Rentech Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) News

Rentech (AMEX:RTK), a Colorado company that is developing gas-to-liquids (GTL)/coal-to-liquids (CTL) processes to convert synthesis gas made from natural gas, coal and other carbon-bearing materials into ultra-low sulfur and ultra-low aromatic fuels, in December announced three news items.

Plans for building a 10,000-plus barrel per day CTL pant are proceeding with the signing of an agreement with the Adams County, Mississippi Board of Supervisors for six months exclusive rights to negotiate the purchase or lease of a 100 acre site located just outside of Natchez.  Rentech plans to build and operate the plant which would supply fuels preferentially to emergency facilities and first responders for their backup power fuel needs.  CTL diesel fuels have a shelf life of at least eight years compared to a three to six month life for petroleum fuels.  By having a reliable standby fuel with a long shelf life, emergency agencies will be able to supply the necessary support immediately during critical situations like these presented during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which was not the case during those two tragic events. 

Site construction will begin on Its 10-15 barrel per day Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Product Development Unit (PDU) in the second quarter of 2006.  It is expected that the United States' first fully integrated CTL facility will be ready for commissioning and startup in the fourth calendar quarter of 2006.  The unit will primarily be used to process eastern and western coal, but will have the capability to handle petroleum coke and biomass.  The product upgrading system and the gasifier, which are the long term items, have already been ordered.  When in operation, the facility will provide test quantities of ultra-clean fuels for evaluation by groups that are interested in acquiring commercial quantities of the fuels. 

Rentech was awarded it 20th U.S. patent related to its FT, CTL, and GTL technology processes.  U.S. patent no. 6,976,362, Integrated Fischer-Tropsch and Power Production Plant with Low Carbon Dioxide Emissions, teaches a combined process for producing both FT liquids and electrical power wherein primarily hydrogen is used to fuel the combustion turbine of a combined cycle unit.  The process combines hydrogen from the FT effluent and bypassed synthesis gas from the gas synthesizer and feeds them to a shift reactor where the carbon monoxide in the gas is reacted with water to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide.  The carbon dioxide can then be used in a commercial process such as chemical and fertilizer production, bottling of carbonated drinks or enhanced oil recovery.  The remaining gas, mainly hydrogen, is used to power a combustion turbine to produce electricity.  The resulting emissions from the turbine are essentially free of carbon dioxide.  The overall advantage of the patented process is that it provides a way to produce power and ultra-clean fuels while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

These announcements follow their November announcement that they were building a 5,200 ton per day coal gasifier as part of a fertilizer plant in East Dubuqe, IL.  The plant would produce 900 tons per day of nitrogen,  87 million gallons per year of FT liquids and all the electricity necessary to run the plant.

Resources:

Rentech Enters Agreement with Adams County, Mississippi Board of Supervisors, Press release, December 21, 2005
Rentech Issues Progress Report on Coal-to-Liquids Product Development Unit, Orders Major Long Lead Items, Press release, December 7, 2005
Rentech Awarded 20th U.S. Patent related to its Fischer-Tropsch Process, Press release, December 28, 2005

More blogs about coal, Fischer-Tropsch, energy, technology

Comments

[Matthew]

Hi -

Found your blog while doing some research on F-T - do you by any chance know what F-T's carbon emissions look like per equivalent gallon or barrel of gasoline? I've been trying to find data that shows the total CO2 output - including the gasification process - for finished F-T product. Any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks -

[JesseJenkins]

"Its 10-15 barrel per day Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Product Development Unit (PDU) in the second quarter of 2006"

Is '10-15 barrel per day' a typo? You mentioned 10,000 bpd above. I assume you ment 10-15,000 bpd.

[BOG]

I think RTK's CTL technology has better longterm future prospects than companies like SYNM's GTL technology.GTL will serve a niche market .I think SYNM willbe ahighly profitable company though with it's barge GTL refineries.

[Rian Bahran]

I am also looking for F-T's carbon emissions per equivalent gallon or barrel of gasoline.

I've also been trying to find data that shows the total CO2 output - including the gasification process - for finished F-T product.

Thanks,
Rian