I suppose liquified coal can be transported by rail in tank cars like ethanol? Southern Illinois has coal reserves that isn’t in high demand due to sulfur content.
Senators Re-Introduce Coal-to-Liquids Legislation
5 January 2007
US Senators Jim Bunning (R-KY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have re-introduced a piece of legislation that would help create the infrastructure needed for large-scale production of Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) fuel in the US.
The proposed “Coal-To-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007” is based on the bill first introduced by Senators Bunning and Obama last spring and expands tax incentives, creates planning assistance, and develops Department of Defense support for a domestic CTL industry.
The Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2007 enables the Department of Energy to provide loan guarantees for construction and direct loans for the planning and permitting of CTL plants. Loan guarantees will encourage private investment and planning loans will help companies prepare a plant for construction.
This legislation also will expand investment tax credits and expensing provisions to include coal-to-liquids plants, extend the Fuel Excise Tax credit, and expand the credit for equipment used to capture and sequester carbon emissions.
Finally, the bill provides the Department of Defense the funding and authorization to purchase, test, and integrate these fuels into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and military fuel supplies.
The Senators also announced they will form the Senate Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Caucus to help drive the legislation forward.
Both Kentucky and Illinois have massive coal reserves. Obama also sponsored the just-introduced BioFuels Security Act of 2007 that would institute a 60 billion gallon Renewable Fuel Standard by 2030.
Depends on what type of liquified coal we’re talking about. If it’s coal-water fuel, it’ll probably move by tanker. If it’s synthetic diesel or synthetic gasoline made from coal, it’ll probably move via pipeline.
Perhaps better for transporting ROM coal in some ways, but not for liquified coal products. Don’t forget, a coal-log pipeline can only tranport coal logs, but a railroad can transport coal and a host of other products.
In all these states where coal liquification is being promoted, the idea is to take the in-state coal resources and produce synthetic transportation fuels on site. That way, all the jobs and the tax base stays in-state, as opposed to just digging up and transporting the ROM coal to a distant site for liquification processing.
The slurry pipelines look like a good way to cutdown on the labor factor of transporting coal. Pipelines never “die on hours” or go whining to their union.
But in some parts of the country the water for the slurry is not easily obtained. I half heartedly suggested that when they build another gas pipeline to get gas out of the San Juan basin,(Colorado/NewMexico/Utah/Arizona) they should include a second pipeline to back-haul water…seems like a fair trade if you live in the desert. That ought to be cheaper than the Animas-La Plata project they are building now…
Former President Jimmy Carter paid money for Ashland Oil to build a coal desulfer unit at it’s Cattlesburg Ky. refinery during his term.They blended coal tar with oil petroleum to produce diesel and gasoline.But politics (Regan/Bush) shut it down.Same with Ashlands South Point Ohio Ethanol plant.
Synfuel ,is a newer similar process using higher sulfer coal and blending it with chemicals to burn at power plants.It is a very big tax break for those who make it and use it.
Then theres news of a Calif.company wanting to build a new style coal desulfer unit in Mingo Co. WVa to produce several million barrels of a lower sulfer diesel a year.The plant will use several million tons of coal a year.Good news for the coal and railroad industry.