condition of operating permit continuance.

. . . Technology May Save Us . . .

Sometimes people are surprised to learn that we can produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products out of coal. In World War II, over ninety percent of Germany’s aviation fuel and half its total petroleum came from synthetic-fuel plants. Since Apartheid days, South Africa has used a similar technology for its oil needs.
http://www.cogeneration.net/synthetic_diesel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_fuel

. . . Coal: Key Transition Technology . . .

For obvious reasons, four hundred years gives USA a small window of opportunity to fulfill the destiny of our nation, to become a nation at peace with long-term survivability of civilization built into the design goals.

Long-term we’ll tap much of our energy needs directly from photon light capture (with storage/transmission as electron energy) by means of plasmonic surfaces, indirectly by wind energy capture, and so on and so forth. Coal is the source of energy during civilization’s transition phase from our dependence on foreign oil, to our nation’s oil production from USA coal, and then through the next few decades of science and technology fostered change, growth through time until we attain no-growth stability, ushering in the age of the continuous quality improvement of civilization.
Plasmonics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmon
http://www.theenergyroadmap.com/futureblogger/show/1557-quantum-mechanism-breakthrough-for-thin-film-solar-and-oled-lighting-displays
http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2008/574.html

. . . Montana Coal Seams . . .

Under eastern Montana there exists a seam of low-sulfur lignite coal sufficient to supply all of the liquid fuel needs of the United States for at least the next four hundred years.

The chief coal-producing area is the Powder River Basin, which lies in northern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. Coals of Cretaceous age are present http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/coalweb/library/coaltime/cret.aspx which is 144 to 66 million years ago. It is interesting to see that 66 million years ago the earth was http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Phanerozoic_Climate_Change.png experiencing a hotter climate. We know that life flourished upon earth because coal is the residue of that 66 million year old life. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_temperature_record
Another useful chart of earth temperature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:All_palaeotemps.png

. . . Liquid Fuel Output . . .

From the coal seams of USA will flow the liquid fuel supplies of our nation.

. . . Plastics Output . . .

From the coal seams of USA will flow the plastics supplies of our nation.

. . . Roadway Concrete and Asphalt . . .

From the coal seams of USA will flow the roadway surface supplies of our nation.

. . . Follow the Chemical Roadmap . . .

The best way to understand how coal gets turned into liquid fuel and plastics, is to follow the chemical flow roadmap of the physical and chemical universe.

. . . Syngas Production . . .

Syngas (from synthesis gas) is the name given to a gas mixture that contains varying amounts of carbon_monoxide and hydrogen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngas

One aspect of the overall material and energy flow system of turning eastern Montana lignite coal into liquid fuel is the coal gasification and production of syngas. Please study the following diagram and take note of the syngas flow.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/IGCC_diagram.svg

Now take note of the picture in its true context. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Gasification_Combined_Cycle

. . . Gasification Process . . .
There is a large body of documents from the 1920’s through the present day which are important for researching and understanding the history and development of the Fischer-Tropsch and related processes. The purpose of this site is to make these documents available in electronic media and in a centralized location. http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/

. . . Oxygen Supply . . .

In the syngas flow diagram notice the system which removes oxygen from the air. That oxygen is fed into the gasifier ensuring clean combustion of the coal.

Another alternative source of oxygen is the electrolysis of water, for example, by means of electricity from wind turbines and the direct current power grid.

. . . Nitrogen Supply . . .

Nitrogen is a by product of the oxygen separation from air. Nitrogen has its uses, in fertilizer, for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizer

. . . Hydrogen Supply . . .

Hydrogen is a far more useful by product because it can be bonded with carbon, forming polymers used in the plastics industry. Given recent concern about releasing carbon into the atmosphere, bonding the carbon with hydrogen in plastics makes more sense that bonding it with oxygen and releasing the carbon as carbon dioxide.

. . . Carbon-dioxide . . .

In terms of balanced science, one must accept the truth that plants breathe in carbon-dioxide and breathe out oxygen, as part of photosynthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

Therefore, it makes sense that during times of global earth warmth, when more of the earth’s surface is covered with plants, a carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere is conducive to the quick expansion of plant life, which traps the carbon-dioxide exhaled by animal life and generated by human life.

. . . Carbon Supply . . .

It becomes obvious that carbon, being naturally a solid may be supplied by means of coal from the ground, carbon-dioxide from the air, carbon from the bio-mass of life, and carbon recycling of plastics.

. . . Plasma Furnace Recycling Front End . . .

Ahead of the coal gasification facility exists a plasma furnace based recycling system capable of recycling everything by reducing matter back to its elemental form from which matter cools back to solidity.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/10/02/dow-corning-to-install-50-million-plasma-recycling-system/

. . . Gasification . . .

Gasification is a thermo-chemical process in which carbonaceous (carbon-rich) feedstocks such as coal, petro-coke, or biomass are converted into a gas consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (and lesser amounts of carbon dioxide and other trace gases) under oxygen depleted, high pressure, high-heat and/or steam conditions. The resulting gaseous compound is called Syngas.
http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/gasification/howgasificationworks.html

In the case of eastern Montana lignite coal, its high water content means that the coal slurry supply needs less outside water coming into the rod mill. Raw sewage and agricultural bio-mass can be mixed with the coal feed stock. Such a system affords a community a full spectrum recycling solution for its carbon supply.

. . . Flyash Cement and Other Uses. . .

Fly ash is one of the residues generated in the combustion of coal. Pollution control equipment mandated in recent decades now require that it be captured prior to release. In the US is commonly used to supplement Portland cement in concrete production.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash

Technology finds other creative uses for coal fly ash.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/546859/

. . . dimethyl-ether (DME) . . .

Dimethyl ether is the organic compound with the formula CH3OCH3. The simplest ether, it is a colorless gas that is a useful precursor to other organic compounds and an aerosol propellant. Dimethyl ether is also promising as a clean-burning hydrocarbon fuel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_ether
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DME_Process_diagram.jpg

Syngas can be directly converted to DME using the Liquid Phase Dimethyl Ether Synthesis (LP-DME) process developed at the University of Akron in conjunction with Electric Power Research Institute. This direct one-step conversion of syngas-to-DME can then be an ideal front end for further conversion to diesel. http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/97/97cl/peng.pdf

. . . DME is Pure Diesel . . .

DME is a promising fuel in diesel engines,[4] petrol engines (30% DME / 70% LPG), and gas turbines owing to its high cetane number, which is greater than 55 compared to diesel, which is 40–53.[5] Only moderate modification are needed to convert a diesel engine to burn DME.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_ether#Fuel

. . . DME Converts to Plastic . . .

A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a variety of properties and purposes. Well-known examples of polymers include plastics and proteins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic

[1127_11_DME_Process_diagram]
1127_11_dme_process_diagram.jpg

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