Synthetic fuel production methods and apparatuses

Abstract

Carbon-containing tail gases and pollutants in a coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process, or other liquid fuel production process, may be reacted to produce additional synthesis gas which may be used to produce liquid fuels and hydrocarbons or which may be recycled within the liquid fuel production process to improve conversion of carbon to liquid fuels or hydrocarbons.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 552,604 filed on Oct. 25, 2006, and entitled “SYNTHETIC FUEL PRODUCTION USING COAL AND NUCLEAR ENERGY,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.GOVERNMENT RIGHTS[0002]The United States Government has certain rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC07-05-ID14517 between the United States Department of Energy and Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The present invention relates to processes and systems for converting carbonaceous feedstocks to liquid hydrocarbons and liquid fuel products and, more particularly, to the use of alternative energy sources and recycling processes to provide improved recovery in coal-to-liquid or carbon-to-liquid processes and systems.[0005]2. State of the Art[0006]Processes for producing liquid fuel products from ...

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Benefits of technology

[0035]According to embodiments of the invention, the conversion of carbon to liquid fuel products in a coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process may be improved by modifying a conventional coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process or by incorporating the modifications into new process plants. The modifications to a coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process facilitate the conversion of carbon to liquid fuel products and reduce the amount of carbon-based pollutants produced by a coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process.

[0036]In some embodiments of the invention, a water-splitting process, such as an electrolysis or thermochemical process, for producing oxygen may be integrated with a liquid fuel production process, such as a coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon production process, or may be configured to supply oxygen to a liquid fuel production process. The oxygen may be used in the liquid fuel production process to gasify coal in the production of a synthesis gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The water-splitting process may produce oxygen from water utilizing conventional electrolysis processes. The power or heat required by the water-splitting process to produce oxygen from water may be supplied from a nuclear power source. The use of a nuclear power source to produce electricity or power to supply to the water-splitting process decreases the production of pollutants associated with conventional coal-fired electricity generation operations. The resulting liquid fuel production process therefore produces fewer pollutants. In addition, the use of a water-splitting process reduces the need for air separation units conventionally used with gasification processes to produce oxygen, reducing the equipment and operating costs associated with the production of liquid fuels, such as by the gasification of coal.

Problems solved by technology

The use of a nuclear power source to produce electricity or power to supply to the water-splitting process decreases the production of pollutants associated with conventional coal-fired electricity generation operations.

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