Synfuels (CTL, OTL, GTL, BTL, XTL) Round-Up

Given below is a compilation of the latest news, analyses and resources on synthetic fuels from hydrocarbons (coal-to-liquids, biomass-to-liquids, gas-to-liquids, oil sands-to-liquids)
Analyses

The Impacts of Synfuels (CTL,GTL, BTL, OTL) on World Petroleum Supply

RAND Study Concludes Oil Sands Synthetic Crude Can Be Cost-Competitive with Conventional Petroleum Even Over a Wide Range of CO2 Prices

New Life-Cycle Analysis Concludes Neither GTL or CTL a “Reasonable Path” for Energy Security With Reduced GHG Emissions

Study Suggests “Flexible Carbon to Liquid” Fuel Process Could Displace 15-20% of Transportation Fuels in the US

The tale of two synthetic fuels & Using champagne to make beer

News

Australia:
Linc Energy Begins Producing GTL Liquids from Underground Gasification Syngas

South Africa:
Biofuels singled out as 'best option' for alternative fuels in SA

USA:
Synfuels Converts Natural Gas to Gasoline to Cash

New Route to Hydrocarbon Biofuels: A simple catalytic process converts plant sugars into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.

Synthesis Energy Systems Options Up to 15 Methanol-to-Gasoline Technology Licenses for Coal-to-Gasoline Projects

Researchers Propose Dual-Bed Configuration to Increase Efficiency and Reduce Emissions from Coal Gasification

China:
Shenhua Ningxia Coal Group boosts CTL project with Sasol

Is it the end of the line for coal-to-oil in China?

India:
Sasol mulls dlrs 8bn India CTL plant

UK:
Small Scale FT Contract with Thai National Oil Company

Resources:

Diesel Fuel from Bolivian Natural Gas by Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis using Nitrogen-rich Syngas

DOE Releases Feasibility Study for Small-Scale Conceptual Coal-to-Liquids Facility in Appalachian Basin : Technical and Economic Assessment of Small-Scale Fischer-Tropsch Liquids Facilities

An Engineering-Economic Analysis of Syngas Storage

Small-Scale Fischer-Tropsch

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News: BP and Ergo Exergy agreement on UCG

This is somewhat old. Following up from a previous post on underground coal gasification (UCG), BP and Ergo Exergy have teamed together to combine their respective strengths in directional drilling, seismic data interpretation and UCG technologies. The Ergo Exergy website has details of the εUCG™ process.

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Underground Coal Gasification: Keep the coal in the ground, convert it to gas

The world has much more coal than oil/natural gas. However, using coal also entails the disposal of mineral matter produced due to combustion/gasification. Additionally, for technologies such as coal-to-liquids (CTL), the captial cost of a gasification plant is very high. One technology that overcomes these two limitations is Underground Coal Gasification (UCG).
In UCG, the coal seam is gasified underground, by injecting either steam/hot air or a combination of both, converting the hydrocarbons to a syngas mixture, rich in inert gases. This mixture can then be further processed to remove the inert gases and produce synfuels. The highlights of UCG are NOx emissions which are comparable to combined cycle power plants, lesser ash volumes and lower capital costs. (See the GCC blog for results from a life cycle study on UCG compared to other "clean coal" technologies.) On the other hand, the operation of a UCG plant/reactor requires detailed knowledge of the stability/safety of the coal seam. Because the coal in the ground is being gasified, some subsidence will occur. Additionally, care must be taken to make sure that the ground water does not get contaminated by the organics produced during UCG. Accordingly, the UCG well should be located below the water table, and should be operated under negative pressure to ensure no leakage of fluids to the ground water. Additional details about UCG are given in the links below. By far, the best example of a UCG facility has been the Chinchilla project in Australia, which was the longest running demonstration project of its kind.

Update: I recently became aware of the Majuba project in South Africa (Thanks David!), which is supposedly more technically challenging than Chinchilla.

Whereas both the Majuba & Chinchilla projects converted/convert the gases from UCG into power, the gases could also be converted to synfuels. My opinions after the jump.
I am very interested in UCG, because this represents a unique combination of challenges in mine safety, mine engineering, coal gasification (fuel science) and potential CO2 sequestration. Moreover, when the ash content of the coal is too high (~30-40%), it may be economical to gasify it in-place instead of mining and gasifying it ex-situ. This is useful especially for Indian coals which have a higher ash content compared to most US coals. Therefore, a future CTL plant in India need not entirely be an above-ground structure. In fact, partial gasification to produce syngas and the conversion of this produced gas above ground to liquids might be cheaper. A phenomenon which is closely related to UCG is coal fires (UCF), which result from the burning of the coal seam. Examples are Centralia (PA), and fires in the Jharia coal seam. See Prof. Anupma Prakash's web page for more information on these phenomena.

Hat tip: Green Car Congress
Some links:
Best practices in UCG
Underground coal gasification: A new clean coal utilization technique for India
Primer on UCG

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