Energy: Will Coal Liquefaction Be The Answer?

Coal liquefaction is a process that has been around for a long time. Although relatively unfamiliar in the American energy vocabulary, it dates back to 1923 when German scientists developed the Fisher-Tropsch process for converting coal into the liquid fuels of gasoline and diesel. The process was used extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II. It came into its most extensive use when South Africa faced a world oil embargo during that nation’s political practice of racial apartheid in the latter part of the last century.

The United States consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil per day, of which 12 million barrels are imported. Some say the imported oil amounts to 14 million barrels per day or 70% of America’s needs