Coal-to-Liquid (CTL) is not a new technology. Two German scientists invented the Fischer-Tropsch process of producing liquid fuel from coal in the 1920s. During World War II Germany and Japan used the process to fuel their war effort, as coal was far more abundant to them than oil. (1)
In the 1950s, the Sasol Company was founded in South Africa and the Kellogg Corporation (USA) built a coal-to-liquid plant at Sasolburg. This was followed in the late 1970s by the world’s largest synthetic fuel plant at Secunda. Sasol now employs over 30,000 people and has the largest number of PhD’s in the Southern Hemisphere. (2)
With the recent sharp increases in oil prices, Sasol’s business has expanded significantly, with projects underway in Qatar and Nigeria, among others, and negotiations taking place with the USA.
The major advantage of coal-to-liquid conversion is a reduced dependence on unstable and frequently hostile oil-producing nations, in addition to the looming prospect of oil depletion. The USA has vast reserves of coal. It is estimated that at the current rate of consumption it has enough coal to last 200 years. CTL is favored among politicians and presidential candidates. In fact, in December 2007, Congress approved a bill, which allocated $2.2 billion in tax incentives for clean coal technology applications. (3)
However, there are some major drawbacks to CTL. First, building CTL plants is very costly, requiring a large initial investment. So far, American companies have been unwilling to make such an investment without government subsidy. Second, the process from coal to burned fuel produces almost twice as much greenhouse gas per gallon as conventional fuel, as well as considerable other pollutants. Third, large-scale implementation would require increased coal mining activity, with consequent damage to the environment.
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