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Coal to liquids: Back in fashion
With oil prices high and security of supply a rising concern for importing countries, interest in coal-to-liquids projects – once brushed aside as uneconomic – is growing again, writes Martin Clark
THERE is nothing new about synthetic fuels. Sasol, a pioneer in the field – its coal-to-liquids (CTL) track record dates back half a century – has produced more than 1.5bn barrels of liquid fuels from coal in South Africa. With sales of around 200,000 b/d, it shaves millions of dollars off the country's energy-import bill. In the US, the technology has been used on and off since the 1920s. After a brief spell of interest following the 1970s energy crisis, enthusiasm for CTL waned as oil prices subsided and supply concerns diminished. But, as in other areas of alternative energy, when oil prices creep up CTL becomes a more realistic proposition – especially in coal-rich countries where there is a high, and rising, demand for oil products (see Table 1). In countries with high levels of urban pollution it also fits neatly with new environmental objectives, as CTL fuels have a ...Click here to continue reading Coal to liquids: Back in fashion
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