http://www.oilpatchreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:quantex-targets-coal-to-liquids-at-less-than-50-per-barrel&catid=65:technology

Gordon Eberth, COO of Quantex Energy Inc., admits that his company’s coal-to-liquids (CTL) process seems too good to be true. Could there really be a CTL technology that converts low-grade raw coal to synthetic crude and high-value green coke at a break-even operating cost under US$50 per barrel? A conversion process that generates less CO2 per barrel than Arab light crude?

“Yes, it’s true - almost for sure,” says Eberth with a grin. “We’ve proven the technology in the lab, producing about one barrel per day. That’s a larger bench test than usual. We’re about to do the detailed engineering for a pilot plant producing up to 150 barrels per day [b/d] at Beaumont, Texas. The next move will be a series of reactors, each 1,000 b/d, which can be scaled up progressively to form a commercial plant with a capacity of 20,000 b/d or more. The commercial operation could launch as early as 2013/1024.