Petroleum Joyride Almost Over ?  

Peak oil articles seems to be everywhere this month. Here's Wired's view of the situation.

One alternative to oil they talk about is coal liquefaction. The EROEI for coal liquefaction is apparently in the range of 0.5 (useless) to 8.2 (OK). The process does use hydrogen though, which is generally produced from natural gas, which would mean it will run into problems as natural gas depletes (unless the liquefaction process itself creates hydrogen or it is created by electrolysis using some form of electrical power - I'm not sure if this is factored into the EROEI calculation - or maybe thats how they get the 0.5 value).

If oil supplies really do decline in the next few decades, America's energy survival will hinge on the last century's technology, not the next one's. Hirsch's report concludes that compensating for a long-term oil shortfall would require building a massive infrastructure to convert coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels into combustible liquids.

Proponents of coal liquefaction, which creates synthetic oil by heating coal in the presence of hydrogen gas, refer to the process as "clean coal" technology. It is clean, but only to the extent that the synthetic oil it produces burns cleaner than raw coal. Synthetic oil still produces carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse warming gas, during both production and combustion (though in some scenarios some of that pollution could be kept out of the atmosphere). And the coal that goes into the liquefaction process still has to be mined, which means tailing piles, acid runoff and other toxic ills.

And then there's the fact that nobody wants a "clean coal" plant in the backyard. Shifting to new forms of energy will require building new refineries, pipelines, transportation terminals and other infrastructure at a time when most every new project faces intense local opposition.

Energy analysts say coal liquefaction can produce synthetic oil at a cost of $32 a barrel, well below the $50 range where oil has been trading for the past year or so. But before they invest billions of dollars in coal liquefaction, investors want to be sure that oil prices will remain high.