Nitro Express
09-18-2009, 11:33 AM
I used to work at a Department of Energy lab and it always amazed me how much technology we had on alternative energy and never used due to politics getting in the way. The Chinese are rich in coal like we are but poor in oil and gas. The solution is to use technology the US developed to make methanol and the cost is laughably cheap compared to what the world price for oil is. Of course since Saudi Arabia continues to buy up more US assets and our politicians they want us on their oil.
The production of methanol from coal gasification is a mature technology. In the United States, Eastman Chemical produces methanol from coal gasification at a plant in Kingsport, Tennessee that was built with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). Based on this experience, the U.S. DoE estimates that methanol can be produced from coal for as little as 50¢ per gallon. In China, production costs from coal are generally RMB$800-1,200 per metric ton of methanol (US$110-165/metric ton, or 33¢ to 50¢ per gallon). In addition, coke furnaces in China generate 80 billion cubic meters of waste gas each year, enough to produce 40 million metric tons of methanol, and significantly reduce pollution in the coal-producing regions. Coal-bed methane deposits of 30,000-35,000 billion cubic meters in China represent another significant energy resource as well as a hidden danger that claims miner’s lives each year. Just 1000 cubic meters of coal-bed methanol can produce one metric ton of methanol.
The production of methanol from coal gasification is a mature technology. In the United States, Eastman Chemical produces methanol from coal gasification at a plant in Kingsport, Tennessee that was built with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). Based on this experience, the U.S. DoE estimates that methanol can be produced from coal for as little as 50¢ per gallon. In China, production costs from coal are generally RMB$800-1,200 per metric ton of methanol (US$110-165/metric ton, or 33¢ to 50¢ per gallon). In addition, coke furnaces in China generate 80 billion cubic meters of waste gas each year, enough to produce 40 million metric tons of methanol, and significantly reduce pollution in the coal-producing regions. Coal-bed methane deposits of 30,000-35,000 billion cubic meters in China represent another significant energy resource as well as a hidden danger that claims miner’s lives each year. Just 1000 cubic meters of coal-bed methanol can produce one metric ton of methanol.