Coal Liquefaction

The tightening of worldwide oil reserves is causing the price of oil to escalate — and makes coal, which is much more abundantly available, an interesting starting material for liquid fuels and chemical raw materials. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim on the Ruhr have developed a new process that makes it possible to liquefy high-grade bituminous coal (semianthracite coal) for the first time. This type of coal has previously been used exclusively in combustion and gasification processes.