Russ Steele
Researcher's in Texas say they have found a way of cutting the cost of producing gasoline by two thirds, taking advantage of the lowest grade of coal available.A new refining process being perfected at the University of Texas at Arlington can turn low-cost lignite coal, also known as brown coal, into oil at a fraction of the cost of importing crude oil from abroad.
When UT started the process it produced uneconomical $17,000 a barrel oil. Today, the cost is $28.84 a barrel, less than half the cost of oil today which is near 80/barrel.
Canada has major deposits of lignite coal in Southern Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, though only the Saskatchewan deposits are currently being mined.
The University of Texas hopes to license their technology in the next few months and start building the first micro-refineries to produce the cheaper oil in the next year.
More details here. The folks at the APPLE Center for Sustainable Living, may want to take note as they prepare for a post oil world, it does not look like our source of oil is going to vanish any time in the near future. Technology always finds a way!
