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Liquid coal could be the "Next Big Thing"

Yep, dirty old coal can be made into a liquid fuel (it's already being done in many places), and most important—it can be made to be a clean fuel as well. No one expects it to replace oil, but it could take a lot of pressure off that industry and those looking for alternative fuel sources. There are also some benefits with liquid coal over biofuels in terms of availability and efficiency, plus there are enough coal reserves to last at least another century.

Full story here...

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4 Comments

readerreader says:

11:34 AM, 12/23/06

Not if the Democrats get a hold of it. They will quash this before it even has a chance to breathe.
 
"Foreign oil"?
If we really cared, we'd be up in Alaska or offshore looking for domestic oil. Both have been banned by Congress inexplicably.
But that does a funny thing:
 
It lowers the cost of doing business, and makes capitalism more palatable.
Not good when you're trying to push Statism.

kurtamaxxxguy says:

08:21 PM, 12/23/06

It's a very interesting article, thank you - good to know coal can be used for making Oil and, indirectly, gasoline.
 
One thing not mentioned is what will be done with all the sulphur left behind from the conversion. Most coal, especially the most common lignite, has an extremely high sulphur content. The producers will have to avoid those deposits leading to formation of sulphuric acid and hydrogen sulphide, both very corrosive and dangerous to any living thing.

estreka says:

02:21 PM, 12/24/06

I imagine it's costly (both economically and environmentally) to produce oil from coal. While it would allow the US (and much of the world for that matter) to become self-sufficient, I doubt the consumer will reap many benefits.

firstwagon says:

04:41 PM, 12/28/06

"Not good when you're trying to push Statism."
 
Missed that part of the article, who's trying to push satism?

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