527a.    CHEMICAL TRADE JOURNAL.  Synthetic Fuels in South Africa.  Vol. 129, 1951, p. 337.

                    Some of the technical features of the Coalbrook project are presented.  Production of about 200,000 tons of liquid fuels annually will be based on a combination of improved German and American versions of the Fischer-Tropsch process, the former being a development of the Ruhrchemie and Lurgi companies, the latter of M. W. Kellogg Co.  The principal difference between the 2 methods lies in the actual synthesis stage, especially in the types of reactor vessels, catalysts, and process techniques.  The coal with 26-29% ash content will be gasified in a Lurgi pressure plant thus enabling the gas to be generated under the actual pressure used for the subsequent synthesis, 300-450 p.s.i.  The Ruhrchemie-Lurgi’s “Rectisol” process will be used for the gas purification.  The combined process is considered the most advantageous economically because of the greater flexibility of operations.  Whereas Kellogg’s powdered-catalyst method yields essentially fuels, the Ruhrchemie-Lurgi process may be directed either to fuels production or to a larger output of paraffin wax and base stocks for chemical manufacture.  Improvements in the fixed-bed technique of the German process permits an increase in the daily output capacity from an average of 2 to about 50 tons/day.  It is expected that 50,000 tons/year of primary products will be obtained from the Ruhrchemie-Lurgi plant, and 150,000 tons from the Kellogg plant, which will use the tail gas from the German plant in the synthesis operation.