PROSPECTS FOR COAL AS A DIRECT FUEL AND ITS POTENTIAL THROUGH APPLICATION OF LIQUEFACTION AND GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

Examination of the resource base for coal indicates that there will be no problem (other than man-made) in availability for legitimate domestic energy requirements within the next 20 years. As the more convenient forms of fossil energy (oil and gas) decline in domestic availability we will turn to coal out of necessity; provided that total energy growth remains below 3 percent, the coal industry will be able to fill the gap, though with great difficulty. Coal production will increase from 1975's likely production of 625 million tons to 1,025 million tons by 1985 and 1.7 billion tons by 1995. During the middle years of the 20-year forecast period, coal conversion plants, heavily subsidized either overtly or covertly, will be built to verify technology now available and to act as insurance against unforeseen failures of oil and gas supply.

• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Petroleum Engineers

  6200 North Central Expressway
  Dallas, TX  United States  75206
• Authors:
  • Bowden, J R
• Publication Date: 1976-1

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 11-15
• Serial:
  • Journal of Petroleum Technology
  • Volume: 28
  • Publisher: Society of Petroleum Engineers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coal; Coal industry; Energy resources; Forecasting; Freight traffic; Traffic forecasting
• Old TRIS Terms: Fuel sources
• Subject Areas: Energy; Freight Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00135176
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 13 1976 12:00AM