Synthetic Gas and Liquid Fuels from Coal
Authors: Tek M.R. 
Published: December 2007

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.

This paper was prepared for the 49th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Houston, Texas, Oct. 6–9, 1974. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made. provided agreement to give proper credit is made. Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussions may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

As related to immediate and longer range energy needs, coal remains a major focal point of interest as a lasting resource to supplement imminent deficiencies in our domestic natural gas and crude oil reserves. Current technology, present research and future potential of coal present research and future potential of coal conversion processes are reviewed with particular emphasis on engineering, particular emphasis on engineering, environmental, and economic feasibility.

Introduction

It has been said that the energy crisis precipitated by the "embargo" of 1973–74 has precipitated by the "embargo" of 1973–74 has telescoped and focused the problems of the future into the view of the present. Indeed, while we talked and talked about it, not until the short fall of 1973–74 did we, along with the rest of the western world, painfully come to the conclusion that energy resources available to us are not limitless and, as such, must be managed carefully for our benefit and that of future generations.

At the risk of iterating once more what has been said before, our current energy needs are supplied, in approximate order of distribution, by oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, and other resources. Each of the above categories has recently experienced increasing demand vs continually and drastically reduced domestic supply. In each of the categories, the difficulties quite apparent a few years ago have come sharply into focus with lowered thermostats, less freedom to travel, limited speeds, shortages of all sorts, and over-all economic slowdown.

As once more our country turns to technology to meet the challenge of the future, the coal reserves we are blessed with come into the picture in sharp contrast to limited reserves we picture in sharp contrast to limited reserves we have in crude oil and natural gas. Within our nation's boundaries we have about one-half of the world's coal reserves, enough to satisfy our needs for 200 to 300 years. It has been said that, indeed, "… we are the Persian Gulf of the world's coal supplies."

The technological challenges posed by environmentally acceptable use of coal, "the other fossil fuel," viewed against the technological capabilities developed in our petroleum industry must be particularly relevant for the next decade or more.

A review of the current state of technology, discussion of engineering, economic, environmental, and other constraints as they relate to various routes and options from the coal mine to the end-use constitute the intent and the content of this paper.