Diesel fuel from coal

[Elite1]

Has anyone heard of this process? I have been thinking of investing in this company which makes Diesel and other fuels from coal. The process has been around since the 1930's & now is economically feasible...

The company is Rentech Inc. and is RTK on the American stock exchange.

Rentech, Inc. (Rentech) has developed a technology that converts synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide derived from coal, and other solid and liquid carbon-bearing materials, as well as from industrial gas and natural gas, into clean-burning, liquid hydrocarbon products. The Company's technology, referred to as the Rentech Process, is an advanced derivative of the Fischer-Tropsch process capable of using as feedstock a variety of naturally occurring hydrocarbons, as well as gaseous, liquid and solid hydrocarbons. Principal products from the Rentech Process include an ultra-clean and biodegradable straight run diesel fuel, naphtha (a light-fuel and intermediate product used to make gasoline and certain petrochemicals) fuel for fuel cells, and waxes that can be further processed into diesel fuel and other specialty products, such as synthetic lubricants, base oils and drilling fluids.

btw: Nazi Germany used a similar process ( Fischer-Tropsch ) to supply fuel to trucks, tanks etc. during WWII...



http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060718/montana_coal_to_gas.html?.v=1





http://www.slcatlanta.org/policy_positions/2005/2005polpos_coaltoliquids.htm

 

[Jong]

Isn't the Fischer-Tropsch process the same as GTL (gas to liquid) conversion process that is used to convert natural gas and methane to high-grade high-cetane low sulphur diesel fuel? If so, I don't think Rentek has a monopoly on the process. I think BP and some of the other big refiners have been using the same process. There is another company that is going to be doing direct conversion of biomass (slaughterhouse remnants, medical waste, and other organics) directly into diesel fuel. Can't remember the name of them offhand, but I think they were discussed somewhere in the Alternative Fuels section.

 

[Elite1]

Re: Coal to Diesel, Check out this article from Oakland, ILL. :

http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2006/08/12/news/sunday/sunday002.txt

Isn't the Fischer-Tropsch process the same as GTL (gas to liquid) conversion process that is used to convert natural gas and methane to high-grade high-cetane low sulphur diesel fuel? If so, I don't think Rentek has a monopoly on the process. I think BP and some of the other big refiners have been using the same process. There is another company that is going to be doing direct conversion of biomass (slaughterhouse remnants, medical waste, and other organics) directly into diesel fuel. Can't remember the name of them offhand, but I think they were discussed somewhere in the Alternative Fuels section.

Re: the Fischer-Tropsch process, they say that their process is similar, but an improved variation of that process.

 

[Elite1]

Bomber synthetic fuel tests to start in September

August 15, 2006 By John Andrew Prime



No barksdale bombers are scheduled to take part in it, but there will be a touch of the Ark-La-Tex in tests to start next month on using synthetic fuel on B-52s.



A former commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing here, Curtis Bedke, has a big hand in the project, since he's commander of the Air Force Flight Training Center at Edwards Air Force Base, where the tests will take place.



"We're still on track," said Bedke, now a major general. "I'm updating the Secretary of the Air Force next Monday. We will spend the first two weeks of September doing ground engine run tests with the engine on the airplane, then the second half of the month flying it. (We) don't know the exact first flight date yet. "



The tests will determine whether jet fuel derived from natural gas can work and work well in the veteran airplane that is the backbone of the bomber force.



The B-52 tapped for the tests is tail number 034, Bedke said. That airplane is from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, Barksdale's sister facility North Dakota.



Bedke commanded the 5th Operations Group there before coming to Barksdale in 2000.



The tests, done with the help of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Materiel Command, will have the B-52 fly with two of its eight engines using a specially blended fuel made of conventional petroleum-derived JP-8 and fuel processed from natural gas via what is called the "Fischer-Tropsch" process.



If successful, the tests will help pave the way for the bomber force to use fuel from secure domestic sources.



This process, developed in Germany in the early 1920s, allows liquid petrochemicals to be made from natural gas, coal and shale oil. Aside from the security inducements in its favor, it's a costly process, but becomes more affordable when crude oil prices rise.



"The recent rise in cost of fuel has brought us to where many think we are now at the break-even point," Maj. Timothy Schulteis, Air Force propulsion program element monitor, said in May when the initiative was first announced. "One of the big advantages of that is we have a large domestic source for coal-based fuel. "



The United States has what many industry estimates say is perhaps the largest reserve of coal in the world. That abundance of coal, and the Fischer-Tropsch process, could put the United States on the path to a more secure energy future, Air Force planners say.

 

[Elite1]

Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC Announces Agreement to Sell Diesel From Its Planned Medicine Bow Coal-to-Liquids Facility

Friday January 12, 10:30 am ET





HOUSTON and WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC, a subsidiary of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC, announced today that it has entered into a long-term contract to sell 100% of the ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel from its planned coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, to Sinclair Oil Corporation, which will market the fuel in the Rocky Mountain region.





The planned Medicine Bow project, which includes a coal mine and adjacent CTL facility, will use an indirect liquefaction process to convert coal resources into refined products that meet critical energy needs while reducing the environmental concerns associated with coal combustion.



The CTL facility will utilize General Electric Company's coal gasification technology to produce synthetic gas. The synthetic gas will be cleaned through other technology so that substantially all of the sulfur and carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed. This process significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts associated with the traditional use of coal as a boiler fuel. The syngas will then be liquefied using Fischer- Tropsch technology licensed from Rentech, Inc. (Amex: RTK - News). A further refining process will produce the ultra-low-sulfur diesel product that is expected to exceed current environmental emission standards in the region.



"We believe this agreement for the long-term supply of a Fischer-Tropsch, ultra-low-sulfur diesel product is the first of its kind," said Jon Doyle, DKRW Advanced Fuels' chief operating officer. "This contract is another important milestone in Advanced Fuels' strategy to complete the financing and construction of our flagship project. "



"We are pleased to enter into this agreement, which will provide additional high-quality ultra-low-sulfur diesel to our customers," said M. C. "Bud" Blackmore, Sinclair Oil Corporation Senior Vice President. "This agreement, along with our refinery expansion projects, strategically positions Sinclair as the leader in refined products along the Rocky Mountains. "



Construction of the CTL facility is scheduled to start in late 2007, with an expected in-service date in the fourth quarter of 2010. In addition to liquid fuels, primarily diesel and naphtha, a number of byproducts of the liquefaction process, including carbon dioxide and chemicals, are expected to be sold for use in the region. Carbon dioxide from the coal can be dried, liquefied and shipped via pipeline, and plans are to sell it to the enhanced oil recovery market in Wyoming with an initial target in the Powder River Basin.



"We are pleased to reach another important milestone in the development of the Medicine Bow project," said Bob Kelly, DKRW Advanced Fuels' chairman. "We have already secured options on coal reserves and licenses to key technology. With more than a million barrels per day of refined diesel products imported into the U. S. , record prices at the pumps, new air-quality regulations and diesel becoming the fastest-growing transport fuel in the world over the next 20 years, environmental and market forces favor new investment in U. S. diesel production," he continued. "We believe that we will be well positioned to meet the rising demand. "



DKRW Advanced Fuels is a development-stage hydrocarbon conversion company. We are focused on the commercial development, construction, ownership and operation of facilities designed to convert lower-value hydrocarbons into products that traditionally have been produced from crude oil. By utilizing proven coal gasification and Fischer-Tropsch liquefaction technologies, we plan to convert more abundant resources, primarily solid hydrocarbons such as coal and pet coke, into competitively priced products, including ultra-clean diesel fuel. Our initial project is a planned coal-to-liquids facility at the mouth of the Saddleback Hills Mine in Carbon County, Wyoming, near the town of Medicine Bow. We also are pursuing projects in other parts of the U. S. and exploring international opportunities. DKRW Advanced Fuels is a subsidiary of DKRW Energy LLC. Other shareholders are Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI - News), the second- largest coal producer in the U. S. , and Och-Ziff Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm.



Sinclair Oil Corporation is a fully integrated energy business owning and operating exploration, production, refining, pipeline, trucking, and terminal and marketing assets. Nearly 3,000 service stations in more than 20 states brand under the Sinclair name.



Forward-Looking Statements



We make statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of our future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual performance or achievements to be materially different from those we project. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.







Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC

Fact Sheet



Project: Medicine Bow Fuel & Power LLC (MBFP) is developing a

greenfield, mine-mouth coal-to-liquids (CTL) facility near

Medicine Bow, Wyoming.



Current and planned assets include:

* CTL Facility: To be developed, owned and operated by

MBFP

* Coal Reserves: Current option to purchase

approximately 180 million tons of bituminous coal

from Arch Coal

* Coal Mine: Initially continuous mining operations

* Technology Licenses: Site license with General

Electric (GE) to use their proprietary coal

gasification technology and Rentech, Inc. for

Fischer-Tropsch technology used to liquefy the gas.

* Contracts for products from the facility: (See Below)

* Surface land rights on property

* Permits to construct and operate the coal mine and

CTL facility



Ownership: MBFP is owned 100% by DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC. Arch Coal

owns 25% of DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC with the remainder

owned by DKRW Energy LLC.



Products: The CTL facility will produce the following (volumes are

approximate):

* 13,000 barrels per day of refined liquids primarily

ultra-low-sulfur diesel and naphtha, which will be

sold into the market. Sinclair Oil Corporation has a

long-term contract to purchase all of the diesel.

* Steam, tailgas and power produced from the CTL

process will provide the necessary energy for

internal CTL facility use with some surplus power

sold to the utility grid.

* Carbon dioxide will be extracted, dried, liquefied

and shipped via pipeline to the enhanced oil recovery

market in Wyoming with an initial target in the

Powder River Basin.

* Other byproducts for sale in the market are elemental

sulfur, chemicals, and ash, which will be put to

productive use in the region.



Schedule: Construction is currently scheduled to start in the fourth

quarter of 2007 with a 2010 in-service date. The following

are major steps to completion:

* CTL Permitting: Q3 2006 - Q4 2007

* Air (started modeling protocol)

* Water (started water well drilling on site)

* Siting (will commence in early 2007)

* Engineering & Design: Q4 2006 - Q4 2007

* CTL Construction: Q4 2007 - Q4 2010

* In-Service Date: End of 2010

* Operations: 30 + years



Construction: MBFP will contract with SNC-Lavalin, an experienced and

credit-worthy construction contractor, to construct,

commission and test the CTL facility.



Operations: Arch Coal will operate and maintain the coal mine. MBFP or

a subcontractor will operate and maintain the CTL

facility.



Benefits: To the community:

* Job Creation: Approximately 300 full-time operating

personnel; 1,500 construction workers (600 on

average)

* Property Taxes: Increased

* Coal Severance Taxes: Increased as more coal is

extracted

* Oil Royalties: Increased due to the sale of CO2 to

EOR sites

* Support Services: Increased due to increased jobs in

region

* Environmental: Lower emissions than conventional

coal power plants. Reduced emissions and greenhouse

gases with the use of ultra-low-sulfur diesel (< 1ppm

sulfur) as a transportation fuel



To the United States:

* Domestic production of petroleum

* Reduced energy imports

* Lessened dependence on Middle East

* Use of abundant US coal reserves; including stranded

reserves

* Environmentally responsible

* Increased US refined product production (ultra-low-

sulfur diesel)

* CO2 sequestered









--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC

 

[Msilbernagel]

But wait, there's more!



This, from Jack Wheeler (About Jack & To The Point News)



This week's article on To The Point News (Article: America in Arabia)



Here is an excerpt that dovetails with the above articles quite well:



"One the other side you've got, drum roll, please... Barack Obama. Last week, he and Republican Senator Jim Bunning introduced the Coal-To-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007. Both Obama's Illinois and Bunning's Kentucky have massive coal reserves. As does Montana, so Max Baucus is behind the bill. Same with Bobby Byrd and John Rockefeller in West Virginia.



It takes about one ton of bituminous coal to produce two barrels of oil. Remember that MIT showed real reserves are much larger than current ones, but even with current reserves, the number of barrels of oil that can be produced from these states with coal liquefaction are: Illinois, 76 billion; Kentucky, 30 billion; Montana, 150 billion; West Virginia, 36 billion.



Of course, Republican Senators will be on board as well, like Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas of Wyoming (80 billion), and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania (24 billion).



Add up these states alone (for there's lots more in other states but smaller reserves) and you get close to 400 billion barrels of oil, dwarfing the Saudi's 270. Coal-to-oil means Arabia in America. "



- end of excerpt



Might want to buy coal stocks too...



FYI - Mark

--

 

[Elite1]

Here is an older, but interesting, article about this process. I have read that this process will work not only with coal, but also with shale oil, which the rocky mountain states have in abundance. http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/12/rwntech_coaltol.html