Liquid coal: what is it and how can it be used

Producing gasoline by gasification

This method, invented by German scientists F. Fischer and G. Tropsch, involves the production of diesel fuel and gasoline by preliminary gasification of coal raw materials. This occurs in a large container - a reactor at temperatures up to 350 ° C and a pressure of no more than 30 Bar. Although the conditions here are not as stringent as for hydrogenation, they are no easier to implement. For example, because superheated water vapor must be blown through a layer of coal under high pressure, which means you cannot do without a powerful steam boiler.

The resulting gases enter the second reactor, where the final processing of coal into liquid fuel occurs. Substances called catalysts are also located there. In industry, different compounds can be used for this purpose, but any of them necessarily contains iron, nickel or cobalt. Without going into the intricacies of chemistry, we note that the output from the second reactor produces fuel, which must still undergo a cracking procedure. That is, the division into gasoline and diesel fuel from coal.

By-products of the reaction are various substances and paraffin. Among the volatile substances released, the largest share is carbon dioxide, which is considered a big problem in the production of fuel using this method. The catalyst also loses activity quite quickly, so it constantly needs to be renewed. These factors, and a number of less significant reasons, lead to the high cost of the product. With an oil price of $50 per barrel, the production of gasoline from coal using the Fischer-Tropsch method is considered unprofitable.

There is another method of coal gasification - thermal. It is similar to the phenomenon of pyrolysis, since it is carried out by heating the raw material in a container from the outside and in the absence of oxygen. Another thing is that the decomposition of solid fuel into gases occurs at a temperature of 1200 ° C, and this requires appropriate equipment. The positive side of the thermal method is that part of the pyrolysis gases is directed to heating the feedstock, and the other to the synthesis of gasoline. Due to this, energy costs are reduced, since coal can heat itself during decomposition.

It's all about the bubbles

To grind coal, Siberians use the most common ball drum mill

, allowing to obtain 10 tons of coal-water suspension per hour with a particle dispersion of about 100 microns. But this is only the initial stage of grinding. The main highlight of the new technology is a rotary bubble cavitation generator.

Cavitation phenomenon

(from Latin cavitas

- emptiness), i.e. the formation of cavities in a liquid filled with gas or steam, has been known for a long time. A swarm of bubbles in a just uncorked bottle of lemonade or champagne is also cavitation.

Natural unpurified water, and even more so a suspension, does not withstand tensile stresses during intense turbulent movement in a rotary generator. Therefore, vapor-gas bubbles form in the water-coal mixture in those zones where the liquid experiences tension, i.e., mainly near solid particles.

With a local increase in pressure, the bubbles collapse, and the speed of movement of the walls of this “balloon” is very high due to surface tension forces. As a result, shock waves, high pressures (up to thousands of atmospheres!) and high temperatures are formed in the liquid.

In technology, such a phenomenon is extremely undesirable, since it can cause the destruction of devices moving in water, such as propellers, etc. But in our case, “evil” turns into good. Coal particles are effectively destroyed and crushed to 50-60 microns.

A comparison of different grinding methods showed that using a ball mill is much more economically profitable, but thanks to cavitation, the fuel becomes more reactive. Finally, cavitation is indispensable for the preparation of dense, poorly crushed types of coal. Therefore, it was decided to combine both technologies.

Thus, first the coal is ground in a ball mill and combined with water. Thanks to the addition of specially selected plasticizers, plastic CWF is obtained with a coal concentration of about 60-70%, which can retain its properties and not delaminate for a month. The fuel is activated by passing it through a rotary generator, just before combustion.

Synthetic gasoline

Synthetic gasoline produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide has a low octane number; To obtain high-grade fuel for internal combustion engines, it must be subjected to additional processing. On the contrary, synthetic diesel fuel is of very high quality, as it has an extremely high cetane number. Due to the lack of a lubricating oil fraction, the latter are produced synthetically by polymerizing either some of the lower olefins formed in this process or olefins obtained by thermal cracking of synthetic paraffin.  

Synthetic gasoline made from CO H2 has a big disadvantage: it has an octane number of only 35 - 40 and is therefore not suitable for high-compression engines. Both will increase the final cost.  

We do not use synthetic gasoline to produce aviation gasoline, since it turns out to be economically unprofitable. Its detonation resistance is close to that of base catalytic cracked gasoline.  

Synthetic gasoline produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide has a low octane number; To obtain high-grade fuel, it must be subjected to additional processing. Diesel fuel has an exceptionally high cetane number and is therefore a high quality product.  

Commercial synthetic gasolines produced by synthesis plants are a mixture of gasolines captured by activated carbon and obtained by distillation of synthetic oil. Gasoline obtained after desorption of activated carbon is first stabilized. Stabilization is carried out under a pressure of 7 - 8 am at a temperature of the top of the column of 60 - 70 C and a temperature of the bottom of the column of 130 - 150 C. After stabilization, gasoline is supplied for washing with a 10% alkali solution.  

Commercial synthetic gasolines produced by synthesis plants are a mixture of gasolines captured by activated carbon and obtained by distillation of synthetic condensate oil. Gasoline obtained after desorption of activated carbon is first stabilized. After stabilization, gasoline is supplied for washing with a 10% alkali solution.  

The term synthetic gasoline from natural gas can have many different meanings, since there are a large number of methods for converting the hydrocarbons of natural gas into high-boiling products that can be classified as synthetic gasoline.  

Such synthetic gasolines are a mixture of unsaturated hydrocarbons.  

The synthetic gasoline mentioned above, obtained from synthesis gas, before isomerization gives fractions containing from 74 to 82% olefins by volume.  

The production of synthetic gasoline from carbon monoxide and hydrogen has long passed the stage of semi-factory experiments and, shortly before the last World War, it was introduced into industry with a yield of up to 160 g of synth per 1 m3 of source gas.  

The production of synthetic gasoline from methanol consists of the following main stages: dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether, synthesis of crude gasoline, separation of the resulting products into gaseous, liquid hydrocarbons and an aqueous layer, stabilization of crude gasoline, alkylated isobutane bath with olefins, gas fractionation, mixing of stabilized synthetic gasoline with alkylate.  

Synthetic gasoline produced by hydrogenation is also known.  

Syntin (synthetic gasoline) is a synthesis product from water gas, consisting of paraffin hydrocarbons of normal structure with a small amount of olefins.  

The hydrocarbon composition of synthetic gasoline was established by fractionation on a column (20 theoretical plates) and qualitatively by spectral analysis.  

Synthetic fuel is a triumph of high technology

We have already told our readers about GTL (gas-to-liquid) technology for processing natural and associated gas into synthetic fuel. But this is not the only technology for producing synthetic oil. Today we will talk in more detail about such technologies, as well as the role that high-performance catalysts play in them.

Without petroleum motor fuel - gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel - it is simply impossible to imagine modern civilization. It powers the engines of cars, airplanes, and rockets. However, oil reserves in the bowels of the earth are limited, and not so long ago many experts believed that humanity would inevitably face a general shortage of motor fuel. But it turned out that it was too early to fall into despair: the decline of the oil era, if it comes, will not be soon. The latest technologies are being developed that will make it possible to produce not only easily accessible hydrocarbons, but also hard-to-recover oil and gas reserves. In addition, there is a serious alternative: scientists have developed methods for producing high-quality motor fuel from natural gas, coal and other non-oil raw materials.

Let us remember that industrial oil production began more than 150 years ago. Over the past century and a half, humanity has already used up more than half of the so-called light oil reserves. Initially, oil was used as a source of thermal energy, but now it has become economically unprofitable. With the advent of the automobile era, petroleum fractionation products are mainly used as motor fuel. The more oil fields become depleted, the more profitable the production of synthetic oil becomes.

What can be obtained from oil

Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons (alkanes and cycloalkanes). The simplest alkane is methane gas. In addition to methane, oil also contains some sulfur and nitrogen impurities. For example, gasoline is a low-boiling fraction of oil containing short-chain hydrocarbons with 5–9 atoms. It is the main type of motor fuel for passenger cars and small aircraft. Kerosenes are more viscous and heavier than gasoline: they consist of hydrocarbons with 10–16 carbon atoms. Kerosene has become the main fuel for jet aircraft and rocket engines. Gas oil is a heavier fraction than kerosene. Diesel fuel for engines installed on diesel locomotives, trucks, and tractors contains a mixture of kerosene and gas oil fractions. The depletion of natural oil deposits does not threaten humanity with a total shortage of motor fuel. Substances similar in chemical composition to gasoline, kerosene or diesel fuel can easily be obtained from carbon raw materials of non-petroleum origin. Chemists solved this problem back in 1926, when German scientists F. Fischer and G. Tropsch discovered the reduction reaction of carbon monoxide (CO) at atmospheric pressure. It turned out that in the presence of catalysts it is possible to synthesize, depending on the ratio of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the gas mixture, liquid and even solid hydrocarbons, chemical composition close to the products of oil fractionation. A mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, called "synthesis gas", is quite easy to obtain from natural raw materials: by passing steam over coal (coal gasification) or by converting natural gas (consisting mainly of methane) with steam in the presence of metal catalysts. Synthesis gas is formed not only from coal and methane. Biotechnological methods are very promising: thermochemical or enzymatic processing of plant waste (biomass) and conversion of gas obtained by decomposing organic waste, the so-called biogas.

Fuel - from coal and gas

During World War II, Germany largely met its fuel needs by establishing production facilities for converting coal into liquid fuels. The Republic of South Africa, with the same goals, created the Sasol Limited enterprise, which during apartheid helped the economy of this state to function successfully, despite international sanctions.

Technologies for the production of synthetic oil from coal are being actively developed by Sasol in South Africa. The method of chemical liquefaction of coal to the state of pyrolysis fuel was used in Germany during the Great Patriotic War. By the end of the war, the German installation was producing 100 thousand barrels (0.1346 thousand tons) of synthetic oil per day. The use of coal for the production of synthetic oil is advisable due to the similar chemical composition of natural raw materials. The hydrogen content in oil is 15%, and in coal - 8%. Under certain temperature conditions and saturation of coal with hydrogen, coal in a significant volume goes into a liquid state (hydrogenation process). Hydrogenation of coal increases with the introduction of catalysts: molybdenum, iron, tin, nickel, aluminum, etc. Preliminary gasification of coal with the introduction of a catalyst makes it possible to isolate various fractions of synthetic fuel and use them for further processing.

Sasol uses two technologies in its production: “coal-to-liquid” - CTL (coal-to-liquid) and “gas-to-liquid” - GTL (gas-to-liquid). Sasol is developing synthetic oil production in many countries around the world; for example, it has announced the construction of synthetic oil plants in China, Australia and the USA. The first Sasol plant was built in the industrial city of South Africa, Sasolburg, the first plant for the production of synthetic oil on an industrial scale was Oryx GTL in Qatar in the city of Ras Laffan, the company launched the Secunda CTL plant in South Africa, and jointly participated in the design of the Escravos GTL plant in Nigeria with Chevron.

Before the war, work on producing gasoline from brown coal was also carried out in the Soviet Union, but it did not reach industrial production. In the post-war years, oil prices fell, and the need for synthetic gasoline and other hydrocarbon fuels disappeared for some time. Now, due to the decrease in the planet’s oil reserves, research in this area of ​​chemistry is experiencing its “rebirth.”

In the United States, producers of such fuels often receive government subsidies, sometimes by mixing coal with biological waste from production. Synthetic diesel fuel, produced in Qatar from natural gas, is low in sulfur and is therefore blended with conventional diesel fuel to reduce the sulfur level in the mixture, which is necessary for the marketing and sale of such fuel in those US states where there are particularly high sulfur requirements. fuel quality (for example, in California).

Synthetic liquid fuels and gas from solid fossil fuels are now produced on a limited scale. Further expansion of synthetic fuel production is hampered by its high cost, which significantly exceeds the cost of petroleum-based fuels. Therefore, the search for new economical technical solutions in the field of synthetic fuel is now intensively underway. The search is aimed at simplifying known processes, in particular, at reducing the pressure during coal liquefaction from 300–700 atmospheres to 100 atmospheres and below, increasing the productivity of gas generators for processing coal and oil shale, and also developing new catalysts for the synthesis of methanol and gasoline based on it.

It is quite interesting that a number of scientists believe that methanol has good prospects to replace fossil fuels and biofuels.

Our information

The methanol economy is a hypothetical future energy economy in which fossil fuels are replaced by methanol. In 2005, Nobel laureate George Olah published his book Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy, in which he discussed the chances and possibilities of a methanol economy. In the book, he talks about the prospects for synthesizing methanol from carbon dioxide (CO2) or methane.

Biofuels – the Brazilian factor

Drinking alcohol ethanol can be used as fuel for rocket engines and internal combustion engines in its pure form. Its disadvantage is its high hygroscopicity, which is why it is used in a mixture with classic petroleum liquid fuels. Ethanol is produced in Latin American countries from cellulose-containing biomass - sugar cane, for example, and is called biofuel.

Brazil is a leader in the use of biofuels, providing 40% of its fuel needs from alcohol thanks to high sugarcane yields and low labor costs. Biofuels formally do not lead to greenhouse gas emissions: carbon dioxide (CO2) removed from it during photosynthesis is returned to the atmosphere.

However, the sharp increase in biofuel production requires large areas for planting. These areas are either cleared by burning forests, which leads to huge emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or at the expense of forage and food crops, which leads to rising food prices.

In addition, growing crops requires a lot of energy. For many crops, the EROEI (the ratio of energy received to energy expended) is only slightly above one or even below it. Thus, corn has an EROEI of only 1.5.

It is most profitable to obtain biofuel from sugar cane and palm oil. Sugarcane has an EROEI of 8 and palm oil has an EROEI of 9.

The total production of biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel) in 2005 was about 40 billion liters.

In 2007, Japanese scientists proposed producing biofuel from seaweed.

According to rough estimates, the world's proven oil reserves are approximately equal to the wood reserves on our planet, but oil resources are being depleted, while wood reserves are increasing as a result of natural growth. A significant reserve for increasing the resources of wood raw materials is to increase the yield of target wood products. Processing of plant biomass is based mainly on a combination of chemical and biochemical processes. Hydrolysis of plant raw materials is the most promising method of chemical processing of wood, since in combination with biotechnological processes it makes it possible to obtain monomers and synthetic resins, fuel for internal combustion engines and a variety of products for technical purposes.

According to some scientists, the widespread use of ethanol engines will increase the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere, which could lead to an increase in the number of respiratory diseases and asthma.

Synthetic oil - prospects and technologies

If we compare these trends with the fact that there is not much high-quality natural coal left on the planet, it is not surprising that the primary attention of scientists is attracted to natural and associated gas, a huge amount of which simply escapes into the atmosphere during oil production. The production of synthetic liquid fuels from natural gas is very economically profitable, since gas is difficult to transport: its transportation usually costs from 30 to 50% of the cost of the finished product. Converting gas directly at the field into liquid components will significantly reduce the amount of capital investment spent on its processing.

Existing technologies make it possible to process natural gas into high-quality gasoline and diesel fuel through the stage of methanol formation. Production according to this scheme is quite convenient, since all reactions take place in one reactor. But this chain of chemical transformations requires a lot of energy. As a result, the resulting synthetic gasoline is 1.8–2.0 times more expensive than “petroleum” gasoline.

There are also more cost-effective schemes. It is possible to obtain synthetic gasoline not through the stage of methanol formation, but from another intermediate substance - dimethyl ether (DME). This can be easily done by increasing the proportion of carbon monoxide in the synthesis gas. The important thing is that DME can be used as an environmentally friendly fuel for internal combustion engines. It is good because it fully complies with the most stringent European requirements for the content of particulate matter in automobile exhausts. In terms of calorific value, DME is inferior to traditional diesel fuel - propane and butane, but its cetane number (flammability characteristic) is much higher: for conventional diesel fuel it is 40-55, and for DME - 55-60. So the advantage of DME over diesel fuel when starting a cold engine is obvious. In addition, DME requires less oxygen to burn than diesel fuel.

In the presence of specially designed catalysts, DME turns into very good gasoline with an octane number of 92. It contains fewer harmful impurities than petroleum fuel. Such synthetic gasoline is quite competitive even on the European market. The new method of producing synthetic fuel is much more economical and efficient than the classic “methanol” one. Russian scientists from a number of institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences have created experimental synthesis gas generators, which are a slightly modified diesel engine. The input is natural gas methane, which is converted into synthesis gas in the generator. Next, the synthesis gas is converted into fuel hydrocarbons in the presence of specially developed catalysts. By turning the tap, you can start the production of the required final product and, if desired, obtain methanol, DME, a mixture of hydrocarbons similar to diesel fuel, or synthetic gasoline. The economic benefits of the industrial implementation of such a process can hardly be overestimated.

The higher the reaction temperature for converting methane into synthesis gas, the higher the reactor productivity. Conventional technologies cannot cope with the task of carrying out reactions at high temperatures. This is where rocket technology comes to the rescue. One of the most promising developments in recent years can be called a high-temperature synthesis gas generator, created with the participation of the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Primorsk at the experimental site of the Energia rocket and space corporation. The generator is created in the image and likeness of a rocket engine, so its shell is resistant to high temperatures. The synthesis gas produced in the reactor is sequentially converted according to the new efficient scheme described above into DME and gasoline.

Catalysts work wonders

We have already told our readers about catalysts - substances that do not themselves participate in chemical reactions, but accelerate them. Catalysts allow you to achieve absolutely amazing effects. For example, producing synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a compound with a stable molecule that has weak chemical activity. To make carbon dioxide into a synthetic fuel, the molecule must be broken down to produce carbon monoxide (CO), a fairly active chemical that can be used to make methane, methanol, or other alternative fuels. Research by various scientists has shown that gold foil catalysts can be used to break down carbon dioxide molecules, but they are ineffective. In addition, the gold catalyst also affects water molecules, which leads to the appearance of unwanted hydrogen-containing by-products. Scientists from the American Brown University managed to successfully solve the problem by creating a highly efficient catalyst based on gold nanoparticles of strictly defined sizes and shapes.

While studying the operation of gold catalysts, scientists discovered that gold atoms located at the edges of sharp gold edges play a key role in catalytic processes. In addition, the length of the faces played a huge role in the selective action of the catalyst. Further research led scientists to the creation of multifaceted gold nanoparticles, the size of which was exactly eight nanometers. The catalyst with such nanoparticles showed a 90% level of splitting carbon dioxide molecules into an oxygen atom and a carbon monoxide molecule.

In the laboratories of RN-TsIR, scientists from OJSC NK Rosneft are successfully working on researching effective methods for producing synthetic oil using modern catalysts.

extension

Gasoline advertising since 1937

From mid-1934, world mineral oil prices rose to such an extent that the synthetic fuel industry suddenly became competitive. The reason for the rapid rise in crude oil prices was the private sector, but above all the growing global military level of motorization. Among other things, APOC, whose main owner was the British state, took over fuel supplies for Mussolini's Abyssinian War, despite the League of Nations embargo. At that time, with an annual consumption of 3.7 million tons of mineral oil, Germany depended on 65-70 percent of oil imports, 75 percent of which came from British and American companies. A year later, 50 percent of oil imports for the German Reich failed. This was the first “oil shock” in German history.

From a German point of view, this development clearly favored the construction and expansion of hydrogenation plants. In October 1934 (Brabag) was founded, which was to produce about 740,000 tons of synthetic fuel per year at its hydrogenation plants in Magdeburg and Böhlen from 1936 and in Zeitz from 1939 under license using the IG process. At the same time, IG Farben increased production at the Leuna plant and built additional hydrogenation plants of its own at various locations.

The state-owned mining company Hibernia also signed a license agreement with IG Farben and commissioned Germany's first hydrogenation plant to liquefy hard coal in Scholven in 1936. The synthetic gasoline produced here was sold by the Benzene Association as
Leuna
gasoline and under the brand name
Bevaulin
, later
Aralin
. In addition, since 1936, in competition with IG Farben, the first large enterprises operating using Fischer-Tropsch technology under license from Ruhrchemie began producing synthetic fuels. In fact, almost all major German energy suppliers built their own hydrogenation and synthesis plants in the subsequent period.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), world oil prices rose sharply. The Soviet Union supplied fuel to the Republicans, and British and American oil companies provided fuel supplies to the national Spanish throughout the war. The governments of London and Washington simultaneously provided the latter with extensive loans for the purchase of gasoline, which was contrary to the neutrality resolutions of both countries.

Leading British and American oil companies did not hesitate to expand their business relationships with Nazi Germany, in some cases even at the very beginning of the war. For example, the construction of the Poelitz hydrogenation plant was jointly planned by Shell, Standard Oil and IG Farben in 1937 and implemented in 1939. The annual capacity of this plant was 700,000 tons, which exceeded the capacity of all other hydrogenation plants. The initiative for this came from IG Farben's international partners. Standard Oil and Shell were also involved in six other hydrogenation plants in Germany. Additionally, in 1939, a third of all gas stations in Germany were owned by Standard Oil, which contributed significantly to the sale of synthetic gasoline.

By 1943, a total of 23 hydrogenation and synthesis plants had been built in the German sphere of influence, nine using Ruhrchemie's Fischer-Tropsch technology and 14 using IG Farben's high-pressure hydrogenation technology. Although armed with a huge expansion of industrial coal chemistry in Germany, synthetic fuel production could not even come close to achieving independence from oil imports at the start of the war and in the subsequent period. From mid-1944, shortly before the Normandy invasion, production fell sharply as a result of targeted Allied air strikes on German oil centers, refineries and synthetic hydrogenation plants, and fell to 1920s levels by the end of the war.

Synthetic gasoline called Leuna petrol

has long ceased to exist. Already in September 1939, all brands disappeared from German gas stations. With the transition to a war economy during World War II and the resulting control by the central government, all petroleum distribution companies were combined into the Mineral Oil Distribution Working Group (AMV), and only unbranded gasoline was sold with a fuel certificate or voucher for purchase .

Coal liquefaction plants and projects[edit]

World (non-US) coal to liquid fuel projects[edit]

World (non-US) projects from coal to liquid fuels [20] [30]

US Coal to Liquid Fuel Projects[edit]

Coal to liquid fuel projects in the US [20] [31]

Pyrolysis of waste in industry

Recycling the type of waste described above is of interest not only to private owners. The process is no less interesting for industrialists. In Russia, this direction is developing slowly. However, more and more business representatives recognize it as effective.

An important point is the environmental side of the issue. Converting waste into oil is an environmentally friendly process. It is designed not only to reduce the cost of fuel, but also to reduce the amount of hazardous waste lying in landfills. Such gasoline production will make it possible to transform carbon-containing waste into secondary raw materials that benefit the national economy.

Industrial-type installations can perform a number of useful functions:

• reclaim land;
• clean water bodies;
• purify wastewater.

Large production is capable of obtaining:

• distilled water;
• technical water;
• electricity;
• warm;
• synthetic motor fuel.

Obtaining biofuel

Biofuels can also be produced using algae, which are bred in artificial reservoirs. Agricultural crops do not grow on such soil. As algae grows, they increase their levels of fats and bio-oils through natural photosynthesis, making them similar to oil.

To grow algae, you need ultraviolet light, water, and carbon dioxide. When algae grows, they reduce greenhouse gases as they absorb carbon dioxide. Algae produce more biofuel than crops.

Today, several methods for producing biofuel are known. Biomass can be pieces of wood, straw, etc. They are used to make diesel fuel without sulfur and other impurities. Among other things, biodiesel, when burned, restores to the atmosphere the amount of carbon dioxide that plants absorbed during their growth.

During the processing of vegetable oil, in addition to fuel, glycerin and potassium sulfate are obtained. Biodiesel contains almost no sulfur and benzene. The decomposition of this fuel does not harm the environment, and there are fewer exhaust gases, unlike conventional diesel fuel. Vegetable fuel is highly flammable. When processing the oil, glycerin and sodium sulfate are obtained.

In the near future, it is planned to build a plant for processing sawdust and extracting pure biodiesel.

During the synthesis process, synthetic fuel is obtained from coal. Firewood releases after combustion, high humidity and without the required amount of oxygen. Fuel from wood waste does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion. There is no sulfur in synthetic diesel fuel.

Formation and origin of coal seams

The appearance of coal on Earth dates back to the distant Paleozoic era, when the planet was still in the development stage and had a completely alien appearance to us. The formation of coal seams began approximately 360,000,000 years ago. This happened mainly in the bottom sediments of prehistoric reservoirs, where organic materials accumulated over millions of years.

Simply put, coal is the remains of the bodies of giant animals, tree trunks and other living organisms that sank to the bottom, decayed and were pressed under the water column. The formation process of deposits is quite long, and it takes at least 40,000,000 years to form a coal seam.

Definition of the term synthetic fuel code

The term "synthetic fuel" has several different meanings and can include different types of fuel. The traditional definition set by the International Energy Agency defines "synthetic fuels" as any liquid fuel derived from coal or natural gas. The US Energy Information Association defines synthetic fuels in its 2006 annual report as fuels derived from coal, natural gas, biomass or animal feed by chemical conversion into synthetic oil and/or synthetic liquid products. Numerous definitions of synthetic fuel include fuels produced from biomass as well as industrial and municipal waste. On the one hand, “synthetic” means that the fuel is produced artificially. Unlike synthetic fuel, conventional fuel is usually obtained by separating crude oil into separate fractions (distillation, rectification, etc.) without chemically modifying the components. However, various chemical processes can also be used in the production of traditional fuels. The term “synthetic” can emphasize, on the other hand, that the fuel was produced by chemical synthesis processes, that is, the production of higher-level compounds from several lower compounds. This definition applies in particular to XtL fuels, in which the feedstock is first decomposed into synthesis gas of lower compounds (H2, CO, etc.) in order to obtain higher hydrocarbons (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis). However, even with conventional fuels, chemical processes can be part of the production process. For example, hydrocarbons with carbon chains that are too long can be broken down into shorter chain products, such as those found in gasoline or diesel fuel, through so-called cracking. As a result, depending on the definition, it may not be possible to clearly distinguish conventional from synthetic fuels. Although there is no precise definition, the term "synthetic fuel" is generally limited to XtL fuel. The difference between synthetic and alternative fuels lies in the method of application of the fuel. That is, alternative fuels may require more extensive engine or fuel system modifications, or even the use of a non-traditional engine type (such as steam).

Story

Until 1939

Before World War II, various coal liquefaction processes were developed. Eugène Houdry in France produces gasoline from brown coal (1920s), but the process is too expensive and was abandoned in 1930. In 1920, two German chemists, Fischer and Tropsch, succeed in liquefying syngas obtained from coal using a Fischer plant. Tropsch process.

Another process, developed by Friedrich Bergius, is called "direct liquefaction". It consists of the reaction of hydrogen with carbon and resins at a temperature of 450 ° C and a pressure of 200 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst.

Engines with high compression ratios are prone to self-ignition. High octane fuel, so problems must be avoided. From the 1930s until about 1980, this figure was increased by the addition of tetraethyl lead, sold as Ethyl. The Ethyl Gasoline Corporation, founded by Standard Oil (ESSO/EXXON) and General Motors, supplied it in large quantities to the Nazi regime even before the German plant was operational, just before the invasion of Poland; In addition, DuPont exchanged technical information with IG Farben regarding the chemistry of ethyl to develop the process.

Beginning of World War II

It is German military imperatives that force the use of synthetic gasoline. Production rose from 108,000 tons in 1933 to 468,000 tons in 1936, 901,000 tons in 1939, 1,136,000 tons in 1941, and 1,917,000 tons in 1943, a record. The volume of specialty synthetic aviation gasoline increased from 67,054 tons in 1936 to 154,781 tons in 1939. By comparison, oil well production in the Reich peaked at 1,989,000 tons in 1944. It is estimated that the synthetic gasoline industry satisfied almost a third of German needs.

Many factories produce it with different yields. Some of them are in concentration camps (Poland will maintain a testing facility at Auschwitz for some time). The main synthetic gasoline plant was located at the Blechhammer industrial site.

These factories have been subject to Allied bombing since 1940. From the second half of 1943, the American General Staff more systematically targeted synthetic gasoline plants, primarily targeting aircraft manufacturing and shipyards, the railroad network, and power plants. Following the landing operations, the Allies launched an air war against these factories to cripple German fighter aircraft. The most important operation takes place on May 12, 1944: most of the five largest targets are destroyed by 935 heavy bombers, accompanied by numerous fighters. As a result, production capacity was reduced by 570,000 tons, including 270,000 tons for aviation.

After the defeat of the Nazis, relevant technical data and reports were collected by the Anglo-American Technical Petroleum Mission

(TOM). The abandonment of the Fischer-Tropsch fuel production process was subsequently imposed after the discovery of oil fields in Saudi Arabia: the synthetic route no longer represented a profitable alternative to oil.

However, the year saw the development of an important synthetic petroleum industry in South Africa. He was forced to do this for two reasons: economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations General Assembly from 1962 onwards due to apartheid, and then, much later, the cutting off of supplies from Iran. Iran was indeed the only oil supplier to South Africa until the revolution that overthrew the Shah's regime.

Links[edit]

1. Takao Kaneko, Frank Derbyshire, Eiichiro Makino, David Gray, Masaaki Tamura, Kejian Li (2012). "Coal liquefaction". Ullman Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
   . Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. DOI: 10.1002/14356007.a07_197.pub2.CS1 maint: multiple names: list of authors (link)
2. ^ abc Höök, Mikael; Aleklett, Kjell (2010). "A Review of Coal to Liquid Fuel Conversion and Its Coal Consumption". International Journal of Energy Research
   .
   34
   (10):848–864. DOI: 10.1002/er.1596.
3. Davis, B.H.; Ocelli, M. L. (2006). Fischer–Tropsch synthesis
   . Elsevier. ISBN 9780080466750.
4. ^ab Strandzhi, A.N. (2000). Lesh, John E (ed.). Germany's synthetic fuel industry, 1927–1945
   . Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 147–216. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-015-9377-9. ISBN 978-94-015-9377-9.
5. Sasol. "Historical Milestones". Sasol Company Profile
   . Sasol. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
6. Spalding-Fecher, R.; Williams, A.; van Horen, K. (2000). "Energy and the Environment in South Africa: Charting a Course for Sustainability." Energy for Sustainable Development
   .
   4
   (4): 8–17. DOI: 10.1016/S0973-0826(08)60259-8.
7. ^ abc Speight, James G. (2008). Handbook of Synthetic Fuels: Properties, Process and Performance. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0-07-149023-8. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
8. "Indirect liquefaction processes". National Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
9. "Direct liquefaction processes". National Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
10. ^ abcd Höök, Mikael; Fantazzini, dean; Angelantoni, Andre; Snowden, Simon (2013). "Hydrocarbon Liquefaction: Viability as a Peak Oil Mitigation Strategy". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
    A.
    372
    (2006): 20120319. Bibcode: 2013RSPTA.37220319H. DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2012.0319. PMID 24298075. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
11. ^ abcd Lee, Sungyu (1996). Alternative fuels. CRC Press. pp. 166–198. ISBN 978-1-56032-361-7. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
12. Ekinci, E.; Yardim, Y.; Razvigorova, M.; Minkova, V.; Goranova, M.; Petrov, N.; Budinova, T. (2002). "Characteristics of liquid products of pyrolysis of subbituminous coals." Fuel processing technology
    . 77–78: 309–315. DOI: 10.1016/S0378-3820(02)00056-5.
13. Stranges, Anthony N. (1984). "Friedrich Bergius and the growth of the synthetic fuel industry in Germany." Isis
    .
    75
    (4):643–667. DOI: 10.1086/353647. JSTOR 232411. S2CID 143962648.
14. ^ abcde A pilot plant, SRC-I, operated at Fort Lewis Wash in the 1970s, but was unable to overcome the problems of lack of solvent balance (requiring constant import of solvents containing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons). The SRC-I demonstration plant was to be built in Newman, Kentucky, but was canceled in 1981. Based on Bergius's 1913 work, it was noted that some minerals in coal ash had moderate catalytic activity, and this led to the design of the SRC-II demonstration plant to be built in Morgantown, West Virginia. This too was canceled in 1981. Based on the work done, it turned out that it is desirable to separate the functions of coal dissolution and catalytic hydrogenation to obtain a higher yield of synthetic oil.oil; this was performed at a small pilot plant in Wilsonville, Alabama, from 1981-85. The plant also installed a critical solvent purifier to extract the maximum amount of liquid product used. In a commercial plant, the deashler bottom stream containing unreacted carbonaceous matter will be gasified to produce hydrogen to start the process. This program ended in 1985 and the plant was decommissioned. Cleaner Coal Technology Program (October 1999). "Technology Status Report 010: Coal Liquefaction" (PDF). Department of Trade and Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06/09/2009. Retrieved October 23, 2010. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
15. Lowe, Philip A.; Schroeder, Wilburn C.; Liccardi, Anthony L. (1976). "Technical Economics, Synthetic Fuel and Coal Energy Symposium, Solid-Phase Catalytic Coal Liquefaction Process." American Society of Mechanical Engineers: 35. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
16. "China's Shenhua coal-to-liquids project is profitable". American Fuel Coalition. September 8, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
17. Rosenthal et al., 1982. Chevron Coal Liquefaction Process (CCLP). Fuel 61(10):1045–1050.
18. "Great Plains Synthetic Fuel Plant". National Energy Technology Laboratory. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
19. "Carbon for X Processes" (PDF). World Carbon For X. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
20. ^ abc "Gasification Technology Council Resource Center Worldwide Database". Retrieved June 24, 2014.
21. Tarka, Thomas J.; Wimer, John G.; Balazs, Peter S.; Skone, Timothy J.; Kern, Kenneth C.; Vargas, Maria C.; Morreale, Brian D.; White III, Charles W.; Gray, David (2009). "Affordable Low Carbon Diesel from Local Coal and Biomass" (PDF). United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory: 21. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
22. Mantripragada, H.; Rubin, E. (2011). "Techno-economic assessment of coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants with carbon capture and sequestration." Energy Policy
    .
    39
    (5):2808–2816. DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2011.02.053.
23. "Progress of Shenhua Group's CCS Demonstration Project" (PDF). China Shenhua Coal for Liquid & Chemical Engineering Company. July 9, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
24. Wu Xiuzhang (January 7, 2014). "Shenhua Group Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration". Cornerstone Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
25. "Pub.L." 110-140" (PDF).
26. T., Bartis, James; Lawrence, Van Bibber (01/01/2011). "Alternative Fuels for Military Applications". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
27. "Research and Development to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Leading to Cost-Efficient Production of Coal-Based Jet Fuel (CTL), Application Number: DE-FOA-0000981". January 31, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
28. Carbon to X Home Page
29. Converting Serge Perino's Coal into More Valuable Hydrocarbons: A Measurable Acceleration, Cornerstone Magazine
    , October 11, 2013.
30. "Worldwide (Non-US) Database of Proposed Gasification Plants". National Energy Technology Laboratory. June 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
31. "US Proposed Gasification Database". National Energy Technology Laboratory. June 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.

Ethers

Esters are colorless, mobile, low-boiling liquids with a characteristic odor. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is currently considered the most promising anti-knock agent. In Russia it is allowed to add it to automobile fuels in amounts up to 15%. The limitations are caused by the characteristics of the performance characteristics: relatively low heat of combustion and high aggressiveness towards rubber. According to road test results, unleaded gasoline containing 7-8% MTBE outperforms leaded gasoline at all driving speeds. The addition of 10% MTBE to gasoline increases the octane number according to the research method by 2.1–5.9 units, and 20% by 4.6–12.6 units, and therefore it is more effective than such well-known additives as alkyl gasoline and methanol . The use of fuel with methyl tert-butyl ether somewhat improves the power and economic performance of the engine. MTBE is a colorless, transparent liquid with a pungent odor. The boiling point is 54-55°C, the density is 0.74 g/cm3. The octane number according to this method is 115-135 points. World production of MTBE amounts to tens of millions of tons per year.

As potential antiknock agents, it is possible to use ethyl tert-butyl ether, tert-amyl methyl ether, as well as methyl ethers obtained from C6-C7 olefins.

Properties of some esters.

To obtain AI-95 and AI-98 gasolines, the additives MTBE or its mixture with tert-butyl alcohol, called Faterol - the trade name of Octane-115, are usually used. The disadvantage of such oxygen-containing components is the volatilization of esters in hot weather, which leads to a decrease in octane number.

Working with biogas

This is a rather unusual and extravagant approach, but it works. Its beauty is also that it has wider applications as a fuel than just synthetic gasoline. True, it takes up a lot of space. So, for example, one cubic meter of biogas is equivalent to 0.6 liters of gasoline. If you use it not in a compressed state, then even if you load it onto a truck, you won’t be able to drive more than a hundred or two kilometers. Therefore, how can we synthesize the desired gasoline from it? This is possible due to the fact that it is essentially methane with small impurities. That is practically what is needed. But synthesis is a problematic matter. After all, something new and at the same time simple was not invented here. That is, we have to work on creating synthesis gas, and from it ensure the formation of gasoline. This is done (according to the most common scheme) through methanol. Although you can work through dimethyl ether. If we talk about methanol, we must always remember that it is extremely dangerous. The situation is complicated by the fact that it has the smell of alcohol and a boiling point of 65 degrees Celsius. In general, working with fuel synthesis is not a walk in the park. Therefore, it would not be superfluous to learn chemistry and physics if you do not have this knowledge. In short, synthetic gasoline is obtained through gas distillation and a condenser. This method is not fast, but if you have good theoretical preparation, it is not difficult. But it is not recommended to work without knowledge. After all, pure methanol is the highest octane fuel, and therefore dangerous. And the engine of an ordinary car will not “digest” it - it is not designed for this.

Types of coal

Deposits of coal seams can reach a depth of several kilometers, going deep into the earth, but not always and not everywhere, because it is heterogeneous both in content and in appearance.

There are 3 main types of this fossil: anthracite, brown coal, and peat, which very vaguely resembles coal.

1. Anthracite is the oldest formation of its kind on the planet; the average age of this species is 280,000,000 years. It is very hard, has a high density, and its carbon content is 96-98%.

Hardness and density are relatively low, as is its carbon content. It has an unstable, loose structure and is also oversaturated with water, the content of which can reach up to 20%.

Peat is also classified as a type of coal, but it has not yet formed, so it has nothing to do with coal.

Liquid fuel from gases

It is difficult to imagine that from such simple substances as carbon monoxide (that is, carbon monoxide) and hydrogen, complex organic compounds and a wide variety of liquid fuels can be obtained.

To obtain liquid fuel, you need to have a mixture of these gases, in which for every part of carbon monoxide there would be two parts of hydrogen. This mixture is obtained in special devices - gas generators. A mixture of water vapor and air is blown through a layer of hot coke. Oxygen in the air combines with carbon to form carbon monoxide. This process is called coal gasification. When water molecules decompose, hydrogen is released. A mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide is sent to refrigerators. From here the so-called water gas goes into the reactor. At a temperature of 200°, under the influence of the most active catalysts - cobalt or nickel - carbon monoxide and hydrogen enter into a chemical compound. Complex heavy substances are formed from a large number of light gas molecules.

Catalysts not only contribute to the formation of simple compounds of carbon and hydrogen, but also influence further complexity - the polymerization of molecules: carbon atoms are connected in chains, rings, and are overgrown with hydrogen atoms. A wide variety of hydrocarbons re-emerge - from light gases (starting from methane) to solid, high-melting paraffins, containing up to 100 carbon atoms in each molecule. Approximately 60% of the initially taken gas mixture turns into liquid fuel. This is artificially prepared oil, not much different from ordinary, natural oil.

Let's enter the workshop where fuel synthesis takes place. The iron apparatus is surrounded by complex interweavings of thick pipes. The workshop is quiet and deserted. Special devices automatically control the process and record temperature and pressure themselves. It is interesting that the process of formation of liquid fuel occurs at normal atmospheric pressure and a temperature of only about 200°. When synthesizing fuel from gases, expensive equipment is not needed to create high pressures and temperatures. This distinguishes synthesis favorably from coal hydrogenation.

Soviet industry now produces hundreds of thousands of diesel engines running on mixtures of high-boiling heavy oil fuel.

There are more and more powerful 25-ton trucks - dump trucks, motor ships, excavators and other machines with diesel engines installed. The car and tractor fleet is increasing.

The production of artificial diesel fuel is also continuously growing.

This is how chemists manage processes to obtain the right grade of fuel.

The advantages of this method open up great prospects for it. Liquid fuel can be obtained from any, even the lowest-grade brown coal.

Preliminary gasification of fuel makes it possible to obtain gasoline from oil shale and even peat, not to mention the use of natural gas for this purpose. In 1951 - 1955, new plants were built to produce synthetic liquid fuel from coal, shale and peat. In the Estonian SSR alone, based on local shale, the production of such fuel will increase by 80% over the five-year period.

S. Gushchev Fig. B, Dashkov and A. Katkovsky magazine “Technology for Youth” No. 7, 1954

Obtaining raw materials for the production of combustible alcohol at home

The biggest problem with creating flammable alcohol at home now, or in some hypothetical, apocalyptic future, is the raw material. To make a mash that can be distilled into fuel alcohol, you need some grain or other plant material in large quantities. If you have a place to grow raw materials, there will be significantly fewer problems in monetary terms.

Ethanol is mainly made from corn. From every 40 acres it is possible to produce up to 1500 liters of ethyl alcohol per year. Among other crops, millet showed even greater efficiency; from the same area in 1 year, the yield exceeded 2200 liters of ethyl alcohol. Under ideal conditions, you can get 4500 liters with millet.

In the absence of acreage for growing corn, millet, sugar beets and other types of cultivated plants, producing alcohol at home will not be a viable project.

Making ethanol at home

The process of making ethanol at home is very similar to moonshine brewing.

From which the very first problem immediately follows is the legality of this act. You will need to find out the maximum volume of goods produced and the regulation of alcoholic beverages in our (your) country.

Regardless of the amount of alcohol you produce, you will also have to go through the process of denaturing it, making it unfit for human consumption, by adding certain substances to it, such as kerosene or naphtha.

Another important difference between distilling moonshine and distilling fuel itself is that ethanol intended for use as fuel must be more thoroughly purified compared to the same ethanol intended for human consumption. It should contain less water

Reducing the water content can only be achieved through several distillation steps. There are also filters that can remove water contained in fuel alcohol.

When using this ethanol, it would be a good idea to install additional cleaning filters on the car itself in order to separate water and other debris specifically from the fuel, since ethanol itself, acting as a solvent, will simply wash away all this dirt from the fuel lines and carry them directly into the cylinders.

The process of making fuel is similar to making alcohol. It starts with the selection of raw materials. The initial product can be anything from corn and wheat to millet or Jerusalem artichoke.

-Initial raw materials are used to prepare the mash;

-Then the fermentation process begins, which breaks down starch into sugars;

-Next follows the fermentation process.

-The alcohol is ready.

Main coal products

The most conservative estimates indicate that there are 600 types of coal products. Scientists have developed various methods for obtaining processed coal products. The processing method depends on the desired end product. For example, to obtain clean products, the primary products of coal processing - coke oven gas, ammonia, toluene, benzene - use liquid washing oils. Special devices ensure sealing of products and protecting them from premature destruction. Primary processing processes also involve the coking method, in which coal is heated to a temperature of +1000°C with the access to oxygen completely blocked. Upon completion of all necessary procedures, any primary product is further purified. Main products of coal processing:

• naphthalene
• phenol
• hydrocarbon
• salicylic alcohol
• lead
• vanadium
• germanium
• zinc.

Without all these products, our life would be much more difficult. Take the cosmetics industry, for example, it is the most useful area for people to use coal processing products. A coal processing product such as zinc is widely used to treat oily skin and acne. Zinc and sulfur are added to creams, serums, masks, lotions and tonics. Sulfur eliminates existing inflammation, and zinc prevents the development of new inflammations. In addition, medicinal ointments based on lead and zinc are used to treat burns and injuries. An ideal assistant for psoriasis is the same zinc, as well as clay products of coal. Coal is the raw material for creating excellent sorbents, which are used in medicine to treat diseases of the intestines and stomach. Sorbents containing zinc are used to treat dandruff and oily seborrhea. As a result of a process such as hydrogenation, liquid fuel is produced from coal at enterprises. And the combustion products that remain after this process are ideal raw materials for a variety of building materials that have fire-resistant properties. For example, this is how ceramics are created.

Content

• 1 Historical background
• 2 Methods 2.1 Pyrolysis and carbonization processes
• 2.2 Hydrogenation processes
• 2.3 Indirect conversion processes

The essence of the process and technology

In terms of chemical composition, the ratio of hydrogen to carbon in oil is slightly higher than that of coal (for oil - 11-15%, for coal - 4-8%). The purpose of liquefaction is to achieve a higher ratio using hydrogen donors.

Chemically produced liquid coal can be used as boiler fuel (an analogue of fuel oil from oil), methanol and motor fuel (an analogue of gasoline). Today the technology has successfully passed all the necessary tests and brought results. But it must be taken into account that the resulting products contain organic compounds (nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, etc.) and cannot be used without additional purification.

Mini

In short, the technology is as follows: hydrogen is supplied to the raw material, crushed to a powder state, at high temperature (from 400 to 500oC) and appropriate pressure (up to 300 kg/cm2). Oil refining waste or some part of the previously produced product can be used as a source of hydrogen. When such conditions are created, almost all solid fuel turns into a liquid state (without adding hydrogen sources, no more than 10% is converted).

There is one more process. This technology is thermal processing. It comes down to pre-drying followed by liquefaction using coal-oil mixtures. The dried raw materials are gradually heated without oxygen to 450-550oC. Under such conditions, coal begins to decompose into its constituent oil fractions. This stage is also called gasification. Next, gaseous fractions are selected and liquefied, and pyrolysis gas and the remaining solid fractions are sent to the furnace to ensure the required process temperature. That is, this technology provides itself with energy for heating.

Whatever the fuel is made from, it is important that it is of good quality and inexpensive

Today the situation is such that most motor fuel is produced at oil refineries, but alternative production is also beginning to develop more and more actively. At the current stage, old technologies are being improved and new ones are being developed. The processing of brown coal is especially promising for our country: its deposits are large, and the efficiency of combustion to produce heat is not the highest. According to experts, the synthetic liquid fuel market will begin its rapid development in the near future against the backdrop of an inevitable reduction in oil and gas reserves. When it comes to heating, liquid fuel boilers don’t care what it comes from. The main thing is that the quality is high. And if, with proper quality, we need to pay less for fuel for the boiler, this will only make us happy.

Solid and gaseous fuels edit code

In some third world countries, firewood and charcoal are still the main fuel available to the population for heating and cooking (about half of the world's population lives this way). This in many cases leads to deforestation, which in turn leads to desertification and soil erosion. One of the ways to reduce the population's dependence on wood sources is to introduce technology for briquetting agricultural waste or household waste into fuel briquettes. Such briquettes are produced by pressing a slurry obtained by mixing waste with water on a simple lever press, followed by drying. This technology, however, is very labor-intensive and requires the availability of a source of cheap labor. A less primitive option for producing briquettes is to use hydraulic pressing machines.

Some gaseous fuels can be considered variants of synthetic fuels, although this definition may be controversial since engines using such fuels require significant modification. One of the widely discussed options for reducing the contribution of motor vehicles to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the use of hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen engines do not pollute the environment and emit only water vapor. Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells use hydrogen to directly convert the energy of a chemical reaction into electrical energy. Since hydrogen is produced either by methods that require large amounts of electricity, or by the oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels, the environmental and, especially, economic advantages of such fuel are highly controversial.

Full article Hydrogen energy

.

Dimethyl etheredit | edit code

Dimethyl ether is obtained by dehydration of methanol at 300-400 °C and 2-3 MPa in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts - aluminosilicates. The degree of conversion of methanol into dimethyl ether is 60%, into zeolites - almost 100%. Dimethyl ether is an environmentally friendly fuel without sulfur content, and the emission of nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases is 90% less than that of gasoline. The cetane number of dimethyl diesel is more than 55, while that of classic petroleum diesel is from 38 to 53. The use of dimethyl ether does not require special filters, but it requires alteration of the power supply systems (installation of gas equipment, adjustment of mixture formation) and engine ignition. Without modification, it can be used on cars with LPG engines with a 30% methanol content in the fuel.

The calorific value of DME is about 30 MJ/kg, for classical petroleum fuels it is about 42 MJ/kg. One of the features of the use of DME is its higher oxidizing ability (due to the oxygen content) than that of classical fuel.

In July 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) (China) adopted a standard for the use of dimethyl ether as a fuel. The Chinese government will support the development of dimethyl ether as a possible alternative to diesel fuel. In the next 5 years, China plans to produce 5-10 million tons of dimethyl ether per year.

Cars with engines running on dimethyl ether are being developed by KAMAZ, Volvo, Nissan and the Chinese company Shanghai Automotive.

Making gasoline from rubber tires with your own hands

Oil is a flammable liquid of natural origin. It consists of all kinds of hydrocarbons, as well as a certain amount of other organic substances. The production of gasoline from oil extracted in the ground is the destiny of oil refineries, but as an interesting experiment, it is possible to obtain it in small quantities at home.

For this you will need:

• 3 fireproof containers;
• Rubber waste;
• Distiller;
• Bake.

Keep children away. Having prepared a container with a tight-fitting lid, you need to attach a heat-resistant tube. This will be our retort. Any container will suit us for the condenser, but in order to make a water seal, we need to find a durable vessel with two tubes. It is necessary to assemble this device for liquid hydrocarbons, connect the pipe from the retort lid to the condenser, and insert the hose. Connect its second end to the water seal tube. We connect the second valve tube to the furnace and place the retort on it. We get a closed system for the production of high-temperature pyrolysis. All we have to do is load the rubber tires and wait for gasoline at the exit.

Areas of application of activated carbon in modern life

The scope of application of activated carbon is very wide. Its properties were known back in ancient times - in Rus' it was made at home, most often from birch logs; for this you didn’t even need to do anything - just the coals left after lighting the bath were brought into the steam room for activation. In terms of quality, this prototype could not be compared with modern brands of coal, but even then it was used to treat gastric disorders in both people and livestock, it was used to filter water and homemade alcoholic drinks, and much more.

It was first used on an industrial scale by the military. Activated carbon became the key element of the gas mask developed by N.D. Zelinsky during the First World War - when German troops began releasing chlorine on the battlefield. Coal saved many lives in those years due to its absorbent properties.

In the modern world it is used in many areas:

• In the food industry (for example, for sugar purification)
• In the chemical industry as a reaction catalyst
• In medicine
• In pharmaceuticals
• In purification facilities for purifying air and water from industrial waste
• In household filters for drinking water

as well as in many other areas.

It's all about its properties - activated carbon is an excellent absorbent, very light, very effective, and most importantly - very cheap. It can be produced almost anywhere; the production technology, although not simple, does not require a long time and overly complex processes - only two devices can handle everything. The site elgreloo.com invites you to familiarize yourself with the technology for manufacturing activated carbon.

What makes it possible to ensure high heat transfer from smokeless briquettes? And how did you measure it?

Sergey Stepanov:

To measure heat transfer, 10 kilograms of briquettes were burned in a household boiler, and the supply of useful heat (hot water) was determined using a heat meter.

The high efficiency of the boiler is ensured by the fact that the boiler operates evenly most of the time. When burning coal, the combustion mode is different - first there is a peak heat release, then attenuation. Therefore, with coal, most of the heat simply flies away into the chimney.

By the way, when we talk about high heat transfer and fuel economy, it is important to understand that you need to load briquettes in the same volume as you usually load coal. The fact that you need 1.5-2 times less briquettes for heating means that you will have to load fuel 1.5-2 times less often. There is no need to reduce the single portion of loading!

There is no need to reduce the single portion of loading!

Standard operating cycle of a pyrolysis machine.

We provide a 1-year warranty on the machine, and a 14 mm thick stainless steel reactor. 3 years, other parts of the machine do not need to be changed throughout its entire operating period, with the exception of wearable components and parts.

The process of igniting a solid fuel heating boiler

The technology for igniting a solid fuel boiler is no different from the process of igniting a boiler with wood. There are just some nuances here. The first nuance is that a special grill for coal fuel must be installed in the lower part of the firebox. The purpose of this grate is that it allows the coals to be mixed during combustion. It is made in the form of a massive cast iron casting with a distance between the grates of 1.5-2 cm. This grate is installed vertically in the lower part of the firebox, and is closed by a blower door with a gate that regulates the oxygen supply.

Paper is placed in the lower part, on top of which wood chips are laid. The next layer includes splinters and small logs to ignite an active flame. 4-5 large logs are laid on top. The top layer is laid so that coal can be poured onto it, and at the same time, fuel does not spill into the blower.

For kindling, softwood chips are taken, it quickly flares up, maintaining combustion, creating sufficient temperature for the hardwood logs to ignite. Hardwoods are used as firewood - oak, birch, hornbeam; they create the necessary temperature to light the coal.

For the first laying, fine coal is used - with a diameter of 3-4 cm; the ideal option here would be gas coal or flammable coal.

It is important to remember that dry wood is used for ignition. Under no circumstances should you use flammable mixtures or liquid fuels.

If you pour gasoline, biofuel or diesel into the firebox, there is a high probability that it will spill into the duct and even leak onto the floor. In this case, a fire cannot be avoided. It is better to put more crumpled paper at the bottom than to add even a drop of gasoline.

You can light a fire with a match or a lighter, there is no difference, the main thing is that the fire engulfs the wood chips and the top logs as quickly as possible.

Oil

If we further understand what is obtained from coal and oil, then it is worth mentioning the diesel fraction of oil refining, which usually serves as fuel for diesel engines. Fuel oil contains high-boiling hydrocarbons. Various lubricating oils are usually obtained from fuel oil through distillation under reduced pressure. The residue that exists after processing fuel oil is usually called tar. A substance such as bitumen is obtained from it. These products are intended for use in road construction. Fuel oil is also often used as boiler fuel.

see also

• Alternative automobile fuel
• Synthetic natural gas
• The methanol economy is a hypothetical future energy economy in which fossil fuels are replaced by methanol.
• Dry distillation
• GTL (Gas-to-liquids) is the process of converting natural gas into high-quality, sulfur-free motor fuels and other (heavier) hydrocarbon products.
• Hydrolysis production
• Biofuel
• Global Energy
• Solar oven is a simple device for using sunlight to cook food without using fuel or electricity.
• Carbon neutral fuel is a fuel that does not produce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Electrofuel (e-fuel) is a new class of carbon-neutral replacement fuels.

Environmental considerations[edit]

Main article: Environmental impact of the coal industry

Typically, coal liquefaction processes are associated with significant CO2 emissions during the gasification process or the production of the necessary process heat and electricity introduced into liquefaction reactors [10], thereby releasing greenhouse gases that can contribute to anthropogenic global warming. This is especially true if coal liquefaction is carried out without any carbon capture and storage technology. [21] Technically feasible low-emission CTL plant configurations exist. [22]

Another adverse environmental impact is the high water consumption in the water gas shift or steam methane reforming reaction. [10]

Controlling CO2 emissions at Erdos CTL, a plant in Inner Mongolia with a carbon capture and storage demonstration project, involves injecting CO2 into the saline aquifer of the Erdos Basin at a rate of 100,000 tons per year. [23] [ 3rd party source required

] As of the end of October 2013, the accumulated amount of CO 2 injected since 2010 was 154,000 tons, which reached or exceeded the calculated value.
[24] [ 3rd party source needed
]

For example, in the United States, renewable fuel standards and low carbon fuel standards such as those adopted by the state of California reflect the growing demand for low carbon footprint fuels. In addition, US law limits the military's use of alternative liquid fuels to only those fuels that have life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions less than or equal to those of their conventional oil equivalent, as required by Section 526 of Energy Independence. and the Security Act (EISA) 2007. [25]

Hydrogenation process

To successfully carry out the process and obtain up to 800 kg of liquid-based fuel from 1 ton of raw materials, brown or hard coal

. The main condition for achieving good results is the presence of 35% volatile substances in coals. Before processing, they are ground, crushed to a dusty fraction, and then dried. Afterwards, the coal fraction is mixed with fuel oil or heavy oils to produce the raw material in the form of a paste.

During the process of destructive hydrogenation, the technique involves the direct addition of the missing hydrogen to the coal

.

To do this, the raw materials are placed in a special autoclave and heated. In this case, the pressure inside the vessel reaches 200 Bar, and the temperature – 500 °C. Moreover, substances - catalysts and solvents - must be present in the chemical reaction zone. According to this method, the production of gasoline from coal takes place inside an autoclave in 2 stages:

• liquid phase;
• vapor phase.

Several complex chemicals take place in a vessel under high pressure and high temperature. reactions. In order not to load the story with original terms, we will explain it in simple words: in the autoclave, a lot of coal is converted to hydrogen and complex organic compounds decompose into simple ones. As a result, after cleaning operations, we purchase artificial diesel fuel or gasoline at the outlet. This depends on the conditions of the process and the degree of transformation of the coal-oil mixture. But the exit of fuel from the installation is preceded by a number of operations:

• centrifugation;
• semi-coking;
• distillation.

As you may have noticed, it is not possible to set up such a difficult production with your own hands. The main difficulty is the equipment; it is unlikely that you will be able to create this yourself. Take, for example, an autoclave, where the pressure is higher than in oxygen cylinders. And in general, such production poses an explosion and fire hazard.

conclusions

Despite the fact that the separation of motor fuel from hard and brown coal is quite real and has long been tested in production, it is hardly possible to organize it at home. Of course, there will always be a few craftsmen - enthusiasts who love to achieve their goals and will be able to synthesize gasoline with their own hands. But to do this, you need to study the technology in detail and tinker a lot with the equipment, not to mention the fire hazard.

For a wide range of homeowners and car enthusiasts, obtaining diesel fuel and gasoline from coal is not available. And if you approach the issue from an economic point of view, then it is unprofitable. At the moment, until new inventions and developments have appeared on this topic, it is easier and more reliable to use regular, “petroleum” gasoline.

How to use the resulting fuel?

The described type of processing of plastic waste into gasoline requires little knowledge in the chemical field. You should strive to obtain a pure substance. The purity of the final material, gasoline, is ensured by the correct design of the processing plant and monitoring of the pyrolysis process.

It is important to get a product that will not harm the engine of your car or chainsaw.

The gasoline obtained in the described way can be used in devices for which A-92 will be suitable for refueling. The product must not be poured into the tanks of machinery running on fuel, which has high requirements.

For devices such as walk-behind mowers, home-made gasoline is suitable.

If raw materials are being prepared to produce electrical or thermal energy, it is important that the substance burns well. Her other qualities are not of great importance