Bergius process
The Bergius process is a method of production of liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure.
A number of catalysts have been developed over the years, including tungsten or molybdenum disulfide, tin or nickel oleate, and others.
The overall reaction can be summarized as follows: The immediate product from the reactor must be stabilized by passing it over a conventional hydrotreating catalyst.
The different fractions can be passed to further processing (cracking, reforming) to output synthetic fuel of desirable quality.
As the coal molecule is broken down, free radicals are formed which are immediately stabilized by absorption of H atoms from the donor solvent.
Extract then passes to a catalytic ebullated-bed hydrocracker (H-Oil unit) fed by additional hydrogen, forming lower molecular weight hydrocarbons and splitting off sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen originally present in the coal.
Ashy residue goes to a Kerr-McGee critical solvent deashing unit which yields additional liquid product and a high-ash material containing unreacted coal and heavy residuum, which in a commercial plant would be gasified to make the H2 needed to feed the process.
In this process liquid hydrocarbons used as synthetic fuel are produced by hydrogenation of lignite (brown coal).
The technical problems, inflation and the constant criticism of Franz Joseph Emil Fischer, which changed to support after a personal demonstration of the process, made the progress slow, and Bergius sold his patent to BASF, where Carl Bosch worked on it.
Before World War II several plants were built with an annual capacity of 4 million tons of synthetic fuel.
Towards the end of World War II the United States began heavily financing research into converting coal to gasoline, including money to build a series of pilot plants.
[citation needed] The facility was shut down in 1953 by the Eisenhower administration, allegedly after intense lobbying by the oil industry.
