TITLE: Research Guidance Studies to Assess Gasoline from Coal by Methanol-to Gasoline and Sasol-Type Fischer--Tropsch Technologies. Final Report.

AUTHOR: M. Schreiner.

INST.  AUTHOR: Mobil Research and Development Corp., Princeton, NJ.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  Aug 78,  324p.

ABSTRACT:

This study provides a technical and economic comparison between the new Mobil methanol-to-gasoline technology under development and the commercially available Fischer--Tropsch technology for the production of motor gasoline meeting U.S. quality standards. Conceptual plant complexes, sited in Wyoming, are complete grass-roots facilities. The Lurgi dry-ash, pressure technology is used to gasify sub-bituminous strip coal. Except for the Mobil process, processes used are commercially available.  Coproduction of products, namely SNG, LPG and gasoline, is practiced. Four sensitivity cases have also been developed in less detail from the two base cases. In all areas, the Mobil technology is superior to Fischer--Tropsch: process complexity, energy usage, thermal efficiency, gasoline selectivity, gasoline quality, investment and gasoline selectivity, gasoline quality, investment and gasoline cost. Principal advantages of the Mobil process are its selective yield of excellent quality gasoline with minimum ancillary processing. Fischer--Tropsch not only yields a spectrum of products, but the production of a gasoline meeting U.S. specifications is difficult and complex. This superiority results in about a 25% reduction in the gasoline cost. Sensitivity study conclusions include: (1) the conversion of methanol into gasoline over the Mobil catalyst is highly efficient, (2) if SNG is a valuable product, increased gasoline yield via the reforming of SNG is uneconomical, and (3) fluid-bed operation is somewhat superior to fixed-bed operation for the Mobil methanol conversion technology. (ERA citation 04:040107)

CONTRACT  NUMBER: EF-77-C-01-2447