clean coal technology 065

In China, where rapid growth is driving a voracious need for energy, Linc Energy is in discussion with a potential cornerstone investor with whom we may pursue significant UCG to GTL opportunities. Our EOR technology is being deployed in the Glenrock oil fields in Wyoming. Carbon dioxide is injected "to sweep" oil from wells considered to be depleted but which can still contain up to half of the original oil in place. Our UCG to GTL technology has been proven at the world's only integrated facility at Chinchilla, in Queensland, and we are the global leader in producing diesel fuel from underground gasification. How do I know our diesel fuel works? I proved it last year in the Linc Energy Diesel Dash when I drove 6,062 kilometres (3,767 miles) across Australia on fuel produced at our Chinchilla operation. The VW Polo vehicle that I drove from Chinchilla, in the east, to Perth, on the west coast, averaged 16.5 km/litre (47MPG) and used a total of 367 litres (97 gallons.) This validates the UCG to GTL process. This year I am planning to fly a jet aircraft, powered by our fuel, across Australia. The fuel, which required further specialist refining to be certified as Jet A1, started its life as coal deep below the earth's surface at Chinchilla. I am proud to say that it will be the first time that jet fuel produced by UCG to GTL has powered a jet aircraft. Underground Coal Gasification works by drilling a series of wells deep into the coal. An oxidant, such as air or oxygen, is then injected. The coal is heated to 1,200 degrees centigrade. Heat, pressure and water from the coal seam then work to convert the solid coal into gas, known as synthesis gas or syngas. The syngas is directed to Linc Energy's GTL plant on the same site, which converts the gas to clean diesel fuel using the Fischer Tropsch processing method. Remarkably, this process takes approximately one hour from coal seam to final output. UCG syngas is an ideal feedstock for the GTL process to produce cleaner diesel and jet fuel. It is also an ideal feedstock for gas turbine power generation. In this regard, UCG presents advantages in building energy security.Economically, the benefits also stack up. Our Chinchilla facility has shown that one tonne of deep coal can be converted into cleaner diesel at approximately US$28 per barrel. When compared with more than US$100 per barrel for oil, the advantages are clear. Compared with traditional coal mining or aboveground gasification, UCG carries a lower land use and carbon footprint, while optimising energy extraction. It is an effective way to harness energy because: the coal does not need to be removed from the ground. UCG can tap into coal seams ranging from approximately one kilometre to 130 metres underground. This eliminates environmental concerns, such as large scale soil and rock disturbance, and does not generate dust, ash or slag. The use of UCG also reduces visual impact and risks of surface water contamination and UCG does not require the coal seam to be dewatered, as some other forms of mining do. Importantly, the land used for UCG can be returned to its former use once the energy from the coal seam beneath has been recovered. I believe that countries with energy-rich resources should look again at their resources, such as stranded coal, from this new perspective. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said, "The uncertainty facing the world today makes it wise to consider how unexpected events might change the energy landscape."4 With this in mind, I believe that countries should re-evaluate resources so, if they are not already part of " Energy is opportunity. It transforms lives. Economies ... "Below: (right): Chinchilla - Gas to liquid plant(left): Linc Energy Chinchilla Gasifier066 clean coal technology