Coal to gas .. Gas to diesel .. Gas to power

[jeromeowen]

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) clean coal technology is a proven underground combustion process, which produces a synthetic gas or syngas at the surface that can be economically used for a variety of purposes including:

* Production of liquid fuels using Coal To Liquids technology
* Electricity generation using gas turbines / combined cycles
* As feedstock in different petrochemical processes

UCG clean coal technology has been successfully operating commercially at a number of sites in the ex-Soviet Union for more than 40 years, where two plants are still in operation. In this application the syngas is used primarily for power generation and heating.

Linc Energy through an extensive R&D programme, which included government support, has developed a benchmark UCG facility at Chinchilla in Queensland, Australia. This is the first facility of its kind to have achieved sustained success in the western world.

Linc Energy´s long term business plan is to use the syngas produced via UCG as feedstock to an adjacent on-site Coal To Liquids (CTL) plant with a target production capacity of 20,000 barrels of diesel fuel per day (20,000 BPD). Most importantly, the diesel fuel produced from Linc´s syngas will be a cleaner alternative to conventional refinery diesel.

Additionally, Linc Energy´s long term business plan is to use the syngas produced via UCG as feedstock in a Gas Turbine or Combined Cycle plant to generate much-needed and more environmentally friendly electricity.

Bringing together the unique production processes of UCG clean coal technology and CTL presents exciting opportunities for the future of the company and the country. Linc´s syngas is a much cheaper feedstock for the CTL process than traditional sources such as Natural Gas or Coal Gas derived from above ground coal gasification.

The unique advantage is that Linc can produce its syngas directly from the coal seam and then feed the output straight into the CTL Plant and Power Plant planned for the Chinchilla site.

The innovative thinking that has led to this unique process combination has the potential to make Linc Energy one of the world´s leading producers and suppliers of ultra-clean liquid fuels. This has an added advantage of helping address the insatiable global demand for diesel and other liquid fuels.

[PeterSon_12k]

Several large environmental groups and former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign yesterday claiming that "Clean Coal" -- a favored industry phrase -- is a myth. The groups announced a new umbrella group called the Reality Coalition, which charges that coal cannot be considered "Clean" absent use of carbon capture-and-storage technologies for power plants.

In all the presidential debates, and on the campaign trail, both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain mentioned “clean coal technology”. What is clean coal?. .....

"Clean Coal" also refers to coal burning power plants that capture and store the excess, preventing it from contributing to climate change.

[Karl]

Hello PeterSon_12K and jeromeowen.

Seems to be a rather "convenient" time to start promoting the idea of clean coal.

But just one question -- how do you reconcile this "clean coal" with these recent developments in the U.S. ?

--> Massive Coal Ash Spill in Tennessee puts the lie to Clean Coal | DeSmogBlog

When it comes to PR spindoctoring there is always one surefire cure - reality. If you were fooled by the multimillion dollar "clean coal" PR marketing campaign take a look at this video footage of a massive flood of toxic coal sludge from a dam that burst at a local coal company's processing plant in Tennessee yesterday.The spill covered as many as 400 acres of land with toxic ash as high as six feet deep.

--> Environmental Spill Disaster Devastates Tennessee; 48 Times the Size of Exxon Valdez | Environment | AlterNet

Apart from the immediate physical damage, the issue is what toxic substances are in that sludge: Mercury, arsenic, lead, beryllium, cadmium. Though officials said the amounts of these poisons in the sludge could not be determined on Monday, they could (at the mild end) irritate skin or trigger allergies or (longer term) cause cancer or neurological problems.

This toxic sludge got into the Emory River, a tributary of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers: The water supply for Chattanooga, Tennessee as well as millions of people living downstream in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.