Gasification plus GTL
Syngas produced after the gasification process is a unique feedstock which can produce clean motor fuels. Two basic methods are used to convert coal to motor fuels via gasification:
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Methanol-to-Gasoline (MTG):
syngas is first converted to methanol (a commercially used process), then the methanol is converted to gasoline by reacting it over a bed of catalysts. Commercial MTG plants are operating successfully in New Zealand and China, and new plants are under development in the United States.
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Reaction:
- syngas is converted into a liquid petroleum product. The FT process, with coal as a feedstock, was invented in the 1920s, and used by Germany during World War II. It has been utilized in South Africa since the 1950s, and today is used in Malaysia and the Middle East with natural gas as the feedstock.
