The attached flow diagram depicts the major sources and sinks of the “Coal to Oil” (CtoO or C2O) system.
Archive for the ‘coal’ Category
Coal to Oil (C2O) Flow Diagram
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Coal to Oil (C2O)
Monday, January 18th, 2010“Coal to Oil” is an idea whose time has come. Oliver knew it in his bones. He elicited a promise from his only son that he (the son) would carry the “Coal to Oil” banner when the father had passed on.
In the year 2010 the “Coal to Oil” (C2O) idea of Oliver Sullivan shall be brought to life by means of a computer screen and audio system. Rather than constructing a coal gasification plant, I will begin telling the C2O story somewhere among the myriad bio-mass and coal feeder systems, within the coal gasification process itself, or among the myriad local community enterprises utilizing every bit of material produced by the C2O Industry
I will be learning Flash and using the C2O animation of gas flowing in time over a temperature gradient and a gravity field. That will be the backdrop for some small slice of the overall process worth visualizing in an animation sequence…my first demonstration slice.
Perhaps I’ll begin in a animation perspective of coal gasification beginning with the Periodic Table of Elements? Perhaps I’ll begin in the ancient peat bogs where the lignite coal began to form.
I can see the overall idea in my mind’s eye. There’s a great distance to go, from where I am to where I must go to attain competency in the Adobe CS 4 product suite.
Coal to Oil
Saturday, January 16th, 2010Oliver did the math and determined that under the eastern lands of Montana lay a bed of the finest coal for turning into oil. It was low sulfur content and high water content lignite coal. He chose the word oil, rather than fuel, liquid fuel, and so forth. He said, “the common people understand oil.”
He knew the people of Montana and the United States would understand that the oil refinery-like products produced from the coal to oil process were the same set of products as com from the oil pumped out of the ground in the Middle East.
He thought they would welcome the idea that less imported oil meant fewer U.S. dollars in the hands of foreign terrorists. He said the reduction in dollars spent on warfare to protect Mid East oil would result in fewer deaths of U.S. soldiers. He would say, “No more blood for oil.”
Oliver believed the common people would rally behind the call to turn Eastern Montana coal into oil. He admitted that little if any of the coal would actually get turned into oil. His point was that the products that come from coal gasificatioin are basically the same products that come from refining oil.
“There’s enough energy in that Montana coal to last the United States four hundred years.”
Oliver had done the research and performed the mathematical calculations necessary to determine the 400 years, taking into account how many quads of energy (U.S. usage equals 100 quads) would be needed over that time span. He was very clear that “Coal to Oil” was an interim solution.
“During those four hundred years they need to convert to wind and solar energy. Coal is used in the ramp up phase.”
Oliver’s energy equation computed
four hundred years
as the time frame available, assuming now present demographic and energy consumption patterns continue over that time frame.
Eastern Montana coal could supply the needs for energy by every human living in the United States. Oliver worked with his friend Bill to come up with marketing materials that would sell the idea to the voters of Montana. They summed up the ideas in easily remembered equations like
Energy Independence = 400 Years
Oliver and Bill came up with lots of marketing information. Oliver wrote a letter to the Governor of Montana promoting the idea. The Governor delivered a speech based upon that letter. Various Montana papers printed the Governor’s speech.
The transcript of the Governor’s speech was virtually identical to the letter that Oliver had written. Bill had helped Oliver in some manner with the delivery of the letter to the Governor. Bill used the marketing information in his campaigns for public office. Bill worked very hard to sell Oliver’s idea concerning Montana
coal to oil
being the best answer to the short-term (400 years) need to eliminate United States demand for foreign oil.
If I recollect properly, Oliver computed the break even point at something on the order of forty dollars a barrel, including ALL of the costs of restoring the land surface of Montana to its former contour for those sections that are strip mined.
Knowing Oliver, he factored in every cost he could think of into his equationMontana Coal = 400 years energy independence
The Governor of Montana had a UofM professor verify the accuracy of the equation and they came up with 487 years instead of Oliver’s original 400 year estimate. Oliver smiled when he heard the news–off by four score and seven years having some special significance or perhaps a spot of humor.
http://peaceengine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12E9_Coal_to_Oil.jpg
http://peaceengine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12EA_Coal_to_Oil.jpg
http://peaceengine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12EBC_Coal_to_Oil.jpg
Coal to Oil (Plan B)
Sunday, January 10th, 2010I have been giving thought to what I will do when I am temporarily unemployed (beginning in February and lasting for a few weeks). It is always a little scary having no active contract but I am looking forward to this bench time as an opportunity to invest some free time in preparing a proposal, for what I would like to do with my available supply of time-for-money.
I decided that I would pursue Oliver’s vision and see where that got me. In Oliver’s vision every regional economy of the United States was to be self sufficient in terms of liquid fuel, based upon the steady arrival of the coal trains from eastern Montana. He computed that the entire liquid fuel needs of the United States could be met in this manner for the next four hundred years.
Through a friend Oliver contacted the Governor of Montana who took Oliver’s idea to the people of Montana. Oliver said the people of Montana voted it down because they did not understand the science, mathematics, technology, and economics of the Coal to Oil equation.
I could create an Adobe Flash interactive simulation model of a Coal to Oil Industry product flow based Economy, including the biological systems necessary to process the liquid fuel by-products into a form suitable for human use. Oliver had recommended simulating the system on the scale necessary to sustain 50,000 humans. That seems sensible to me and a whole lot easier to quantify the Economy.
I wrote the following article on this geeky topic.
I shall seek to raise grant funding to produce an Adobe Flash presentation of a Coal to Oil flow system (operating over a temperature gradient) designed to follow the physical chemical roadmap of science and mathematics.
It will follow the continuum of the physical chemical, bio-chemical, biological systems surrounding the flow system that turns coal into coal gas and flyash. The coal gas is the raw material of a traditional oil industry. Biological systems eat the waste products and convert it to a form safe for human life.
This “Coal to Oil” Adobe Flash animation is the highest fulfillment of the vision of Oliver that I am able to personally produce–and I’ll have fun learning the technology necessary to produce this product. Perhaps I’ll find a grant funding source for this project and perhaps I won’t. Who can tell such things beforehand?
The highest fulfillment of Oliver’s vision will be the construction in Billings, Montana or the surrounding area of a full-scale coal to oil plant optimized for the long-term needs of a community of humans sized fifty thousand or so in population.
The Adobe Flash presentation will be interactive in nature and will allow humans to attach notes, facts, anecdotes, and so forth at strategic points within the flow system.
The goal of the animated simulation is that the science be clearly laid out and verifiable in the laboratory. All humans desiring to play a part in the final GO decision will have ample places to participate in the discussion and vote on the individual parts of the overall system.
http://peaceengine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12E3_Coal_to_Oil.jpg
http://peaceengine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/12E4_Coal_to_Oil.jpg
1127 Coal to Liquid Fuel, Plastics, and Concrete
Friday, January 16th, 2009January 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
digg: http://digg.com/general_sciences/Coal_to_Liquid_Fuel_Plastics_and_Concrete
[peaceengine_license_mark]
1116 Montana Coal
Saturday, November 15th, 2008The 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
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/
1115 Internet Journey: Coal to Liquid Fuel
Monday, November 10th, 2008November 11, 2008 (20081111_Internet_Journey)
Dear Bill,
I will begin to take you on a whirlwind tour of places to visit on the Internet. First, I must do some experimentation concerning the blog tool I am using for this writing. Therefore, I shall begin by showing you a series of places to visit. You need merely read the few words I write and then click on the URL presented in the body of the text.
Let’s practice a bit by researching one of our favorite discourse topics: coal to liquid fuel and plastics. 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. Be sure to explore a few URLs on the following page and use the back button to come back to here (http://blog.peaceengine.com/). If your browser is correctly setup you will notice that the URL links are changed as you click on them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Gasification_Combined_Cycle
Now study the following picture by clicking on the thumbnail image below.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
In the http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/IGCC_diagram.svg
flow diagram notice the system which removes oxygen from the air. That oxygen is fed into the gasifier ensuring clean combustion of the coal.
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
The primary goal is oxygen. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
