Download The Montana Coal Gasification and Fischer

The Montana
Coal Gasification and
Fischer-Tropsch Project
Joe Wendland
Cliff Robbins
Introduction
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Technical aspects of Fischer-Tropsch
History of Fischer-Tropsch
Environmental impact
Economic overview
Selected sites for advanced coal development
Analysis of these sites
Technical Fischer-Tropsch
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Coal to Liquid
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Direct
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Indirect (Fischer Tropsch)
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Coal –> Crude Oil
Coal -> Gas -> Crude
Potential to reduce cost of Conversion
Brief History of Coal Gasification
and Fischer-Tropsch
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Germany during WWII
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South Africa during Apartheid
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Parallel plate reactor
Arge reactor (Shell and tube reactor)
China and Montana
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Learning from past experiences
Environmental Impact
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Carbon emissions
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Climate change (cost big 5-20% of GDP Stern
report)
Carbon sequestration
More or Less than conventional Crude?
Strip Mining
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Not too bad
Economic Overview
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Historic Price of oil: $13 - $75
Current Price: $60
Fischer Tropsch - $40 / bbl (sequestration?)
Construction cost - $750 million
Construction time – 5 years
Montana
Selected Sites for Advanced Coal
Development
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Bull Creek
Colstrip
Decker
Kinsey
Nelson Creek
Otter Creek
Pros and Cons of Selected Sites
Pros
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Most sites have sufficient water sources
State government
Existing transportation infrastructure to support
initiation of some proposed sites
Large amount of coal in reserves
Pros and Cons of Selected Sites
Cons
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Addition to transportation infrastructure
Additional pipelines needed since most are
operating near full capacity (80-90%)
Initiation costs and lack of federal funding
Conclusion
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Many challenges exist
Challenges can be overcome
Benefits of Economic Development and
Energy Security