Gasification has been in commercial use for more than 50 years as a process technology for the refining, chemical, and power industries. The gasification process converts any carbon-containing material into a synthesis gas composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and steam or used as a basic chemical building block for a large number of uses in the petrochemical and refining industries. Gasification adds value to low- or negative-value feedstocks by converting them to marketable and environmentally friendly fuels and products.

 

Through methanation, the gas from coal will be converted to pipeline quality synthetic natural gas. Peabody believes natural gas produced from coal could become a practical alternative to an over-reliance of increasingly expensive liquefied natural gas imported from unreliable regions of the world. Coal also can be turned into diesel fuel and ultimately hydrogen to power fuel cells.