Posted on 10/05/2019 9:58:07 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A company now has the construction permit to build a "state-of-the-art" coal-to-liquids facility in Mason County, creating more than 250 jobs.
According to a news release from Domestic Synthetic Fuels, the company received a permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to build the facility near Point Pleasant.
DSF officials said it will take thousands of workers to build the facility. After construction, the plant will create 130 jobs on-site and 130 coal- mining jobs to supply the raw materials.
"This will have a tremendous economic impact on our county," said John Musgrave, executive director of the Mason County Economic Development Authority. "This will bring jobs and growth to Mason County and the surrounding region."
The facility will turn West Virginia coal and natural gas into ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, aviation fuel, gasoline, and other products.
DSF is a West Virginia-based company. The plant will be the first of its kind in the United States.
The WVDEP issued the permit following a public-comment period and public meetings about the project.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtap.com ...
If this spreads the Saudis are in trouble.
How is this any different from what the Germans did in WW II? If it were a viable alternative to petroleum fuels it would have been in widespread use long before now.
As I understand it there have recently been innovations that make it much more viable.
Coal mining is back!
I hope all those high paying coal mining jobs know which party wants to eliminate their jobs...
We have much more coal and natural gas than we can use or export.
It could be an economic stabilizer and/or backup for military use if needed. The U.S. still uses more oil than domestically produced. Yes, some oil is exported, but we are a net importer.
The germans did convert coal to oil in WWII.
However, it was an incredibly inefficient process, requiring much more energy to process the coal than it produced.
The panzers needed fuel. So it made sense.
However, it made no economic sense in peacetime.
350 years of recoverable coal in North America.
Now is not the time to walk away from it.
Thanks to shale, horizontal drilling, and fracking, the Saudis are already in trouble. Shale oil is on the verge of actually being cheaper than Saudi oil. And natural gas is virtually free.
Frankly, I don't see the economic viability of "coal-to-anything" at this point. Yeah, it's nice to support the coal miners, but the reality is different.
Shale oil is far from free, infact it’s cost is directly tied to the cost of oil.
Extraction is done by ways that are dependent on oil products that are priced according to the cost of crude BBL. It is very energy heavy. VERY. It’s not something barring a chemical additive breakthrough, that is economically viable.
Coal to fuel via direct conversion is a whole different animal.
Coal with hydrogen derived from natural gas is cracked and reformed into liquid hydrocarbon products.
With this process the hard part will be can they control the wear, ie erosion of the process equipment to make it economically viable.
Oil refineries deal with a liquid product the entire way through the house. That ia what they have to compete against. And landfill costs/ issues. The coal once used will still have to be disposed. And it’s no longer coal. It’s waste.
See post #12
I agree with your assessment. One wonders if the model worked in China because it has much different dynamics that WV.
I can’t help but wonder who is funding this build?
“ Frankly, I don’t see the economic viability of “coal-to-anything” at this point. ”
Since there are no Federal giveaways described in the article (unlike wind and solar) YOU may not see the viability, but those folks do.
They are putting capital at risk to build this facility with the expectations of making a profit. That’s how things really work.
Things have changed with shale.....hugely. Read the book “The Absent Superpower....”.
Your information is out of date.
Warthog,
my info is 1st person and very current.
Send me a private post and I’ll explain.
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