MORGANTOWN, WV — The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy
Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) and the U.S. Air Force have
released a study that examines the feasibility of producing
l00,000 barrels per day of jet fuel from coal and biomass. The
coal+biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) facilities could also cut life-
cycle emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse
gas, by 20 percent compared to conventional petroleum processes.
The study provides a performance baseline that can be used to
show how CBTL with carbon capture and storage would capitalize
on domestic energy resources, provide a buffer against rising
petroleum and natural gas prices, and mitigate output of CO2.
The joint NETL/Air Force report, Increasing Security and
Reducing Carbon Emissions of the U.S. Transportation Sector: A
Transformational Role for Coal with Biomass, looks at a plant
design that would gasify coal and corn stover (the leaves and
stalks left in a cornfield after harvest), and then convert the
gas to jet fuel using Fisch