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Is Coal a Viable Altternative Fuel Source for Our Cars, Homes and Factories? How is It Made> Is It Cost Effective? Is It Polluting?
Could coal gasification provide a solution to the energy crunch?
Whatever next century, non-carbon based fuels might also be in our future, the prospect of cost effectively getting a non-polluting fuel from coal is also being given serious interest at the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE), and in universities and research and development labs all over the world. The reasons are fairly simple.
The pros of using gasoline from coal:
- We have more coal in reserves than we do oil.
- These reserves are spread more evenly around the world.
- The fuel that could be obtained from turning solid coal to a liquid energy source could be used to power vehicles, heat homes and run factories with very mild modification to existing systems.
- Road trials in over-congested European capitals have found that coal-powered vehicles also result in a better air quality, because coal/gas produces less tailpipe emissions. U.S. studies have shown that particulate emissions can actually be reduced up to 75 percent (as opposed to traditional diesel) and nitrogen oxide emissions can be reduced by as much as 60 percent (source: U.S. Department of Energy research).
- Coal gasification can be used as a way to reclaim decades of old coal waste piles and secondary sources that are not really profitable for conventional uses.
- While the fuel source and the means to create it are still carbon-base and do still produce greenhouse gases and other polluting emissions, we do know how to take them out of the process before they do any damage.
Scientists figured out the technology behind coal gasification as early as World War II. The Nazis actually had a process and had been experimenting with getting gas from coal as early as the 1940s, but cheap oil and gasoline kept the technology from being brought to the commercial market in the post war world. Today, as oil becomes increasingly expensive and seems to be pretty much bottoming at around $3 a gallon in the United States, the idea of getting usable petroleum from a still relatively abundant source – coal – is becoming economically interesting again.
Although the diesel fuel that comes out of the process is carbon-based, the DOE research seems to point the way towards a product that is bio-degradable, non-toxic and whose use can – overall – actually reduce greenhouse gas emission by an estimated 20 percent. This figure is reached, however, by including the calculations for the CO2 emissions resulting from the long distance transport and refining of crude oil into fuel products – not because coal emissions are any lower in CO2 than gasoline or diesel.
The cons of using gasoline from oil:
How Coal Gasification Power Plants Work
A coal to oil (referred to in the trade as ‘syngas’) refinery revolves around its "gasifier." This is basically a big compartment where feedstock (coal, in this case) is fed in and is then converted to into syngas by applying heat and steam in a high pressure environment. The amount of oxygen allowed into the gasifier is very carefully controlled so that only a small amount of the feedstock burns completely. This partial oxidation process provides the heat necessary to break the feedstock down chemically into syngas. (source: U.S. Department of Energy).
Syngas is primarily hydrogen, carbon monoxide and other constituents in smaller percentages – the composition varies, according to what feedstock is actually used. Mineral impurities in the coal drop out and area collected at the bottom of the gasifier. Typically, these also have industrial value in the marketplace, providing another source of profit to the refinery. Sulfur impurities in the coal are converted into hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide – which can be converted in another process to sulfur – also marketable. Ammonia is also created, which can also be stripped out pretty easily and sold.
Department of Energy’s Plans
According to the DOE, coal gasification is already in its first stages of commercially viable application. The DOE is now studying the future gasification concepts and looking at the ways the process can be improved, in terms of costs, technology, emissions- capture, efficiencies and fuel flexibility. The DOE’s research, for example, is now suggesting that the same gasification process being used for coal could also be used – with a few modifications – to produce usable fuels from other feedstocks, like biomass, municipal waste, solid waste – or a combination of feedstocks.
The actual liquefaction process of taking coal to gasoline us actually more CO2 intensive and can produce more sulfides (ie. "acid rain") than conventional oil refining. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the basic technology for better CO2 capture and scrubbing the sulfides out of the plant emissions does exist, but it would have to be widely utilized on a global scale to reduce this very negative impact.The process is still expensive vis a vis conventional oil refining – although as the price for a gallon of gasoline continues to rise, coal gasification becomes more and more cost-effective.
Coal, like oil, is a non-renewable resource. While there are still vast reserves of coal in the world, like oil, someday those reserves will also dwindle.
The copyright of the article Coal Gasification in Environmental Engineering is owned by Debbie Kwiatoski. Permission to republish Coal Gasification in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
May 2, 2008 7:51 PM
Guest :
I think serious consideration should be given to this procedure. While it
does have many draw backs, it will probably be utilized in this country on
a large scale, within the next ten years. If addressed now some (not all)
of the problems could be addressed and prehaps corrected. It's a fuel that
will be available within 10 years, lets at least figure how to make it as
safe as possible.
May 11, 2008 5:28 AM
Guest :
This method is exactly what we need. This will allow the US to become
energy independant. To not use it because we fear that other countries
might not scrub out the sulfides, thereby creating more acid rain is not a
valid fear. We need to stop worrying about what other countries do and do
what is right for us.
As far as coal not being a renewable
source of fuel, give me a break. There is no source of fuel tht is
renewable. Are we going to ignore this fuel source just because we don't
think it will be available 200 years from now? Give me a break.
May 13, 2008 7:26 AM
Guest :
Aren't there a few more cons, particularly with respect to the amount of
carbon released in the process?
Check out this article for
another view:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=worse-than-gasoline&colID=2
It's not that the problems with coal gassification cannot be
overcome, but in these discussions of coal gassification, it's important to
lay out ALL of the potential problems, as well as the the potential
benefits.
May 13, 2008 5:22 PM
Guest :
Isn't this the system the nazi used at Monowitz plant (IG Farben) for their
gasoline when they did not get enough oil from their territories? Maybe I'm
wrong. Please comment/correct me.
May 16, 2008 8:12 AM
Debbie Kwiatoski :
Yes, it is, more or less. This isn't "new" technology - just
rethought technology. After WWII, the price of oil was too low for it to
be cost effective, except in an emergency situation. Also, the technology
to clean up the toxic emissions from the process didn't yet exist. Today,
with oil at over $120 a barrel and exellent scrubbing and reclamation
technology, it is far more cost effective - and more reasonable to think
about. Of course, it should not be thought of as a "panacea" -
only one more piece in the puzzle of getting more energy solutions into
play.
Aug 20, 2008 10:58 AM
Guest :
Coal to Gasoline...Depends on who writes the article
Environmentist..burns worst the gasoline... too much green house gas..do
this and were doomed..
Politicans where there is coal...we can do
it...cost at 50-60 dollars
per barrel..can do it clean....
And
the ones that say..what else will we copying from the nazi's?...
only
40 years worth of coal..then what...
Give me a break. Oil is
peaking..Lets get off our fannies and do some-
thing as a nation.Coal
to gas and develop what-ever...
Sep 3, 2008 6:35 AM
Guest :
Winedropper - Surrey, B.C. Canada
Surprising that politicians haven't
twigged to the vote-gathering benefits of promoting the manufacture of
syngas where coal is mined, (Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia for
example)or to the benefits of promoting the plug-in Battery Electric
Vehicle in the state with the world's biggest battery manufacturing company
(Pennsylvania), next door to the state (Ohio) where just about anything in
rubber (including battery boxes) can be made. It proves that your
politicians are as dumb as ours.
Sep 16, 2008 11:47 AM
Guest :
I have been trying to gasify coal for a lab project in school. I have
collected the vapors in small bottles, but now I wonder how I could run
them through a small engine. Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts on
this? I need some help or a website with some answers. If you have any
information I would greatly appreciate it. My email is Tyceris@gmail.com
Oct 2, 2008 3:47 AM
Guest :
Why not put more effort into the gasification of biomass. That is a
sustainable energy source for the future. Similar gasses can be produced
from it, and the energy reserves of the world are kept in their place. In
case of an emergency, these buffers could then be used. Fossil fuels are
not the way of the future, period.
Oct 10, 2008 6:48 PM
Guest :
Very informative reading. I feel this may fall in line with something that
will be acceptable to the oil companies who will stake their claim as to
what we ultimately use as a replacement or addition to gasoline.
Nov 14, 2008 9:17 AM
Guest :
This rocks my socks lol cats rocks lol
Mar 1, 2009 4:56 PM
Guest :
Whatch the Great Global Warming Swindle, it is great!!!
12 Comments
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