Synfuels production process

Besides, in comparison to usual processes, the use of nuclear power in the synfuel production processes allows to drastically increase conversion yield ... 

The MTG process was developed for synfuel production in response to the 1973 oil crisis and the steep rise in crude prices that followed. Because methanol can be made from any gasiftable carbonaceous source, including coal, natural gas, and biomass, the MTG process provided a new alternative to petroleum for Hquid fuels production. New Zealand, heavily dependent on foreign oil imports, utilizes the MTG process to convert vast offshore reserves of natural gas to gasoline (59). 

Methanol production is not a "capital intensive" process as compared to other synfuel production systems. Fixed capital cost is between US 0.21 and 0.35 per liter/year of installed capacity. This investment cost is similar to that needed for ethanol production in Brazil. 

Choren CarboV , Germany. In the BTL process of Choren Industries a three-stage gasification process is applied to convert wood chips, waste wood, etc. into a tar-free synthesis gas used for synfuel production. In the... 

Because of the ovedapping roles of coal in industry, many of the technologies covered here have been developed for synthetic fuel appHcations, but they also have been used or have demonstrated potential for production of significant quantities of chemicals. The scope of an article on coal as a chemical source would not be complete without coverage of synfuel processes, but the focus will be on the chemical production potential of the processes, looking toward a future when coal again may become the principal feedstock for chemical production. 

Various processes can be used to produce energy or gaseous, liquid, and solid fuels from biomass and wastes. In addition, chemicals can be produced by a wide range of processing techniques. The following Hst summarizes the principal feed, process, and product variables considered in developing a synfuel-from-biomass process. 

KBW [Koppers Babcock Wilcox] A coal gasification process developed jointly by the Koppers Company and Babcock Wilcox, intended to supply the synthetic fuels industry. The product is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Dry, powdered coal, oxygen, and steam are injected into the reactor. The reaction temperature is sufficiently high that the ash is molten it runs down the reactor walls, is tapped out as a molten slag, and is quenched in water before disposal. In 1984, seven commercial synfuels projects planned to use this process but it is not known whether any was commercialized. 

The oil industry has to enrich crude oil with hydrogen to produce lighter petroleum products. Today, the vast majority of hydrogen in refineries is produced by steam methane reforming, this production accounts for approximately 1% ( 0.3 Gt) of the C02 world emissions. For comparison, it is approximately equal to 15% of avoided C02 emissions thanks to the world nuclear reactors fleet. Besides, the tradition Fischer-Tropsch process to produce synfuels has a poor conversion yield and is a large C02 emitter one-third of the resource is used to produce the hydrogen required for the process, when another third is used to produce the energy required for the process. Two-thirds of the carbon resource is therefore converted directly into C02, and not into fuel. 

Table IV summarizes the expected impact of the synfuel physical and chemical properties on the combustion process. In general, the properties of alternative and synthetic liquid fuels vary considerably as the fuel types range from unrefined to hydrogenated liquid fuels from coal, shale, and tar sands. Synthetic fuels of various levels of refinement will be used by the industrial, commercial, and utility sectors to produce thermal enegy for direct process heat, mechanical energy, steam, hot water, and the production of electricity. Consequently,...

A quantitative understanding of certain primary combustion phenomena, e.g., liquid fuel-droplet vaporization and burning, gas phase chemical reaction kinetics, radiation heat transfer from combustion products, and mixing of reactants and combustion products, is required to develop a rational approach for the effective utilization of synfuels in industrial boiler/furnace systems. Those processes are defined by the interaction of a number of mechanisms which are conveniently described in terms of physical and chemical related processes. The physical processes are ... 

This approach to the preliminary assessment of the potential of biomass energy presumes that suitable conversion processes are available for conversion of biomass to SNG. Other processes could be used to manufacture other synfuels such as synthesis gas, alcohols, esters, and hydrocarbons. The direct route, alluded to in Fig. 2.1 as natural production of hydrocarbons, can possibly bypass the harvesting-conversion routes. As already mentioned, some biomass species produce hydrocarbons as metabolic products. Natural rubber, glycerides, and terpenes from selected biomass species, for example, as well as other reduced compounds could be extracted and refined to yield conventional or substitute fossil fuels. 

Many processes can be used to produce energy or gaseous, liquid, and solid fuels from virgin and waste biomass. In addition, chemicals can be produced from biomass by a wide range of processes. It is evident from the data and information presented in this chapter, however, that the characteristics of potential feedstocks, particularly their moisture and energy contents, can have profound effects on the utility of specific biomass species and waste biomass. Table 3.10 is a summary of the principal feedstock, process, and product types that are considered in developing a synfuel-from-biomass process. There are many interacting parameters and possible feedstock—process—product combinations, but not all are feasible from a practical standpoint. For example, the separation of small amounts of metals present in biomass and the direct... 

Normal weathering processes that occur in nutritious soils release nutrients, but they are often not available at rates that promote maximum biomass yields. Fertilization is usually necessary to maximize yields. Since nitrogenous fertilizers are currently manufactured from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, and since fertilizer needs are usually the most energy intensive of all the inputs in a biomass production system, a careful analysis of the integrated biomass production-conversion system is necessary to ensure that net energy production is positive. Trade-offs between synfuel outputs, nonsolar energy inputs. 

Table 2 also presents some of the other cost elements, to be met in the production of Synfuel gasoline. The costs are in 1987 cents per litre of gasoline produced, for the years 1987, 1996 and 2000, on the assumption that the plant produces its nameplate capacity of 570,000 tonnes per annum at design levels of process efficiency. Note that 1987 will be the first full year of commercial operation of the plant, with full loan repayments, whereas the years 1996 and 2000 are representative of the situation after 1995 when all loans are repaid. Also note that the price of Maui gas falls in real terms over the life of the take-or-pay contract. 

At the time, the United States Office of Coal Research (later to become part of the Department of Energy) was very interested in the conversion of coal to liquid products. As many of you know, the United States has tremendous coal reserves. Since methanol had been made commercially from both natural gas and coal, it was recognized that the MTG reaction had the potential of providing the critical step in the first new synfuels process since the pioneering work in Germany some 50 to 60 years earlier. 

The methanol route is highly selective towards production of liquid transportation fuels. Only a very small amount of hydrocarbons beyond C are produced. The process uses a zeolite catalyst, developed by Mobil Research and Development Corp. (MRDC), USA. The final gasoline produced does not need further refining a nd attains the quality of unleaded premium gasoline. The world s first commercial synfuel plant for the production of gasoline from natural gas via methanol has been constructed in New Zealand and went successfully onstream in late 1985. The capacity is 570,000 tonnes of gasoline per year. The MTG reaction system is an adiabatic fixed bed version. 

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