The economical production of alcohol fuels from coal-derived synthesis gas. Quarterly technical progress report Number 8, 1 July, 1993--30 September, 1993
Task 1, the preparation of catalyst materials, is proceeding actively. At WVU, catalysts based on Mo are being prepared using a variety of approaches to alter the oxidation state and environment of the Mo. At UCC and P, copper-based zinc chromite spinel catalysts will be prepared and tested. The modeling of the alcohol-synthesis reaction in a membrane reactor is proceeding actively. Under standard conditions, pressure drop in the membrane reactor has been shown to be negligible. In Task 2, base case designs had previously been completed with a Texaco gasifier. Now, similar designs have been completed using the Shell gasifier. A comparison of the payback periods or production cost of these plants shows significant differences among the base cases. However, a natural gas only design, prepared for comparison purposes, gives a lower payback period or production cost. Since the alcohol synthesis portion of the above processes is the same, the best way to make coal-derived higher alcohols more attractive economically than natural gas-derived higher alcohols is by making coal-derived syngas less expensive than natural gas-derived syngas. The maximum economically feasible capacity for a higher alcohol plant from coal-derived syngas appears to be 32 MM bbl/yr. This is based on consideration of regional coal supply in the eastern US, coal transportation, and regional product demand. The benefits of economics of scale are illustrated for the base case designs. A value for higher alcohol blends has been determined by appropriate combination of RVP, octane number, and oxygen content, using MTBE as a reference. This analysis suggests that the high RVP of methanol in combination with its higher water solubility make higher alcohols more valuable than methanol.
- Research Organization:
- West Virginia Univ. Research Corp., Morgantown, WV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC22-91PC91034
- OSTI ID:
- 10132556
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/PC/91034-T6; ON: DE94008007; BR: AA2520000; TRN: AHC29406%%13
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Oct 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
SYNTHETIC FUELS REFINERIES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
COAL GASIFICATION PLANTS
ALCOHOL FUELS
PRODUCTION
CATALYSTS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PROGRESS REPORT
TEXACO GASIFICATION PROCESS
SHELL GASIFICATION PROCESS
NATURAL GAS PROCESSING PLANTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
FUEL ADDITIVES
FLOWSHEETS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
010404
100200
GASIFICATION