Browse > Home / Policy / Entrepreneur calls coal-to-liquid the logical successor to ethanol: “does it make sense to burn your food supply?”

Entrepreneur calls coal-to-liquid the logical successor to ethanol: “does it make sense to burn your food supply?”

February 13, 2008

In Texas, the chairman of DKRW Advanced Fuels told the Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ 2008 conference that refining coal into liquids is the logical step to succeed corn-based ethanol. “Does it make sense to burn your food supply … to make what is in our estimation an inferior transportation fuel?” Robert Kelly asked. “We’ve got a huge amount of coal here,” Kelly said after a breakfast presentation, noting U.S. coal reserves are among the world’s largest. “It is a huge fuel source for the next 50 years if we do it responsibly.”

A recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists said that converting coal into liquid fuel will worsen climate change problems, and recommended more focus on next-generation biofuels. The report said that liquid coal can increase greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent, compared to gasoline.

“Biofuels have a Jekyll-and-Hyde reputation depending on what study you read and what assumptions you make, but liquid coal is a loser no matter how you look at it,” said Patricia Monahan, author of the report.

West Virginia recently announced a policy of replacing 40 percent of the state’s oil consumption by 2030 with liquid fuel made from coal, and Gov. Manchin recently proposed the construction of 10 liquid coal plants in the state.

  • Union of Concerned Scientists say biofuels a better option than coal-to-liquid fuel; major West Virginia program under scrutiny
    • A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists said that converting coal into liquid fuel will worsen climate change problems, and recommended more focus on next-generation biofuels. The report s...
  • West Virginia Development Authority gives preliminary OK to $5 million loan to Kanawha Biodiesel
    • In West Virginia, the state Development Authority gave preliminary approval to a $5 million loan to Kanawha Biodiesel for its plant in Institute. The company has licensed a proprietary biodiesel produ...
  • Today in Biofuels Opinion: Mubarak asks “Is it logical or even acceptable that agricultural crops are used to produce ethanol?”
    • At the World Economic Forum, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt: "Is it logical or even acceptable that agricultural crops are used to produce ethanol, leading to a worse crisis in food prices?" Also...
  • Today in Biofuels Opinion: “the RFS made sense when you passed it in December and prices were $90 a barrel. It makes more sense today with crude oil prices at $120 a barrel”
    • A spokesman for US President George W. Bush: "We think it is a good thing that countries are developing, that more and more people have higher and higher standards of living....as you increase your st...
  • US Food Summit to meet; may call for global biofuels development moratorium
    • In Italy, the UN Summit on Food Security meets this week in Rome, with biofuels on the agenda. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is attending, in hopes of convincing attendees that ethanol...
  • US climate proposals “simply not enough”, say delegates as Washington climate conference ends
    • The two-day conference of the 17 "Heavy Smoker" major polluting nations ended with disappointment over President George Bush's call for voluntary emission targets set by each individual country. Th...

    Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Policy 

    Comments

    Got something to say?

    You must be logged in to post a comment.