Have you heard of a company that can turn dirty coal into pure-burning oil?

Question

Have you heard of a company that can turn dirty coal into pure-burning oil?

Answer 1

That has been done for about a hundred years by countless different companies. The Germans did it in World War 2 because they didn't have enough oil. South Africa does that because they have lots of coal and no oil. It is not new. But as oil gets more expensive you will probably hear more and more about this forgotten technology.

Answer 2

Yes as previous answers have told you many have done mostly the Germans in wartime and South Africa under oil embargo and continuing as they have the plant.  It is somewhat expensive and as an experienced process engineer I can tell you it is not a popular kind of process with operators being dirty and somewhat hazardous.  Incidentally essentially the same plant can use natural gas or biomass as a feedstock.

Answer 3

My country already did in 1934.

Answer 4

This is very old technology.  It can also be used to produce hydrogen from coal and water, and coupled with CO2 capture and sequestration, would allow you to generate power from coal with no CO2 emissions.