Coal gasification process with conversion of CO2 to oxygen gasifier feed producing carbon by-product
View Patent ↗A process and apparatus for the enhancement of syngas (CO and H 2 ) to fuels production utilizing a carbon based feedstock, (for example coal) by exploiting some, or all, of the hot CO 2 produced during the gasification step, and converting the CO 2 through electrochemical reactions into oxygen (O 2 ) and carbon via a molten salt reactor and directing the oxygen back to the gasifier to minimize or eliminate the need for an oxygen plant, while the carbon by-product (granular carbon) will be used for a variety of adsorbents for environmental applications.
1. A coal gasification process and carbon dioxide conversion process consisting of the steps of
producing a raw syngas from a gasifier heating coal producing a syngas product having a temperature of from 800 to 1200° C., said gasification process forming a syngas product containing a carbon dioxide where a gasifier for use in the process is operated over a range of pressure between 15 and 1500 psi and a temperature from 750 to 1200° C.;
purifying said syngas product containing said carbon dioxide with a purification unit fluidly coupled to said gasifier;
removing said carbon dioxide from said syngas product with a carbon dioxide separation/recovery unit fluidly coupled to said purification unit;
compressing said carbon dioxide with a compressor fluidly coupled to said carbon dioxide separation/recovery unit forming a concentrated carbon dioxide product forming a compressed carbon dioxide product;
cooling and reducing the temperature of said syngas product with a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to said gasifier;
recovering syngas carbon neutral heat energy removed from said syngas product during cooling with said heat exchanger and using said syngas carbon neutral heat energy to drive a conversion/disassociation of said carbon dioxide product into a carbon product and an oxygen product by circulating at least a portion of said syngas carbon neutral heat energy through a molten salt reactor fluidly coupled to said heat exchanger unit and said gasifier by:
a) heating said molten salt reactor to a selected temperature utilizing said carbon neutral heat energy generated from said heat exchanger from cooling a least a portion of said syngas product, said carbon neutral heat energy producing at least a portion of the heat necessary to operate said molten salt reactor;
b) feeding said compressed carbon dioxide product to said molten salt reactor; and
c) converting and disassociating said compressed carbon dioxide product with said molten salt reactor producing carbon by-product collecting on an anode of said molten salt reactor and a pure oxygen product released at a cathode of said molten salt reactor;
feeding said pure oxygen product produced in said molten salt reactor to said gasifier; and
removing said carbon by-product produced in said molten salt reactor.