Bixby Energy Systems’ new liquefaction technology
Bixby Energy Systems, Inc. has added carbon liquefaction technology to its energy portfolio, which when commercialized, will allow the company to produce both synthetic natural gas and light sweet crude oil from coal without the need to burn the coal and significantly reducing greenhouse gases.
The company expects to complete construction of a liquefaction beta unit in mid-2011 and plans to move into commercial production at that time.
“Discussions of energy independence rarely end with the proposal of real solutions. Our liquefaction technology has the potential to provide significant change in the balance of resources, and perhaps to change the current geopolitical and economic landscape,” said Bob Walker, chairman, CEO and president of Bixby Energy Systems.
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics, more than 3.2 million barrels of crude oil were imported into the US in 2009, while only approximately 1.9 million barrels were domestically produced. Bixby’s liquefaction technology has the potential to balance the import/export scale for the U.S. and other countries that may be rich in coal.
The Bixby Process consists of two phases: devolitization and liquefaction. The devolitization process does not burn coal, but rather superheats it in a closed-loop environment. This produces a high-quality synthetic natural gas that is not achieved in other gas conversion processes. The remaining by-product of the coal after the devolitization process is solid, semi-activated carbon material, which is used in Bixby’s liquefaction process. The carbon solids are processed in a Bixby liquefaction reactor where they are combined with hydrogen, super-heated and continuously pressurized to produce a semi-refined light sweet crude oil, which can be further processed into diesel fuel, jet fuel, gasoline, or other fuel products. Any remaining non-usable material is vitrified and made into inert ingots for safe disposal.
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