Conversion of coal into hydrocarbons

Patent · Tue May 03 04:00:00 EDT 1977

OSTI ID:6437994

Jones, A R

In Westinghouse's new process for producing hydrocarbons from coal and water, the fraction of coal converted into hydrocarbons is maximized by dissociating or converting the water into separate batches or streams of hydrogen and oxygen separately from the coal and then reacting this hydrogen with the coal. The water is converted or dissociated separately into hydrogen and oxygen in a first chemical reactor by thermochemical and/or electrolytic processing. The resulting hydrogen is then reacted with the coal in a second reactor to produce the hydrocarbons. Residual carbon from the second reactor is reacted in a third reactor with oxygen (derived from the first reactor) to produce carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide is reacted with residual hydrogen from the second reactor or hydrogen from the first reactor to produce additional hydrocarbons. The energy for the endothermic and/or electrolytic processing in the reactors and for auxiliary equipment of the apparatus is supplied by a very high-temperature, gas-cooled nuclear reactor by heat interchange with the cooling gas, helium. The cooling gas operates through a heat-exchange arrangement that isolates the cooling gas from the processing apparatus.

• Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp.
• Patent Number(s): US 4021298
• OSTI ID: 6437994
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010404* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Gasification
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL
COAL GASIFICATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GASIFICATION
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WATER
WESTINGHOUSE GASIFICATION PROCESS