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Coal to Liquids Research and Development

Coal-to-liquids fuel production is in a relatively advanced stage of development, with commercial production already ongoing. Research and development are improving the efficiency and economics of production as well as quantifying costs and benefits.

Sasol, the most established coal-to-liquids producer, continues to develop its processes. Smaller companies such as Syntroleum and Rentech are looking to establish commercial-scale coal-to-liquids production.

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory supports coal-to-liquids production research and development; see its Coal and Power Systems—Gasification page. DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory studies underground coal gasification. Also see the report Baseline Technical and Economic Assessment of a Commercial Scale Fischer-Tropsch Liquids Facility (PDF 1.3 MB), developed by DOE's Office of Fossil Energy. Download Adobe Reader

For additional coal-to-liquids research and development news, see the Green Car Congress Coal-to-Liquids page.