CE-CERT is developing a novel multi-step process to convert carbonaceous matter to fuel. The carbonaceous matter can be coal, biomass, food wastes, and municipal solid waste.  The process is an integrated system of three different chemical processes. The steam hydrogasification (SHR) step is followed with a steam methane reformer (SMR) step and then a fuel processing step: such as DME or Fischer-Tropsch diesel. The combination of steam and hydrogen in steam hydrogasifier offers the flexibility of using feedstock that has high water content. This step eliminates the pretreatment process of drying the feedstock. More importantly, we have shown that the reaction rates to methane can be enhanced considerably eliminating the need for a catalyst or oxygen separation units typically found with competing technologies. 

The steam hydrogasification step is the first and one of the most important steps in the process. The feedstock is fed along with steam and hydrogen in the reactor. The feed composition ratio such as H₂O/Coal and H₂/C ratios are very important factors governing the feasibility and performance of the process along with other factors such as temperature, pressure and residence time.

This talk will provide an overall explanation of the technology, and results for coal and other carbonaceous matter leading to a pilot plant demonstration.  An assessment of the economics and potential application to China will also be presented.