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

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.

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