Historically the biggest obstacle to coal liquefaction has been the high cost of production, particularly when gas, oil and coal prices have been low. In the future, the greater availability of coal allied with low coal prices could provide the economic conditions for liquefaction technology to come of age
To date, where coal liquefaction technology has developed, pure economics have been a secondary consideration. Both direct and indirect coal liquefaction methods were applied in inter-war Germany, while the development of liquefaction plants in South Africa was driven by the political isolation and oil embargo that characterised the apartheid years. During this period up to 60 percent of the national transportation fuel requirement was supplied via coal liquefaction....
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This complete item is approximately 1490 words in length, and appeared in the May/June 2003 issue of CoalTrans International, on page 24.
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