How can you convert coal to a liquid fuel such as oil?

Answer 1

Yes. This process was invented in the 1920s by Germany. The Coal is converted to a synthetic natural gas (syngas) though a process called Gasification. The syngas is then run through the Fischer-Tropsch process which, through a catalized process, is converted into liquid fuels. A major portion of South Africa's liquid fuels are produced through this process. A Coal-To-Liquid plant is currently in the final stages of the permitting process and expected to be online by 2012. The proposed $5.5 Billion facility in Wellsville, Ohio will produce 53,000 barrells a day of liquid fuels including diesel (or jet fuel) and naptha.

Answer 2

Coal can be converted to liquid fuel through a process called coal liquefaction. This involves heating coal in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst to break down the coal molecules into liquid hydrocarbons. There are two main methods for coal liquefaction: direct liquefaction, which turns coal directly into liquid fuel, and indirect liquefaction, which first gasifies the coal into synthesis gas and then converts the gas into liquid fuel.