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Study aims to render liquid fuel from solid Texas source

Written by Johnathan Silver, The Shorthorn staff

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 07:55 PM

University engineering researchers plan to design a micro refinery to reduce oil costs and, consequentially, the cost of gas with help from Texas’ 200-year lignite coal supply. Coal to liquid fuel conversion research is an engineering effort to lower the price of production nationwide. The technique involves breaking lignite down through a chemical process and turning it into fuel. Richard Billo, associate dean of Engineering for Research, heads the project. He and his team plan to continue research for one more year. They want to hire an engineering firm to design a micro refinery. “Putting this university into research that makes an impact is exciting,” Billo said. “Our hope is to have someone build a micro refinery on a site that will serve as a demonstration plant for others to view the process.” Industrial engineering alumna Mary Campbell works with the team to determine the cost of oil production and the cost at the pump. She prefers using Texas lignite coal because it is easy to break down, is environmentally safe and isn’t expensive. “I like the idea of working with alternative energy,” she said. “We want to reduce American reliance on foreign oil.” Criminology graduate student Nicholas Hubbard drives about 40 miles a day from southwest Fort Worth to UTA and back to Fort Worth. With lower gas prices, the money saved would go further, he said. “It can go toward family vacations, electricity, gas and water bills and emergency funds,” Hubbard said. “It will help the economy and Texas as a whole.” Spanish senior Elizabeth Mauricio lives near campus and tries to minimize her travels because of gas costs. “I had to cut road trips this summer because they’re just too expensive,” she said. “Lower gas prices would definitely be a plus.” John Priest, industrial and manufacturing systems engineering professor, is helping design the process of converting coal into crude oil. Nothing is guaranteed yet, he said. “There are things that have to be worked out before building a refinery,” Priest said. “In the end, coal to oil production may not scale up, may not be environmentally friendly and may not be economically sound. But it’s looking good right now.” External funding comes from the Department of Energy and the Texas Ignition Fund. Researchers have the Texas Legislature to thank for funding, Billo said. “This was a challenge from congressman Joe Barton,” he said. “We showed him our work being done with biodiesel.” Researchers used vegetable oil to produce biodiesel in a previous experiment. Rep. Barton, R-Texas, wanted similar results using Texas’ lignite coal. Views: 1532 | E-mail   Comments (1)  1  Wonderful prospects! Written by Vinodh Valluri, on 07-01-2009 09:27 These are some wonderful prospects. I appreciate the enterprise of qualified scientists in helping US become energy independent. However, I hope these new technologies will undergo requisite environmental cost assessments thoroughly. Lignite is a poor grade of coal, refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignite. Therefore, it would be highly astute to study the economics and ecological effects of mining such a poor energy source before proceeding to invest any dollars into such technology. Especially, in view of the current economy! Report Abuse Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com All right reserved

Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:28 AM )

 

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