Twitter headlinesCoal-to-Liquids (CTL)
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MIT/RAND Study Concludes Three Types of Alternative Jet Fuel May Be Available in Commercial Quantities Over the Next Decade
October 25, 2009
| Normalized well-to-wake GHG emissions for low-, baseline- and high-emission cases for jet fuel pathways under different land use change scenarios. From Hileman et al. Click to enlarge. |
A joint MIT/RAND study of the near-term commercial feasibility of alternative jet fuels has concluded that three types of alternative jet fuels may be available in commercial quantities over the next decade: Jet A derived from Canadian oil sands and Venezuelan Very Heavy Oils (VHO); Fischer-Tropsch (FT) jet fuel produced from coal, a combination of coal and biomass, or natural gas; and hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ) produced by hydroprocessing renewable oils.
The study compared five different groups of potential alternative jet fuels on the basis of seven criteria: compatibility with existing aircraft and infrastructure; maturity of the fuel-production technology; near-term production potential; near-term production costs; life-cycle GHG emissions (“well-to-wake”); emissions affecting air quality; and the relative merit of using the fuel in aviation versus ground transportation. The focus of the work was on alternative jet fuels that could be available commercially in the next decade using primarily North American resources.
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Accelergy and A2BE Carbon Capture Form Alliance to Commercialize Integrated-Carbon-to-Liquids (ICTL) Fuel Technologies; Coal and Algae to Fuels
October 09, 2009
| Accelergy’s Integrated Coal to Liquids platform is the basis for the Integrated Carbon to Liquids initiative. Source: Accelergy. Click to enlarge. |
Accelergy Corporation, an advanced coal-to-liquids company, and A2BE Carbon Capture LLC, an algae photobioreactor company, have formed the Carbon Cycle Technology Alliance to commercialize a platform for Integrated Carbon to Liquids (ICTL) fuel production technologies that incorporates recycling of process CO2 using algal biomass to produce additional fuel production feedstock. The companies made the announcement at the 3rd Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego.
ICTL incorporates proprietary Accelergy catalytic conversion technologies for what it calls Integrated Coal to Liquids production and A2BE Carbon Capture algae photobioreactor CO2 recycle technology. Other key partners are working with the Alliance in areas of development engineering, systems integration, and Six Sigma driven manufacturing capabilities.
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Shell, Shenhua to Partner on R&D in Advanced Coal Technology; Shell Qualifies 3 Chinese Companies to Manufacture Gasification Technology
September 13, 2009
| Shell Coal Gasification Process. Source: Shell. Click to enlarge. |
Shell (China) Limited and Shenhua Coal to Liquid and Chemical Co. Ltd. (Shenhua) have agreed to seek opportunities for conducting joint research and development in advanced coal technology.
Additionally, Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell) also qualified three Chinese companies for the manufacture of key equipment for the Shell Coal Gasification Process (SCGP), in order to make the Shell technology more competitive in the Chinese market.
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National Research Council Report on America’s Energy Future Highlights Vehicle Efficiency Technologies, Conversion of Biomass and Coal-to-Liquids Fuels, and Electrifying the Light Duty Fleet with PHEVs, BEVs and FCVs
July 31, 2009
| Estimates of potential for gasoline consumption reduction in the US light duty fleet in 2020 and 2035 relative to 2007. Projected consumption assumes efficiency improvements in powertrain and vehicle are offset by increases in performance, size and weight. Improvements result from an optimistic scenario achieving doubling of new vehicle fuel economy in 2035 from today’s value. Source: America’s Energy Future, Fig. 2.4. Click to enlarge. |
With a sustained national commitment, the United States could obtain substantial energy-efficiency improvements, new sources of energy, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the accelerated deployment of existing and emerging energy technologies, according to the prepublication copy of the capstone report of the America’s Energy Future project of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.
However, the report concludes, initiating deployment of these technologies is urgent; actions taken—or not taken—between now and 2020 to develop and demonstrate several key technologies will largely determine the nation’s energy options for many decades to come. For the transportation sector, these key technologies include a focus on improving vehicle efficiency; developing technologies for the conversion of biomass and coal-to-liquid fuels; and electrifying the light-duty vehicle fleet through expanded deployment of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs).
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DOE, RTI to Design and Build Coal Syngas Cleanup System for IGCC Power Plants to Reduce Cost of Removing Contaminants, Capturing CO2; Potential for Synthetic Chemicals and Fuels
July 14, 2009
| The RTI/Eastman syngas cleanup technology platform. Click to enlarge. |
Extending a relationship of more than a decade, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International will collaborate on a project designed to advance the development of coal power plants with near-zero emissions by reducing the cost and improving the efficiency of capturing CO2 and removing contaminants from syngas derived from coal.
The system also holds the potential to reduce the cost of producing chemicals, transportation fuels, and substitute natural gas from gasified coal.
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Ignite Energy Resources and TRUenergy Plan Direct Coal-to-Liquids and Coal Drying Demo Project for Supercritical Water Technology
July 10, 2009
| Ignite Energy Resources supercritical water process diagram. Source: IER. Click to enlarge. |
Ignite Energy Resources (IER), developer of a supercritical water technology, and TRUenergy have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a commercial demonstration plant that will apply IER’s direct coal-to-oil and upgraded dry coal process to the brown coal at TRUenergy’s Yallourn mine in Australia.
IER’s proprietary supercritical water technology (SCW) transforms low-ranked coals, including lignite, directly into higher-valued oils and cleaner coal products. IER’s Hydrothermal Reactor (HTR) technology depolymerizes lignite and biomass by using SCW to cut it directly into oils and upgraded cleaner coal products—i.e., not via an indirect pathway (gasification) as in Fischer-Tropsch processes. IER claims that its process generates 60% less CO2 than the most widely available coal-to-liquids technology and can generate clean fuels from biomass that are carbon negative.
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Linc Energy Chinchilla UCG to Liquids Demo Plant Producing High-Quality Synthetic Hydrocarbons
June 29, 2009
| The Chinchilla Demonstration Facility combines UCG and GTL technologies Click to enlarge. |
During the first half of 2009, the Linc Energy Limited Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) to Liquids demonstration plant at Chinchilla (earlier post) ran four major production campaigns each of which has seen further improvements in plant performance, according to the company. The May campaign has been the most successful operation to date, producing high-quality synthetic hydrocarbon products over the entire operating period. The demonstration plant has now operated over extended periods with the anticipated levels of reliability.
The first liquids were produced in October 2008, with improvements in operations over the past few months. Linc Energy says it can now use this abundant and relatively cheap gas to make synthetic liquid hydrocarbons (with a focus on diesel).
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Regal Resources Secures Funding for Underground Coal-to-Liquids Pilot Test
April 12, 2009
| Process flow sketch for UCTL demonstration unit. Click to enlarge. |
Australia-based Regal Resources has secured commitments to raise A$5.2 million (US$3.7 million) via a placement of 148.2 million new shares at 3.5 cents to fund the pilot test of a novel Underground Coal to Liquids (UCTL) process near Melbourne. Regal will seek to acquire Magma Limited, the holder of UCTL patents via the issue of 100 million shares and 50 million unlisted 6 cent options.
UCTL is an in situ process that converts brown coal/lignite to liquid hydrocarbon and gas products within the coal seam. Each component of the process has been demonstrated in the laboratory, but there has yet to be a field test.
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Researchers Propose New F-T Process for Synfuels; Less Work Required Could Result in 15% Reduction in CO2 Emissions Compared to Conventional Route
March 28, 2009
| The proposed CO2 and H2 pathway (bottom) rather than the traditional CO and H2 pathway (top) can improve efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by 15%. Credit: Adapted by P. Huey/Science. Click to enlarge. |
Researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa and Rutgers University are proposing new Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reaction chemistry and process designs that they say could increase F-T process efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by 15% compared to the conventional process.
The new process, which uses a carbon dioxide and hydrogen route rather than the traditional carbon monoxide and hydrogen route, could also open up a pathway for the direct use of CO2 and H2 derived from low-carbon processes (nuclear, wind, solar, bio). A brief description of the proposal, derived via thermodynamic analysis, was published in the 27 March issue of the journal Science.
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NETL Report Concludes CTL Plus Carbon Capture Results in Fuel with 5-12% Less Lifecycle GHG Than Petroleum Diesel; Modest Biomass Additions Lower GHG Further
February 07, 2009
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| Lifecycle GHG emissions of CTL/CBTL/BTL compared to 2005 petroleum diesel baseline. Background colors of the cells represent the crude oil price required for economic feasibility. Tarka et al. (2009) Click to enlarge. |
A new report from the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) concludes that coupling a Coal to Liquids (CTL) process with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) yields a fuel with 5-12% less lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to the average emissions profile of petroleum-derived diesel, based on the US national average in 2005. These synthetic fuels are economically competitive with petro-diesel when the crude oil price (COP) is at or above $86 per barrel (based on a 20% rate of return, in January 2008 dollars, with a carbon price of zero).
Adding biomass to the coal in the CTL process (Coal and Biomass to Liquids, CBTL) can reduce the GHG emissions further, according to the study. A mixture of 8% (by weight) biomass and 92% coal can produce fuels which have 20% lower life cycle GHG emissions than petroleum-derived diesel and which are economically competitive when crude prices are equal to or above $93/bbl.
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NASA and Partners Testing Coal and Gas F-T Synthetic Jet Fuels at 100% and 50% Blend
February 02, 2009
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| Sampling tubing and instrumentation control cables laid out on the pavement beside NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory in between synthetic fuels emission and engine performance tests at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. Credit: Tom Tschida, NASA. Click to enlarge. |
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) and 11 other research groups, including researchers from the US Department of Defense (DoD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are testing two synthetic jet fuels derived from gasified coal and natural gas using the Fischer-Tropsch process (Jet CTL and GTL).
The tests for the Alternative Aviation Fuel Experiment (AAFEX) are being run through 3 Feb at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in California, and are measuring the performance and emissions of the two fuels.
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Sasol to Build Coal-to-Liquids Facilities in Indonesia with 1.1M Barrels per Day Capacity
December 26, 2008
Sasol will build coal-to-liquids plants in Indonesia with a targeted combined capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day. Production is expected to begin in 2015, according to Indonesia’s Department of Energy and Mineral Resources. Feasibility studies are currently underway.
Although a member of OPEC since 1962, Indonesia became a net importer of oil in 2004 as a result of rising domestic consumption and declining production due to disappointing exploration efforts and the decline of Indonesia’s large, mature oil fields. Indonesian oil production peaked in 1991 at 1.669 million barrels per day, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008; production in 2007 was 969,000 barrels per day. The Indonesian government earlier this year agreed on a production target for 2009 of 960,000 barrels per day.
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TransGas Development Systems to Build $3B CTL Plant in West Virginia; 6.5M Barrels of Gasoline Per Year
December 10, 2008
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| Flow diagram of the PRENFLO gasification process with direct quench (PDQ) to be used in the TransGas plant. Click to enlarge. |
TransGas Development Systems LLC (TGDS) plans to build a $3B coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant in Mingo County, West Virginia, according to company announcement made during the West Virginia Energy Summit. Projected to be operational by 2013, the plant will be built in Mingo County’s new energy park near Gilbert. TGDS estimates the facility will use up to 3 million tons of locally mined coal a year to produce more than 6.5 million barrels of gasoline.
TGDS has signed a licensing agreement with Uhde Corporation of America for two 1,000 MWth PRENFLO (PRessurized ENtrained FLOw) gasifiers in the Direct Quench version (PDQ). The PRENFLO process, which operates at pressures of 40 bar and higher, is a further development of the Koppers-Totzek process developed in the 1940s, which operates at atmospheric pressure.
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Synthesis Energy Systems Enters JV with YIMA for Coal Gasification in China; Financing Key, as SES Halts Synthetic Gasoline Project in US
October 26, 2008
Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc. (SES), a gasification company, entered into a primary joint venture agreement with YIMA Coal Croup, a China integrated coal company, for the development of a coal gasification plant which will provide syngas feedstock for the downstream production of transportation fuels and chemicals intermediates in Henan Province, China. The joint venture agreement includes a provision whereby YIMA will guarantee the debt financing for the Plant. SES expects this guarantee will allow debt financing to be obtained from domestic Chinese banking sources.
SES also announced that it and its partner CONSOL Energy stopped funding the front-end engineering design package for the Benwood, West Virginia synthetic gasoline project announced earlier this year (earlier post) “due to the difficult financial environment.” With the lack of advancement of the project, the joint development agreement between SES and CONSOL expired according to its terms.
