Coal-Based Oil?

Oil and Natural Gas are in increasingly short supply. What to do? Well, if you're China or the US, you probably look to the energy source that already makes up most of your domestic consumption, coal. The Germans made aviation fuel out of coal for the entirety of World War II, so the technology isn't new. It is, however, dirty - considerably dirtier than conventional oil or even the tar sands. However, a South African firm (Sasol) quotes costs of less than $20/barrel, so it's an enticing vision. Not surprisingly, the Chinese seem to be paying attention to this possibility.

I would, however, hope they take a closer look at coal-based methanol production. I'm not wild about coal, period, but if China's going to use coal to meet it's energy demands (and it is, no question about that) then it would be best for everyone if China embraced a cleaner, more efficient fuel. Methanol can be burned in a conventional internal combustion engine, or reacted far more efficiently in a fuel cell (when that technology matures.) Moreover, like ethanol, methanol is an extremely clean-burning fuel. It's still a net-CO2 producer, but it's so much better than coal-based oil, and might in fact be cheaper. Meanwhile, China still doesn't have a huge fleet of gasoline-powered cars to worry about displacing or refitting, like we do in North America. So early adoption of coal-based methanol might solve a lot of China's problems.

Methanol can also be acquired from carbon-neutral sources, like wood pulp and landfill waste, so once China embraces methanol they could slowly work their way to a less carbon-heavy energy diet. Of course, this is China we're talking about, and bringing down their CO2 emissions is most certainly a long-term project.